Another strong weekend for the Dodge NASCAR program in Michigan, Montreal

While the announcement that Dodge will leave NASCAR after
the 2012 season has seemingly made any discussion of success pointless for some
– there is still a matter of pride put forth by those of us who will watch
Dodge race in circles until the very end. 
Luckily, those faithful Dodge NASCAR fans have been rewarded with a
chain of strong finishes over the past few weeks and while the Sprint Cup and Nationwide
Series each went their own way this past weekend, it was another good overall
weekend for Team Dodge.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series headed to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
in Montreal and there were a surprising number of Dodge Challenger race cars in
the 43 car field.  In addition to the
normal #12 and #22 Challengers owned by Penske Racing, there were four other
Dodge stock cars in the field although none of the non-regulars did very
well.  Sam Hornish Jr continued his run for
the Nationwide Series championship with a 2^nd place starting
position that resulted in a 2^nd place finish in his #12 Alliance
Truck Parts Challenger.  Rather than Brad
Keselowski behind the wheel in the #22 Challenger, Jacques Villeneuve piloted
the Challenger on the track that wears his father’s name and Jacque has a
strong run – finishing in 3^rd spot. 

Other Dodge racers included Joe Nemecheck in the #70 entry who finished
30^th, the #126 entry driven by John Young finished 31^st,
Andrew Ranger finished 32^nd in his #27 Dodge and Eric Curran was the
worst finishing Dodge with his #153 car coming through in the 37^th
position.  With his strong finish, Sam
Hornish Jr is now tied with Ricky Stenhouse Jr for the second spot – both just
22 points behind series leader Elliot Sadler.

Over in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the drivers took to
the oval of Michigan International Speedway which saw just the normal two Dodge
entries from Penske Racing with Brad Keselowski in the #2 Miller Lite Dodge
Charger while Sam Hornish Jr flew down from Montreal to continue his new
campaign in the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Charger. 
Hornish started the race in the 17^th spot and during the
course of the event, he was able to work his way up to a 12^th spot
finishing position.  AS for Keselowski,
he started in the 19^th spot but as has been the case for most of the
2012 season – “BK” worked his way to the front of the field, battling for the
win and settling for a 2^nd place finish as Ford driver Greg Biffle
took home the win.  With his 2^nd
place finish, Keselowski continues to sit in the 5^th place overall
in championship standings, 47 points behind leader Greg Biffle.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series rejoins the Sprint Cup this
weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway for a pair of night races.

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Patrick Rall

"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.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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