Dodge Brings Roadkill Nights Back to Woodward Aug. 14

The Dodge brand of Auburn Hills’ Stellantis is bringing Roadkill Nights legal street racing back to Woodward Avenue, at South Boulevard, in Pontiac on Aug. 14. The event will be held one week prior to the annual Woodward Dream Cruise on Aug. 21.
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Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge draws nearly 50,000 performance enthusiasts to street-legal drag racing on Woodward Avenue in Pontiac, Michigan. // Photo courtesy of Dodge
Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge draws nearly 50,000 performance enthusiasts to street-legal drag racing on Woodward Avenue in Pontiac, Michigan. // Courtesy of Dodge

The Dodge brand of Auburn Hills’ Stellantis is bringing Roadkill Nights legal street racing back to Woodward Avenue, at South Boulevard, in Pontiac on Aug. 14. The event will be held one week prior to the annual Woodward Dream Cruise on Aug. 21.

Presented by MotorTrend magazine, Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge includes a full day of sanctioned legal street racing on Woodward, and interactive experiences and immersive activities at the neighboring M1 Concourse in Pontiac.

The event, in its sixth year after a pause for the COVID-19 pandemic, allows drivers of the fastest street-legal drag cars in America the opportunity to drag race in front of spectators on historic Woodward as it is transformed from a street into a sanctioned, 1/8-mile drag strip.

“Our Brotherhood of Muscle spoke — screamed, actually — that they were ready for it to return, so we’re doing it,” says Tim Kuniskis, CEO of the Dodge brand for Stellantis. “Plus, this year we’re going to take it up a notch with a TV-versus-online build-and-race challenge. The ‘build rules’ are going to be really loose, so we should see some serious hardware being built to find out who’s faster: the TV or the internet stars.”

The new celebrity showdown format provides four popular automotive social media influencers each with a Dodge Hellcat, $10,000 in cash for car modifications, and one task: build drag racing machines capable of besting Eric Malone, star of MotorTrend’s series “Fastest Cars in the Dirty South,” in a drag race. MotorTrendwill capture it in a one-hour “Roadkill Showdown Special” to air on its streaming service and on MotorTrend TV.

“After a COVID-19 hiatus in 2020, we are proud to partner with Dodge and bring back for our fans Roadkill Nights,” says Eric Schwab, group senior vice president and head of revenue and partnerships at MotorTrend. “If you’ve ever dreamed of watching street-legal drag racing down Woodward Avenue, come to our event. It’s going to be an absolutely epic day for anyone with a passion for cars.”

Returning for 2021 are Dodge thrill and drift rides in Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcats on the M1 Concourse skid pad and north loop portion of its track. Other returning fan favorites include the virtual head-to-head racing in Dodge Challenger SRT Demon simulators; classic and modern muscle car show; dyno testing; “Roadkill” stunts; flamethrower, wheelstander, pro-mod exhibitions; family-friendly activities; and an array of food truck offerings.

Gates will be open for Roadkill Nights on Saturday, Aug. 14 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Drag racing starts at 11 a.m.

For more information including how to register to race in the event, visit here.