Last week, Travis Pastrana posted an image on Twitter of
himself giving a friendly thumbs-up with a sling on his left arm, explaining
that he had gotten his “shoulder taken care of after years of dislocations” –
presumably indicating that he had surgery to repair the internal damage that
took him out of the Global RallyCross race in Texas earlier this year.This is good news going forward as the driver
of the #199 Discount Tire Dodge Dart rally car will not have to deal with any
more mid-race shoulder separations but the bad news is that it is unclear
whether Pastrana will race in the Global RallyCross final on October 30th
in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Thus far, there has been no official word from either Travis
Pastrana or from the SRT Motorsports folks but the word on the street is that
Pastrana will not race at the GRC final in front of the 2012 SEMA Show
crowd.I have reached out to the proper
sources for more information but right now, it is unclear whether the Dart
rally team will be in action with a driver other than Travis Pastrana.
Bryce Menzies and Filipe Albuquerque have
both spent time this year in Pastrana’s “extra” car wearing the same paint
scheme and the car number 99. Unfortunately, neither of them did particularly
well with Albuquerque finishing 16th in Texas and Menzies finishing
14th at the X Games so if one of those drivers should fill in for
Pastrana in the #199 or race the #99 car (or both), the SRT rally team does
seem to have as strong of a chance at the win as they do with Pastrana at the
wheel.
Should more information become available, you will find it
here on DodgeForum.com!
"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.
