"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.
The biggest change for the 2014 Dodge Challenger is the new Shaker package which features a collection and aesthetic upgrades and – of course- the awesome new Shaker hood. When Ma Mopar debuted the new Challenger Shaker at the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the bright Header Orange muscle car was also fitted with […] More »
Leading up to the start of the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Chrysler Group has introduced the new 2014 Ram 1500 Mossy Oak Edition. This package reincarnates the partnership between the Ram brand and the well known outfitter that took 2013 off but for 2014 – the Mossy Oak Edition is […] More »
The 2014 Rolex 24 hour race at Daytona International Speedway is a couple weeks away and as the two SRT Motorsports Viper teams prepare for the grueling endurance race, each of the teams has signed on a new driver to join those racers who spent time last year behind the wheel of the Viper race […] More »
Since 1996, all new cars sold in the United States have been equipped with the OBD II diagnostic port that makes figuring out computer-related problems much simpler but for pre-96 Ram pickups, you can “pull” and read any computer codes with just your ignition key. Checking your own codes will allow you to figure out […] More »
Trying to sell a vehicle on Craigslist can be a real headache with all of the broke jokes trying to barter for everything but the guy who listed a particular for sale ad for a 1997 Jeep Cherokee made sure to touch on all of the downsides to Craigslist selling when he posted the ad. […] More »
While the Ram Heavy Duty in action in this week’s Truckin Fast Wednesday feature isnt all that fast – the drifting action courtesy of Mr Samuel Hubinette is too good to pass up. For those who arent familiar with Hubinette, he spent quite a few years behind a varierty of Chrysler factory backed drift race […] More »
While the vast majority of the Mopar lovers on DodgeForum.com are more interested in making their Dodge or Ram vehicle more powerful than they are getting better fuel economy, the high price of gasoline puts MPGs in the back of everyone’s mind. Because of that, we see plenty of discussions about how adding headers or […] More »