It has been made official that when the American Le Mans Monterey
Presented by Patrón kicks off on May 12th at Laguna Seca Raceway in
California – the 2013 SRT Viper GTS-R will be among the vehicles
partaking of the grueling 6 hour road race.
The American Le Mans Monterey Presented by Patrón is the third stop of
the 2012 ALMS season with the Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway in California
serving as the setting for the Viper’s glorious return to endurance
racing. There will be two teams entering the 2013 SRT Viper GTS-R into
the first race back in the ALMS after being a dominant force in the
endurance racing world in the late 90s and early 2000s, with drivers
Dominik Farnbacher, Marc Goossens, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Kuno Wittmer
handling the driving. The specially prepared Viper GTS-R race cars will
be built by Riley Technologies and with any luck, the first race for
the new Viper in the ALMS will bring us the full specifications of the
new race-built Viper.
The American Le Mans Monterey Presented by Patrón is set to begin at
4:30pm eastern standard time on May 12th and you can watch the action
live on ESPN3 via your Xbox Live membership on Xbox 360. Also, Xbox
users can catch the qualifying for the Laguna Seca race on Friday May
11th at 7:30pm (EST). Those who want to catch the American LeMans
Series action from Laguna Seca but do not have Xbox 360 (or access to
ESPN3), you can watch the race on ESPN2 on Sunday May 13th at 5:00pm
EST.
"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.
It has been made official that when the American Le Mans Monterey