"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 week’s video heads Down Under, where we get to watch a Holden VX Commodore powered by an LS1 V8 doing some nasty, smokey burnouts in a big open parking lot. Some might call these rolling burnouts and some might call it drifting, but at the end of the day this is nothing but some […] More »
This week’s Throwback video features a purpose built 1969 Chevrolet Camaro drag car lining up against a 2010 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport. According to the video description, the ’69 Camaro is packing a 496 cubic inch big block and a 16 year old female driver, who has climbed behind the wheel of her grandpa’s big, […] More »
The BMW Z3 is a sporty little roadster that can handle the turns, but it is far from fast by the standards of any V8 powered Chevrolet product. Fortunately, the owner of the BMW Z3 featured in this week’s Dyno Blast video has swapped out the boring 138 hp 4-cylinder engine to make room for […] More »
This week’s Drag Race video features a 4th generation Chevrolet Camaro powered by the LS1 V8 featuring an unspecified aftermarket camshaft. The only other modifications to this Camaro SS is a set of drag radial tires and after seeing how well this car gets down the quarter mile, it is no wonder the 4th gen […] More »
This week’s Burnout video features a 5th generation Chevrolet Camaro powered by what is very obviously a monster built, supercharged V8. We don’t know anything about the engine in this Camaro, but based on what we can see above the hood and the way that the car sounds, this is a serious drag racing engine […] More »
Today’s Throwback video takes a look at GM’s “fiery new creation” for 1967 – the first Chevrolet Camaro. While the LS1 engine wasn’t considered until some 30 years after this commercial would have first aired on television around the country, with so many LS1Tech members owning and loving the Camaro…this is a chance to see […] More »
This week’s Dyno Blast video features a 1968 Pontiac Firebird powered by a 382 cubic inch LS1 engine. There is no mod list for this bright red ’68 Firebird but based on the fact that it is an LS1 measuring 382 cubic inches, we know that it has been enlarged from 5.7 liters to 6.3 […] More »
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