Big Tires On a Big Bronco Leads to a Big Smoke Show
This week’s “Tire Smokin’ Tuesday” video features an old school full size Ford Bronco participating in the burnout contest at the 2016 Bloomsburg Fair in Pennsylvania. Each year, this small town hosts a fair with all of the normal attractions such as judged farm animals and a wide variety of deep fried foods, but one of the things which makes Bloomsburg special is the burnout competition.
In most cases, the trucks and sport utility vehicles doing burnouts in our Tuesday feature – especially those vehicles in burnout competitions – are fitted with small, easy-to-spin tires. On the other hand, this big Ford Bronco is clearly built for offroading, so rather than a set of small, skinny tires, this old SUV has a set of massive mud tires. These knobby tires are made to dig into everything that they touch, but the owner of this Bronco pulls onto the burnout slab with the intention of turning these gigantic mud tires into a cloud of smoke – and he does just that.
The video begins slowly, with the guys who seem to be in charge of the burnout competition talking to the driver of the big Ford Bronco. After about 45 seconds of discussion, one of the officials tucks a tiny wheel chock under the right front tire of the Bronco and the driver is given the all-clear. At that point, he cranks into the V8 engine and begins to spin the huge rear tires.
Almost immediate, smoke streams out of the back and sides of the old school Bronco and within 10 seconds or so, the Ford SUV is totally hidden in smoke. We can still hear the roar of the V8 engine over the cheering crowd as the burnout continues and after roughly 40 seconds, the burnout ends with an even louder chorus of applause from the Bloomsburg Fair crowd.
"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.
