Travis Pastrana Signs with Subaru for 2014 Global RallyCross – and They Can Have Him

We knew months ago that Travis Pastrana and the Chrysler Group would not be working together in 2014 in the Global RallyCross Series but with Pastrana’s new baby at home and the Nitro Circus Tour taking up much of his time, it seemed that Travis was leaving rally racing altogether.  However, Pastrana posted a picture online yesterday with ”I’m Back” written in snow on the back of a Subaru Impreza…and they are welcome to him.

The Chrysler Group’s mass exile from the motorsports world encouraged a great many Dodge racing fans to jump head first into the Global RallyCross but after just two seasons with Dodge, Travis Pastrana Racing left behind their Dart rallycars at the end of the 2013 season when their contract came to an end.  It is unclear whether the lack of a new contract was Pastrana’s decision, Chrysler’s decision or mutual agreement but there is no question that Pastrana Racing didn’t do Dodge fans any favors during the 2013 season.

Pastrana had a strong 2012 inaugural Global RallyCross season in the Dodge Dart and he even managed to grab a win before being injured but for the 2013 GRC season, it was very clear that Travis wasn’t all that interested in being a serious competitor in the world of rally racing.  Rather than put time and effort into a sport where he might actually be competitive with some practice, Pastrana followed the bigger money to the NASCAR ranks where he spent the entire season at the rear of the field before announcing that he was leaving NASCAR at the end of last season.  His lack of interest in the 2013 GRC season caused a lack of success and that led to the split between himself and Dodge – and the end of the Dodge rallycross program.

It doesn’t come as a huge surprise that Travis Pastrana is headed back to Subaru for the 2014 GRC season as he was (and had been for some time) a Subaru team driver before Dodge signed him for 2012.  He returns to a Subaru team that was barely competitive over the past two years, due partly to their lack of quality drivers relative to the competition and partly to the fact that the Ford Fiesta GRC car is just so good.  Pastrana will be the most skilled driver in the Subaru camp but with their car being so far behind the Ford Fiesta – the odds are good that he won’t be doing any more winning in 2014 than he did in 2013.  Hopefully for Subaru rally fans, he will be more devoted to the sport in 2014 than he was in 2013 but without some serious improvements to the Subaru STI race cars, it won’t make any difference how much time he spends in the car as it just isnt fast enough to keep up with the Ford teams.

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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