Comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham is a big fan of high
performance Chrysler products so when the Mopar team began looking for a
celebrity to pair up with for the 2012 SEMA Show, the well known funny guy
proved to be a good fit for the cooperative build titled Project Ultraviolet.In addition to building a car together that
will likely serve as a major part of the Mopar display at the 2012 SEMA Show,
Dunham is putting together a group of webisodes to air on YouTube over the next
two weeks.
The first video by Jeff Dunham chronicling the progress of
Project Ultraviolet begins by Dunham explaining how the project came together
just six weeks before the October 30th launch of the 2012 SEMA Show
when the folks from Mopar reached out to him. Being a lifelong Mopar lover, Dunham quickly agreed and members of Team
Mopar flew to his home in LA to discuss the build.This first video ends with clips of Dunham
raising a little hell in the 2012 Dodge Challenger SRT8 that will serve as the
base for Project Ultraviolet.
Unfortunately, little is known right now as to what Dunham
and Mopar have planned for the 2012 Challenger SRT8 shy of some new wheel
flares, a hood change and some aftermarket wheels but with SEMA just 12 days
away – it cannot be very long before the next episode featuring Dunham and his
2012 Challenger SRT8.
Check out the video below for a look at the first video.
"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.
