This week’s Mopar Muscle Thursday clips features a pair of classic Mopar drag cars in a head to head battle that begins with a couple of massive wheelstands. In the right (far) lane is a 1962 Dodge Dart and in the left lane (near) is a 1964 Plymouth Savoy as these two old school racers compete in the Nostalgia Super Stock shootout with a 426 Hemi V8 powering each of these beasts. As they launch in this heads up match, both cars carry the front wheels way up off of the ground with the Plymouth in the near lane getting the wheels up higher and longer than the Dodge in the far lane.
After both cars put on a launching clinic, they run side by side down the track with the Dodge Dart edging ahead at the finish line. In the end, both cars run very impressive times but the Dodge in the far lane got to the line first with a time of 8.768 and a trap speed of 152.46 miles per hour while the Plymouth ran a 8.907 at 153.24 miles per hour. These two Hemi powered beasts sound awesome while they are doing their thing so make sure to have your speakers cranked up and enjoy!
"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.
