"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.
As our Muddy Mondays feature videos go – it doesn’t get much muddier than the 2nd generation Ram 1500 shown in action in this week’s video. This video starts with the truck already soundly buried in the mud with the truck covered…and I mean COVERED…in mud. This Ram 1500 tries and tries to get moving […] More »
We learned last week that when the next generation of the Chrysler 200 is unveiled, there will be a new midsized Dodge that will effectively replace what we know as the Avenger sedan. This comes after many industry experts predicted that the Avenger would be killed off when the next generation Chrysler midsized sedan was […] More »
There was Global RallyCross action this past weekend from Bristol Motor Speedway as the drivers took to the track for the 5th event of the 2013 season and for the 5th time this year – there wasn’t much to celebrate about for Dodge rallycross fans. For the 3rd time in 5 races, Timur Timerzyanov was […] More »
I don’t know much about competitive pulling but I know that a 2nd generation Ram powered by a Cummins Turbo Diesel engine packing 150 pounds of boost is sight to behold. Fortunately, the thick black diesel soot pouring from the single exhaust stack poking through the hood makes this video a worthy choice for our […] More »
This 2006 Dodge Dakota SLT has a great stance with the custom wheel/tire combo and the addition of the bull bar with a big set of fog lights and the unique chrome grille treatment gives the truck a very upscale look. The black tonneau cover and the black “bumblebee stripe” add a sporty touch – […] More »
Even though it has been some 44 years since the Chrysler “Wing Cars” arrived in showrooms, the Dodge Charger Daytona is still one of the most aerodynamically perfect cars ever built. Those aerodynamics made the Daytona a monster in NASCAR back in the day but they also make the long, low (except the wing) Mopar […] More »
The world of Global RallyCross hits Bristol Tennessee this weekend for fifth stop of the 2013 season and while there will be two Dodge Dart rally cars in the thirteen car field – Travis Pastrana will once again not be one of the drivers. Instead, Timur Timerzyanov will drive Pastrana’s #199 car while Bryce Menzies […] More »