Dodge Wins in Bristol!

Week #4 for the 2012 NASCAR season brought the Nationwide
and Sprint Cup Series racers to the fastest half mile oval in the world in
Bristol Tennessee.  Team Dodge used this
high speed short track to their advantage – with Brad Keselowski finishing 3^rd
in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday and bringing home the win in the
Sunday Sprint Cup race.

Saturday’s Ford EcoBoost 300 at Bristol was less than kind to its sponsor, with Ford’s Ricky Steinhouse finishing in 6^th. Brad
Keselowski in his #22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger started 7^th and
ran strong all day, finishing 3^rd behind a pair of Chevys driven by
Kasey Kahne and Elliot Sadler.  Sam
Hornish Jr drove his #12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger to a 13^th
place finish (started 23^rd) while the only other Dodge in the field,
the #81 car driven by rookie Jason Bowles finished 25^th after
starting in the 34^th position. 
Hornish Jr. still sits in 6^th place in Nationwide Series
season standings (49 points behind leader Elliot Sadler) while Jason Bowles
moved up three spots to the 19^th position, sitting 114 points off of
the leading pace.  Brad Keselowski is not
involved in the championship standings for the Nationwide Series.

Sunday brought about the NASCAR “bigs”, as the Sprint Cup
took to the Bristol half mile for the Food City 500.  The only two Dodge entries in the Sunday
Sprint Cup race where Brad Keselowski in his #2 Miller Lite Charger and
teammate AJ Allmendinger in his #22 Shell/Pennzoil Charger.  Both of these team Penske cars qualified very
well; with Allmendinger starting on the outside of row 1 in second place while
Keselowski started in 5^th spot. 

Early in the race, AJ Allmendinger was near the front of the
field with his #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger.  AJ took the lead on lap 42 and led the field
for 54 laps before he ran into handling problems that effectively ended his
race.  His car became very loose and
although the team worked to repair the problem, his loose conditions forced him
back in the field and he was unable to make up that ground.  Allmendinger finished a disappointing 17^th
place – 2 laps down.

Things started quite differently for Brad Keselowski, who was
involved in an early accident on lap 23 that took out several of the front
runners but Keselowski’s #2 Miller Lite Charger sustained only minor
damage.  The #2 Charger was strong early
but the car only got better as the race went on and on lap 217, Keselowski took
the lead for the first time.  The #2
Charger went on to lead 232 of the last 283 laps and thanks to some strategic
moves during a late race caution – Keselowski was able to hang on and win the
race in what he called the best car he has had in the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Thanks to his win in the Food City 500, Brad Keselowski has
moved up 8 spots to the 13^th position in the Sprint Cup season
standings while AJ Allmendinger climbed 4 spots to 26^th.

The NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series both head to
Fontana California for next week’s Royal Purple 300 and Auto Club 400.

Discuss Dodge’s win in the forums!

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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