"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.
Are you looking to add some extra ground clearance in your Dodge Dakota and you arent sure if you can do the work yourself…but you don’t want to face the labor costs of having someone do it for you? You are in luck as our 1st generation Dodge Dakota section has a great DIY written […] More »
This week’s Tire Shredding Tuesday feature takes a look at a wicked 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner powered by a 440 cubic inch Mopar big block as it destroys its tires in a long, smokey, rolling burnout. As the description explains, this is a drag car so this Roadrunner lacks some unneeded items like headlights and mufflers […] More »
The 2.5L 4-cylinder engine from the second generation Dodge Dakota doesn’t get a whole lot of love or respect but today’s cool thread feature takes a look at a 2.5L rebuild thread where DF member Bigboi407 looks to rebuild his 1998 Dakota engine while squeezing out a little more power in the process. Unlike many […] More »
Earlier today we brought you a look at the upcoming Fiat Ottimo – a hatchback version of the car that we know as the Dodge Dart. The Ottimo has been designed specifically for the Chinese market and although it could spread to other markets, it isnt likely to arrive in the US market for a […] More »
Quite a while back, we brought you the news that the sedan that we know and love as the Dodge Dart here in the USA would be sold as the Fiat Viaggio in select overseas markets. There were rumors back then that the Viaggio would also be offered as a hatchback and that Dart 5-door […] More »
The Dodge Durango doesn’t get as much respect in the offroading world as its Jeep cousins but this week’s Muddy Monday shows the 1st gen Durango in some competitive offroading action in stock form – showing just how well this powerful sport ute can handle rough conditions. We don’t know anything about this Durango shy […] More »
For several years now, new vehicles sold in the United States have been equipped with a built in tire pressure monitoring system but it seems that very few people understand how these systems work. Fortunately, site sponsor TireRack.com had a representative post some simple details of how these monitoring systems work and whether or not […] More »