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Dodge Announces Its Departure From Truck Series.

By - September 12, 2008

When Dodge made its triumphant return to “stock car racing”,
they did so in the then-brand new Craftsman Truck Series.  Their sleek Dodge Ram helped boost the
popularity of the series among Mopar faithful who had been without Dodge in
stock car racing since it left NASCAR in the early 80s.  The Ram proved to be a worthy competitor with
many race and championship wins, and the early truck series days helped to pave
the way for the current NASCAR lineup.

 However, as the years have gone on, Dodge become less and
less successful with their factory backed teams as Ford and Chevy made
improvements and with the new pressure from Toyota, the number of Dodge trucks in the
series dropped dramatically.  It came as
some surprise to see that when the current truck series season began, Dodge had
only one factory backed team, leaving many to wonder what the future would hold
for the Ram in the series.  Turns out,
the future is dark as Dodge has announced that there would be no continued
factory support following this season. 

 This has to make you wonder what could be coming up for the
NASCAR entries, as they have not been terribly successful compared to the other
manufacturers in the past few seasons, but sources at Dodge insist that the
truck decision has nothing to do with plans for the cars.

"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.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

   

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