The 2012 X Games are currently going on in Los Angeles and
tomorrow at 2pm, Travis Pastrana and Bryce Menzies will take to the X Games
rallycross track for practice – marking the first time that there has been a
Chrysler Group vehicle in the well-known extreme action sports event.Pastrana will pilot his familiar #199 Red
Bull Racing Dodge Dart while Menzies will drive the #99 Dart rally car that was
driven (unsuccessfully) by Felipe Albuquerque at the last Global Rallycross
event in Texas.
The X Games will begin for the Dodge Dart Rallycross Team on
Saturday at 2pm when the teams all hit the track for a 2 hour practice session
on the “short course”, followed by a 1 hour long seeding session (on the same
short track) in which the two Darts will find out who they will run against in
their first round heat races.
On Sunday,
Pastrana, Menzies and the rest of the X Games Rallycross field will finally get
to get some practice time in on the full course at 9am with the first round
heat races scheduled to start around noon. The first round heat races for the X Games Global RallyCross group is
scheduled to run from 12:00 to 2:15pm with the last chance qualifier (LCQ)
slated to run at 2:30.The 2012 X Games
Rallycross final race is scheduled to start at 3:30pm.
The 2012 X Games are currently going on in Los Angeles and
tomorrow at 2pm, Travis Pastrana and Bryce Menzies will take to the X Games
rallycross track for practice – marking the first time that there has been a
Chrysler Group vehicle in the well-known extreme action sports event.Pastrana will pilot his familiar #199 Red
Bull Racing Dodge Dart while Menzies will drive the #99 Dart rally car that was
driven (unsuccessfully) by Felipe Albuquerque at the last Global Rallycross
event in Texas.
The majority of the 2012 X Games is being covered on ESPN3
via Xbox 360 and the Xbox Live ESPN app but those who are relying on normal
television coverage to see Pastrana, Menzies, Brian Deegan (2011 X Games
Rallycross winner), Rhys Millen, Ken Block and Tanner Foust on the X Games
track – you will have to wait until 5pm Sunday night when the racing is set to
air on ESPN.
Hopefully, Travis Pastrans and his #199 2013 Dodge Dart
Rallycross car have better luck in LA than they did in the first two events of
the season.Pastrana left the final race
early in the first event of the season with mechanical issues and he failed to
qualify for the finals at the second leg of the GRC 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.
