"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.
This week’s Tire Shredding Tuesday video features a silver Dodge Magnum SRT8 doing a big nasty burnout in another country – which I believe to be Sweden based on the license plate and the fact that the description is in Swedish. When translated, the “about” explains that the other was preparing to swap to winter […] More »
Tow hooks can be handy when you need to pull a Explorer out of the ditch but the Mopar tow hooks for the 3rd generation Dodge Durango are a touch on the pricey side for an item that you may not ever use. I mean, they look great too but the prices from Mopar might […] More »
This week’s featured Question of the Week is as simple as that – what is your favorite generation Dodge Ram pickup? The first generation Dodge Ram (shown above) was introduced in 1981 and ran through the 1993 model year when the “rules were changed”. These trucks relied on old school carbureted V8 engines for power […] More »
This week’s Muddy Monday feature takes a look at an early 3rd gen Dodge Ram 1500 doing a burnout in a mud puddle…or at least that is what the video calls it. As we all know, doing a “burnout” involves spinning the tires on some sort of surface that is solid enough to cause the […] More »
We feature plenty of videos showing Cummins Turbo Diesel powered Dodge Ram pickups rolling coat on the dyno but this week’s Black Friday takes it to an all new extreme. Unlike most of our sooty diesel Ram dyno videos that show us one good blast of thick black smoke, this video shows the Ram climbing […] More »
Our newest Photo of the Week features the wicked 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 owned by new DodgeForum member moparcrazzy. It is unclear what type of performance modifications have been added to this SRT Challenger but the two tone design scheme with an AAR style, black and silver custom wheels, blacked out windows and a great […] More »
While the Ram truck lineup is the better known modern Chrysler Group pickup when it comes to being a work horse, the Dodge Dakota is just as capable of pulling big loads as many half ton Ram trucks. Evidence of that fact is a thread in our Dodge Dakota general section where DodgeForum member Dakota~N~Camaro […] More »