Some Mopar Global Rally Cross fans were concerned when Dodge Dart driver Travis Pastrana missed the season finale to have shoulder surgery in order to be ready for the start of the 2013 NASCAR season. There was the unspoken question whether or not Pastrana would return in the Red Bull Racing Dart rally cross car for the 2013 season after signing a big deal with Ford for the NASCAR ranks but based on an image posted by Travis on Facebook today shows that the Mo-powered Red Bull rally cross team is alive and well.
Travis Pastrana posted the picture shown above of his Red Bull Racing Dodge Dart sliding around the wet tarmac of DirtFish Rally School yesterday with the simple claim that it was “Good to get some confidence driving again”. With that, we can only believe that Pastrana will tackle the full GRC schedule in 2013 – although managing the GRC race lineup and his NASCAR schedule could be tough. Last year, a few other racers including Bryce Menzies and Filipe Albuquerque competed in the GRC ranks in Pastrana’s backup car so perhaps Team Red Bull will field two teams this year and when Travis cannot make a race due to other obligations – Menzies could serve as a solid fill-in driver.
Incredibly, the Global RallyCross group has yet to announce the 2013 schedule but we know that there will be a variety of stops both here in the US and around the world – and Travis Pastrana is hard at work preparing for the upcoming season. The 2012 GRC season began on May 26th 2012 so we would think that there can’t be much time until the league announces the stops in the US and around the globe for the 2013 season.
I love the Global RallyCross based on its thrilling bumper to bumper and door to door racing so for those of you who are interested in the outcome but who are not interested in watching the races – you will be able to find complete coverage of the Mopar rally season right here on DodgeForum.com.
"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.
