Most of the vehicles best known in the drift world are small, lightweight cars which have as little rubber on the road as possible – which makes it easier to keep the tires spinning as the car moves around the course.
This Dodge Ram 3500 Cummins Turbo Diesel is basically the polar opposite of every drift car, ever, but it still hangs the rearend out as well as any LS1-powered Nissan S13. We don’t have any details on this truck, but it is clearly a Ram 3500 with the Cummins Turbo Diesel, the long bed and dual wheels. This is likely one of the heaviest vehicles you could find to go drifting, while the dual wheel setup puts tons of rubber on the road, so this big truck is less than ideal when it comes to drifting around a skidpad – but that doesn’t stop this Ram owner from putting on a show.
Now, I have to point out that this skidpad has a watering system that wets the small track all of the way around, so when coupled with the weight transfer of the Ram 3500 and the torque levels of the Cummins Turbo Diesel engine, this Dodge has no issues keeping all four rear wheels spinning as the driver makes his way around the track.
From time to time, the rear wheel get out of the water, causing a cloud of tire smoke to quickly burst from the back end, but the wet surface allows this Ram 3500 owner to keep the rearend out lap after lap. As the truck rolls past the camera, we can hear the whistle of the turbo setup as the driver feathers the throttle – keeping the truck in an ideal gear and the perfect point in the powerband to spin the rear tires with ease.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
