Dodge Dart rally car forced out of debut early by dirty driving

This past weekend’s debut for Travis Pastrana and the 2013
Dodge Dart rally car did bring about a win in a the second round of heat races
but due to some dirty driving by Finnish Ford driver Toomas Heikkenen, Pastrana
and the Red Bull/Discount Tire Dodge Dart were forced to settle for a
disappointing 9^th place finish.

Pastrana started the first event of the 2012 Global
RallyCross season strong, turning in the 4^th fastest lap during
testing as the new Dodge Dart rally car ran a lap of 34.999.  This time was only slower than series regular
Marcus Grönholm (Ford), Mopar drift driver Samuel Hubinette (Saab) and European
rally champ Svere Issachsen (Subaru).

The Dart got its first race action of the season in heat 1C
of round 1 when it lined up against the Ford Fiesta’s of Brian Deegan and David
Binks along with the Subaru WRX STi of Tim Rooney.  Pastrana got a great start, heading into the mandatory
“short cut” right behind X Games rally champ Brian Deegan.  As Pastrana entered the wet hairpin turn in
second place behind Deegan, the Rockstar Engery Drink sponsored Ford Fiesta
rally car locked up the brakes and the Dart hit the driver’s side of the Ford
hard – breaking the steering assembly and rendering the right front wheel
inoperable.  Travis was forced to coast
into the infield area of the track where he sat watching as Deegan went on to
win that heat race.  To add insult to
injury, those who watched the whole event on ESPN3 likely saw the Charlotte
Motor Speedway track crew lift the Dart onto the roll back tow vehicle – only to
have the car slip from the chains and fall off of the truck. 

However, after some time in the garage area, Pastrana’s team
was able to repair the Discount Tire/Red Bull Racing Dodge Dart for the second
round of heat races.  In round 2,
Pastrana was able to run the first few laps well, running in second place when
Brian Deegan’s Fiesta broke the gearbox. 
As Deegan’s Fiesta rolled slowly down the banked straight of the CMS
Rally course, Pastrana blasted past and never looked back.  His win of the heat race in round 2 secured
his spot in the field of 10 cars for the final race of the night.

Unfortunately, early in the final race, Ford driver Toomas
Heikkenen ran hard into Pastrana as they entered the same wet hairpin where the
Dart wrecked in the first heat race of the night.  The impact from the rear shoved the Dart
rally car hard into the wall – tearing the right front wheel nearly free of the
vehicle.  Pastrana managed to limp his
car back around to the area where the field started before pulling out of the
way.  Pastrana technically finished last
(10^th) in the final event of the night but after wrecking Pastrana, Samuel
Hubinette and Dave Mirra, the Global RallyCross officials disqualified Heikkenen
so rather than finishing 3^rd, he was sent to 10^th.  That didn’t do Pastrana much good but at
least there was some justice for the way that the Finnish driver conducted
himself during the race.  RallyCross
always has a certain level of physical contact between the cars but Heikkenen
literally wrecked every car that he passed – almost wrecking Marcus Grönholm in
the first turn of the final race.

Marcus Grönholm went on to win the race, followed by Tanner
Foust (Ford Fiesta) in 2^nd and Stephan Verdier (Hyundai Veloster) in
3^rd.  Former Viper drifter Sam
Hubinette finished 5^th in his Saab entry after being wrecked out of
the 3^rd place by Heikkenen late in the race.

The Dodge Dart rally car piloted by Travis Pastrana will be
back on the track on June 9^th at Texas Motor Speedway.

Patrick Rall

"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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