This week’s Truckin’ Fast video features Vaughn Gittin Jr’s customized 2015 Ford F-150 in action at the 2015 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Each year, Ford Motor Company has a huge display called “Ford Out Front,” with a ton of vehicles to check out in person and a large walled-off area where pro drivers put on ride along sessions with various show attendees. I myself have gotten to ride with Ken Block, Tanner Foust, Vaughn Gittin Jr and Brian Deegan at the Ford Out Front SEMA display.
This video shows one such ride along from last year’s show, with Gittin racing around the big open area in his heavily modified 2015 Ford F-150 with the 3.5L EcoBoost engine. I’m not sure who is riding shotgun and I’m not sure that Gittin is driving, but considering that this is a truck that he designed for SEMA – I imagine that he is behind the wheel as this super-boosted EcoBoost V6 roars around the turns and flies through the air.
"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.
