This past weekend at the Chrysler at Carlisle event in
Pennsylvania, the SRT Tour kicked off its second annual trip across the country
– showcasing the 4 current vehicles in the Street and Racing Technology
lineup.Unfortunately, since the 2013
SRT Viper is not in the current production lineup, the 2012 SRT Tour will not
include the new supercar but it still offers Mopar enthusiasts a chance to
check out the modern American muscle in person.
The 2012 SRT Tour officially began last weekend in Carlisle and
it will end up at the Viper Owner Invitational in Charlotte North Carolina in
late September – with more than 30 stops along the way.The trip will be made by the Jeep Grand
Cherokee SRT8, the Dodge Charger SRT8, the Chrysler 300C SRT8 and the Dodge
Challenger SRT8 392 with four professional drivers (all of whom have vast high
performance driving experience) at the controls to answer questions at the
events along the way.
“For the second summer in a row, we’ll be taking our SRT
vehicles directly to thousands of performance fans and loyalists across the
country,” said Ralph Gilles, President and CEO – SRT Brand, Chrysler Group LLC.
“Building off the success we had last summer, the SRT Tour generates a lot of
excitement at each of the stops. We get to proudly share our entire 2012 lineup
and meet enthusiasts who enjoy getting up close to our SRT vehicles while
talking about all the power, performance, luxury and safety features.”
The next stop for the 2012 SRT Tour is the NASA Track Days
in Pocono PA starting tomorrow and running until the 15th.The full schedule for the month of July is
listed below.The SRT Tour will continue
through August and September but the stops for those months have not yet been
finalized.You can keep up with the 2012
SRT Tour at the DriveSRT.com website but once the rest of the stops have been
announced – they will also be posted here on DodgeForum.com.We can be pretty sure that one of the stops
will be the Mopar Nationals on August 10-12 in Columbus Ohio (shown above in 2011).I got to enjoy the SRT Tour last year at two
stops and it provides a great chance for everyone to really check out these new
Mopar muscle cars in person without some annoying car salesman who really doesn’t
know anything about the vehicles bugging you.
"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.
This past weekend at the Chrysler at Carlisle event in