"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 new, all-wheel-drive Dodge Challenger GT performs better in the snow than any muscle car before it, but still feels like a proper muscle machine when driven on dry roads in warm weather.
Watch a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat run a pair of record-setting 9.0X quarter mile passes. While racing at the first stop on the 2017 Modern Street Hemi Shootout schedule, the Epling Garage Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat set a new overall record for the quickest Hellcat car in the world. Coming into the MSHS Rockingham event, […] More »
A Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat gets off to a slow start in a half mile race with a C6 Corvette Z06, but the big Mopar machine runs the Chevy down on the big end. The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat has been proven time and time again as the quickest factory quarter mile muscle car on […] More »
Listen to a modified Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat roar as it lays down 850 rear wheel horsepower on the dyno. The Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat has a beautiful tone at idle and at wide open throttle in stock form thanks to the dual mode exhaust system, but owners have found that the supercharged Hemi has […] More »
A Plum Crazy Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat smokes the tires on a dyno run – still makes 642 rear wheel horsepower. A great many of the privately owned Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcats that we feature here on DodgeForum are fitted with the 8-speed automatic transmission because it is the more popular of the two […] More »