While the Dodge involvement and promotion played a huge role in the growth and popularity of the Modern Street Hemi Shootout area at the Woodward Dream Cruise, it was the privately owned cars that really made the area incredible. While the area was Dodge-heavy, it was not reserved strictly for Dodge products, but it was a Mopar-only affair with nearly 300 high performance machines on hand. There were a few Jeeps, a few Ram trucks, a couple classic Plymouths and a group of Chrysler 300s, but for the most part, the parking area was dominated by the Charger and Challenger.
This includes a handful of new Dodge Demons, several of which are owned by top FCA brass. For example, the black Demon with the DEMON 1 license plate, owned and driven by Dodge boss Tim Kuniskis was on display, as was the Demon owned by design chief Mark Trostle. I personally drove a TorRed Challenger 1320 test car that Dodge sent me for the week and it was on display next to my Go Mango Hellcat.
While the old Dodge display at Woodward and 13 Mile was great, it was relatively small and it lacked the private owner input that Ford has with their Mustang Alley display. With the move to The Loop in Pontiac with the Modern Street Hemi Shootout, there is a terrific mix of new display vehicles with hundreds of privately owned Mopar cars, trucks and SUVs, allowing the owner’s community to help make the corporate display area more attractive to spectators.
While it was a bummer to see the old Dodge display at 13 Mile Road go by the wayside, the team of leaders from the Modern Street Hemi Shootout and the folks from FCA worked together to create an incredible area for Mopar fans to enjoy the Dream Cruise. In speaking with some of the other owners with Dodge products on display, they enjoyed the 2019 event more than past years due to the size and scope of the area, along with the ability to display their own vehicles in around the official Dodge display.
Also, Pontiac is one of the best portions of the Dream Cruise route to see people do monster burnouts, so during much of the day, the parking lot was full of tire smoke.
The only thing that really went wrong this year was that the mobile dynamometer was down when we got there and we didn’t see if get back to action, so we weren’t able to make any pulls with the Hellcat, but in every other way, the Modern Street Hemi Shootout and Dodge display area at the Woodward Dream Cruise was a Mopar lover’s dream cruise come true.
"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.
