"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 Dodge Caravan literally invented the modern minivan market, but when those early adopters of the minivan movement needed a bit more space in their family hauler, the Chrysler Group was quick to respond. Rather than trying to promote the bigger, less efficient Dodge Ram Van, the company rolled out the new Grand Caravan – […] More »
This week’s Muddy Monday video features a super modified 2nd gen Dodge Ram that has been dubbed the Mud Racer. We don’t know what engine is in this Ram or what all has been done, but we can tell that this truck has a mid-engine configuration, a serious suspension setup, massive mud tires and significant […] More »
Usually, we feature a muddy Dodge Ram on Monday, but with the debut of the new Dodge Challenger Drag Pak last Friday, this week we are running a special Mopar Muscle Monday. The 2015 Challenger Drag Pak is the first to come in two different trimlines – one coming with a supercharged 354 cubic inch […] More »
This week’s Muddy Monday video features a 1st generation Dodge Ram named Bullock. I love Ram trucks and I love bright green paint, so this purpose built mud truck is – in my opinion – one of the coolest trucks we have featured here on DodgeForum…and that is based just on looks. Once this Ram […] More »
This week’s Flashback Friday video takes us back to 1969, where the Dart Swinger 340 was giving people Dodge Fever. I am not really sure what Dodge Fever entails, but based on the troubles being had by this gemologist include perspiration and shaking hands. That makes sense, as someone who jumped into the 1969 Dart […] More »
This week’s Muddy Monday video features a lifted early 3rd gen Dodge Ram pickup tearing through the mud at the Wolf Springs Off Road Park. For many trucks, mud like this would be nearly impossible to get through without massive modifications, but for trucks like this 3rd gen Ram, just driving through the mud is […] More »
This week’s Flashback Friday only flashes back a few months to that time when Rhys Millen hooned the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat around the darkened streets of Cape Town, South Africa – right before he hooned the 707hp muscle car around on a platform lifted high into the air by four helicopters. This video […] More »