While Dodge fans might be bumming about the questionable
future of the NASCAR program, Mopar Performance has continued to dominate other
forms of racing – with the most recent success coming at the Chicagoland Torc
Off Road Series stop as the Ram team took a pair of wins along with two other
podium spots.Like other Torc Truck
events, the stop at Chicagoland played host to two events (one on Thursday, one
on Friday) with the same Ram winning both races.
Taking the win in both of the Chicagoland Torc Truck Pro 2WD
events was off road racing legend Rob MacCachren who drove his familiar silver
and black #21 Mopar/Ram sponsored race truck. In Thursday’s race, MacCachren was followed by Dodge RallyCross racer
Travis Pastrana who claimed a second place finish in his first race with the
Torc truck series.Mike Jenkins finished
5th in the Thursday race and Bruce Menzies finished 6th
at the first race in Chicagoland. Jenkins’ 5th place finish was his best of the 2012 season.
The Friday race saw Rob MacCachren drive away to comfortably
win his second race of the weekend and his third of the season – helping him to
move into the top spot in the 2012 season championship points for Pro 2WD.Bryce Menzies battled hard late to claim the
3rd spot and Mike Jenkins ended up in the 7th spot –
marking the 4th time this year Jenkins has settled for 7th
but that’s better than last.Coming in a
disappointing 9th in the second race of the weekend was Travis
Pastrana in his Red Bull Racing Ram race truck. Pastrana surely had high hopes after finishing 2nd in his
Torc debut on Thursday but when after rolling the truck with 6 laps left –
Travis was forced to head into the pits, battling for a balmy 9th
place finish.You can view a short video
of Pastrana’s slow rollover below.
For the year, Rob MacCachren leads in the Torc Pro 2WD
standings with 140 points (3 points ahead of second place Chad Hord) and Bryce
Menzies currently sits in 3rd with 133 points with 6 of the 14
events remaining on the season.
"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.
While Dodge fans might be bumming about the questionable