Dodge Roadkill Nights Rocked By Host’s Hellcat Crash

He’s known for talking and drinking beer, not driving. This video shows why as he crashed a Dodge Challenger in a celebrity race.

Richard Rawlings is the host of the Discovery Channel’s Fast N Loud and over the past six years, he has become well known for his high-energy antics. Rawlings is known for pounding beers and running his mouth, all while orchestrating unique, high performance automotive projects. What don’t generally see Rawlings do on the show is drive and at this past weekend’s Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge event in Metro Detroit, the television personality showed us why he isn’t known for his driving skills.

While participating in the Celebrity Hellcat Shootout, Rawlings lost control of the 707-horsepower Challenger and slammed into the outside wall, knocking that car out and himself out of the competition. The Boosted Scat Pack YouTube channel put together all of the clips from the live feed from the event, allowing us to watch Rawlings crash from every angle.

Celebrity Hellcat Shootout

The Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge event is centered around the legal street racing program, but within the normal racing program is the Celebrity Hellcat Shootout. This portion of the event takes eight celebrities from the auto industry and four evenly-matched Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebodies, putting them head-to-head on Woodward Avenue.

Former pro wrestler, retired NFL player and well-known car collector Bill Goldberg ended up winning the shootout, but the most memorable run came in the first round when Rawlings lined up with NHRA driver Leah Pritchett.

Rawlings Fails

As you can see in the video above, Richard Rawlings’ first round run was against Pritchett. Before the starter dropped his arms, Rawlings had begun to smoke the tires so when he left the starting line, there was smoke pouring from the rear end. That pretty much gave the win to Pritchett, but it looks as though his goal was to lose while smoking the tires for the length of the track.

Unfortunately, shortly after he left the line, the rear end headed towards the wall and on the correction, Rawlings steered the car hard into the outside wall at speeds nearing 80 miles per hour. He was fine and the car was able to make it off of the track and back around to the starting line, where Rawlings laughed about his careless crash. That car would be taken out of service with damage to the body and the front wheel, leaving the competition to continue with just three cars.

Fortunately, it didn’t really impact the competition, but it didn’t do any good for Rawlings reputation as a money man, not a legitimate car guy.

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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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