For this week’s Trucking Fast Wednesdays feature, I present you with a video of a Dodge Ramcharger racing against a Nissan 350z coupe. There are no details provided with the video below but we can tell that this race takes place at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown New Jersey. From what I can see, this looks like a mid to late 80s Ramcharger based on the grille and based on the ride height, I would guess that this is a 4WD model. Also, I can tell that this is a V8 (not a diesel) powering the Ramcharger in the video beating the Nissan 350z.
When the camera shows the timing boards at the end of the track, both boards have ET numbers on the bottom line that lead me to believe that the Ramcharger and 350z are bracket racing. The Ramcharger appears to have dialed 13.60 while the Nissan dialed 13.30. Both vehicles ran well off their dial-ins with the Ramcharger going 14.09 to the Z’s 13.85 but when the winner’s lights on both side of the timing board lit up – the Ramcharger took the win.
This video makes me miss my old 1983 Ramcharger. It was one of the best vehicles that I’ve ever owned and I know that other Ramcharger owners have had similar feelings for their own short wheel base Dodge SUV. While 14.09 isn’t a smoking fast quarter mile, this truck has to be far from stock to get down around the 13 second range – making for one truckin’ fast Ramcharger.
"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.
