Most of our F-150 burnouts that we feature on Tire Smokin’ Tuesday are doing monster, smokey burnouts that could make many drag racers blush. On the other hand, this week’s featured F-150 burnout follows the age old adage of try and try again.
This Ford F-150 pickup is participating in a burnout competition at the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds in Davie, Florida and while his first burnout starts off very well – it ends in less than ten seconds.
For those unsure, most burnout competitions give you 60 seconds to create as much tire smoke as possible, so this F-150 backs up a bit and makes a second attempt. This second burnout lasts about 20 seconds and it is about twice as impressive as the first, but the driver gets out of it when the back end begins to scoot off of the concrete slab.
After receiving some counseling from the folks standing on the sidelines, the driver of this F-150 pulls forward to make one more attempt – and this one was worth the wait. During this third try, he finally gets the engine RPMs up to where they need to be for a proper burnout and as a result, he puts on a great show…eventually.
"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.
