"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.
Swapping an engine can be a daunting task for someone with little mechanical experience but for those more experienced shade tree mechanics who have worked their way through jobs like replacing external engine components, swapping from a single over head camshaft (SOHC) engine to a dual over head camshaft (DOHC) engine can pay big dividends […] More »
While many people like to poke fun at “peg leg” trucks – that is, pickups that don’t have a Sure Grip rear differential to spin both rear wheels – this week’s Tire Shredding Tuesday feature takes a look at a 2nd generation Dodge Ram doing an awesome single-wheel burnout. Granted, the burnout competition in which […] More »
The Dodge Neon was introduced for the 1995 model year production lasted for 10 years before the popular compact was axed in 2005. With these cars flooding the used car market and quickly becoming a favorite of a car shopper looking for something inexpensive, efficient and reliable, many potential buyers find themselves looking at Neons […] More »
This week’s Muddy Monday feature takes a look at a 1st generation Dodge Durango digging its way through a watery mud hole but unlike most of our videos that show a Dodge or Ram vehicle climbing its way through the slop and then stopping – this guy goes back and forth through the deepening mud […] More »
There have been seemingly endless rumors about the future of the SRT Dart and whether or not it will see production or – if it does arrive in dealerships – what will be found under the hood. It has long been expected that the SRT Dart would follow in the footsteps of the uber popular […] More »
For this week’s Photo of the Week, I have selected the shot above of merc225hp’s 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT Laramie. This truck features a big suspension lift to make room for the beefy offroad tires and custom rims while the matching black wheel opening flares extend the body for better fitment of this big […] More »
There is just something special about watching a truck roll coal in a confined space and for this week’s Black Friday feature – we check out a 2nd gen Dodge Ram 3500 filling a room in the dyno shop with thick, black diesel soot. We can see exhaust removal piping hanging from the ceiling but […] More »