The Dodge Dart Rally Program is Dead and I’m Pissed About it.

I originally sat down to write a piece about how Travis Pastrana and Bryce Menzies had their best outing of the 2013 Global RallyCross season last night at the season finale in Las Vegas but a more crucial piece of news has derailed my intentions.  During last night’s broadcast, an interview with Travis Pastrana revealed that the contract between the Chrysler Group and Pastrana Racing would come to an end after the conclusion of the 2013 GRC season and during this interview, Travis didn’t make it seem very likely that the contract would be renewed.

As a huge Global RallyCross fan and a diehard Dodge lover, I quickly reached out to my contacts at the Chrysler Group to ask about the future of the Dodge Dart rallycross program.  I heard back this morning and the news was about as bad as it could be.

“Chrysler Group will not be participating in the GRC in 2014.”

That simple statement likely doesn’t seem like much to most people or even most racing fans but as someone who has so much interest in the sport of rallycross and in seeing the Dodge brand succeed in motorsports – this came as a shot to the heart that would make Bon Jovi cringe.  This simple phrase confirmed that the Dodge Dart will not participate in the 2014 GRC season…at least not with factory backing.  Considering how poorly Pastrana and Menzies did in 2013 with factory backing compared to the dominant Ford Fiesta race cars, it is unlikely that any teams with a real shot of competing next year will rush out to buy Dart race cars for next season so there is a very good chance that the Dodge Dart rally program is dead.

Now, my contact did specify that Chrysler wouldn’t be participating in the GRC for 2014 which means that the company could look to field a new team or teams for 2015 but that is a long way off and it comes as little consolation to Dodge fans like myself (and so many DF members) who have watched the Dodge motorsports program all but vanish.  It came as a disappointing bit of news when Dodge pulled out of NASCAR in the same year that the company won their first driver’s championship in decades only to be followed by the Ram brand pulling out of offroad truck racing after years of incredible success…but at least Dodge fans had the quickly growing world of Global RallyCross.  With the demise of the Dart rally program, all we have is the world of endurance racing where the Vipers continue to struggle and the NHRA – which has shrunken so much that both General Motors and Ford Motor Company have pulled backing from the world’s most prominent drag racing league.

The entire Chrysler Group is headed in the right direction with strong sales growth each month over the past few years but the slow death of the Dodge Motorsports program seems like an unfortunate decision from a brand – and company – that is so quick to taunt its modern and historical performance capabilities.

So to the awesome Dodge Dart Global RallyCross program, rest in peace.  You left us far too soon.

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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