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'Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge' Returns to Woodward Avenue for Legal Street Drag Racing


AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Aug. 1, 2022 / Press Release

The seventh edition of MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge will add a new twist on last year’s popular online automotive builder showdown, with competitors using Dodge Direct Connection parts to build a drag-race machine under a tight deadline before bringing it to Woodward Avenue on Saturday, August 13, 2022, to go head-to-head on the strip.


  • Seventh year of MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge, featuring legal street drag racing on Woodward Avenue, set for Saturday, August 13, 2022, at M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan

  • Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Race brings back last year's popular online automotive builder showdown, with competitors using Direct Connection parts to build their own drag-racing machines and battling it out once again on Woodward

  • Media-only preview, featuring interview opportunities with Dodge executives, Roadkill stars and online automotive personalities, scheduled for Friday, August 12


MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge is back for its seventh year on Saturday, August 13. The one-day car culture festival will see thousands of automotive enthusiasts flock to Woodward Avenue for the ultimate celebration of legal street racing. The event will also feature a media-only preview on Friday, August 12.

Media opportunities include:

  • 2021 Grudge Race winner Alex Taylor will reveal her new Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Race vehicle build, along with vehicle reveals from returning competitors Tavarish, Westen Champlin and throtl, and five formidable event "rookies"

  • Media can participate in Dodge thrill and drift rides in Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcats on the M1 Concourse skidpad and north loop portion of the track, as well as a special off-road course with the Ram 1500 TRX Thrill Ride Experience

  • Interview opportunities with Dodge executives, Roadkill show hosts and online automotive personalities

SCHEDULE Friday, August 12 – MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge press preview:

  • 10:30 a.m. – Gates open to media

  • 11 a.m. – Roadkill Nights news conference

    • Opening remarks by Dodge Brand CEO Tim Kuniskis, reveals of Direct Connection Grudge Race vehicles

  • 11:45 a.m.

    • Media interview opportunities, including MotorTrend influencer interview opportunities

    • Dodge drift and thrill rides, Ram TRX Thrill Ride Experience off-road rides open for media

    • Lunch available

  • 1:30 p.m. – Event concludes

Saturday, August 13 – MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge event:

  • 9 a.m. – Gates open to credentialed media

  • 10 a.m. – Gates open to the public – event begins

    • Photo opportunities as muscle/vintage/classic cars enter for cruise-In

    • Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge event activities begin – Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat thrill and drift rides, dyno testing and Ram TRX Thrill Ride Experience off-road course

  • 11 a.m. – Drag racing begins – open qualifying session (all drag racing can be viewed via livestream at DodgeGarage.com, Dodge.com, Dodge and MotorTrend YouTube channels)

  • 4:45 p.m. – Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Races begin

  • 5:45 p.m. – Top Eight shootout driver announcements

  • 6:15 p.m. – Opening ceremony

  • 6:30 p.m. – Top Eight shootouts begin (Small Tire & Big Tire)

  • 8:30 p.m. – Top Eight winners' awards ceremony

  • 9 p.m. – Event concludes

*Schedule subject to change

PARKING Friday: For media preview, parking will be inside M1 Concourse (164 South Blvd. West, Pontiac, Michigan 48341). Staff will be on-site to direct Saturday: Media parking will be available at the M1 Concourse South Lot on South Street

MEDIA RSVP Please RSVP to Darren Jacobs at darren.jacobs@stellantis.com


EVENT DETAILS MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge returns for the seventh year, bringing legal street drag racing to Woodward Avenue, as well as a classic and modern muscle car show, exhilarating interactive experiences and immersive, fun-filled activities at M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan. Also returning are Dodge thrill and drift rides in Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcats, where participants can go for the rides of their lives. A Direct Connection Alley area at the event will include a display trailer with Dodge Challenger SRT Demon virtual drag race simulators, Direct Connection crate engines and parts on display and much more.


Celebrity appearances will also be on tap for Roadkill Nights, including David Freiburger, Mike Finnegan, Steve Dulcich, David Newbern, Mike Cotten, Lucky Costa, Cristy Lee, Steve Magnante and KJ Jones. Dodge Chief Donut Maker Preston Patterson, who won a one-year role as the ultimate Dodge brand ambassador in May, will also serve as an emcee at the event.


MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge also kicks off the multi-day Dodge Speed Week event, scheduled for August 12-20, 2022. Following the press conference on August 12 and the Roadkill Nights main event on August 13, Dodge Speed Week continues with three consecutive days of worldwide product reveals at M1 Concourse on August 15-17, and wraps up with a Dodge brand display, in conjunction with the Modern Street HEMI® Shootout group, on August 20 during Dream Cruise weekend.


Fans can follow all the Roadkill Nights action, including pre-event behind-the-scenes content and commentary on the Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Race builds, at www.dodgegarage.com/roadkill-nights-2022, or on social media channels with hashtags #RoadkillNights and #PoweredByDodge. For complete event information, including ticket info, visit www.motortrend.com/roadkill-nights-2022/.


Street racing can have serious legal and safety risks. Both ROADKILL and Dodge want enthusiasts to enjoy performance driving in a controlled environment on a closed course, run by professionals with vehicle safety inspections, driver evaluations and track preparation appropriate for drag racing conditions.


ROADKILL The ROADKILL brand delivers a one-of-a-kind taste of "Automotive Chaos Theory" and features authentic gearheads David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan in a variety of mediums, including Roadkill Nights branded events, and Roadkill, Roadkill Extra, Roadkill Garage, and Roadkill's Junkyard Gold shows, available on MotorTrend+.


MotorTrend Group MotorTrend Group, a Warner Bros. Discovery company, is the largest automotive media company in the world, bringing together Warner Bros. Discovery's MotorTrend TV and a vast automotive digital, direct-to-consumer, social, and live event portfolio, including MOTOR TREND, HOT ROD, ROADKILL, AUTOMOBILE and more than 20 other industry-leading brands. With a monthly audience of 26 million across web, TV and print, and 110 million social followers, culminating in 1.3 billion monthly impressions across all platforms, MotorTrend Group encompasses television's #1 network for automotive fans, a leading automotive YouTube Channel and MotorTrend+, the only subscription streaming service dedicated entirely to the motoring world. MotorTrend Group serves to embrace, entertain and empower the motoring world.


Dodge//SRT For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge shifts into high gear with muscle cars and SUVs that deliver unrivaled performance in each of the segments where they compete.


Dodge drives forward as a pure performance brand, offering SRT versions of every model across the lineup. For the 2022 model year, Dodge delivers the drag-strip dominating 807-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock, the 797-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world, and the Dodge Durango SRT 392, America's fastest, most powerful and most capable three-row SUV. Combined, these three muscle cars make Dodge the industry's most powerful brand, offering more horsepower than any other American brand across its entire lineup.


In 2020, Dodge was named the "#1 Brand in Initial Quality," making it the first domestic brand ever to rank No. 1 in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS). In 2021, the Dodge brand ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL Study (mass market), making it the only domestic brand ever to do so two years in a row.


Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.


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