"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.
One of the quickest, easiest and most significant first modifications that you can make on any vehicle is a muffler swap and in our 3rd generation Dodge Dakota section, we have a thread with a poll that asks owners to share what muffler choice they are running. This poll includes a collection of popular muffler […] More »
This week’s Muddy Monday feature takes a look at a 3rd gen Dodge Ram 2500 in action in the pit at the 1st Annual Pollockville Mud Bog in Alberta Canada. We don’t know much about this big, nasty Ram but it is clear that it is powered by a Cummins Turbo Diesel that spews soot […] More »
While there are plenty of Dodge fans around the intraweb who love the look of the 2015 Dodge Charger R/T, it is no secret that more than a handful of people really don’t like the new look. Whether you hate the new Charger R/T or you think that it is good enough but could use […] More »
I love watching Ram trucks do burnouts and I love watching Cummins Turbo Diesel engine spew smoke so when I came across this clip showing an early 3rd gen Ram 2500, I knew that it was destined to be featured on Black Friday. This blacked out 3rd gen CTD Ram is taking part in a […] More »
Im a sucker for black and red exterior designs so when I was hunting for the newest Photo of the Week and I stumbled across JCinDE’s 4th gen Ram 1500 – it was too good to pass up. The power bulge hood with the black vents, the blacked out projection headlight assemblies and the black […] More »
Do you have a 2012 Dodge Durango powered by the 5.7L Hemi and you have an odd rattling or growling noise coming from the front of the engine? If so, you aren’t the only owner running into this problem and – unfortunately – it could be a fairly serious issue. We have had two members […] More »
The 3rd generation Dodge Durango is one mean looking street SUV and as is the case with any performance minded vehicle, many owners like the drop the ride height to give it a sportier stance. In some of those cases, the owners want the vehicles really slammed down around the tires and today’s Cool Thread […] More »