Roadkill Nights Kicks Off Woodward Dream Cruise Week

The Woodward Dream Cruise is one of the most historic automotive events in America. Every year, on the third Saturday of August, millions of people and thousands of cars and motorcycles come from all over the country to participate in the world’s largest one-day auto-themed event. In a partnership with MotorTrend and Dodge, this year’s Dream Cruise kicked off with the special Roadkill Nights, which saw some historic firsts for the car enthusiast event.

The History of The Woodward Dream Cruise

Dating all the way back to 1848, with street racing events held in 1958, the Cruise has always taken place on the legendary Woodward Avenue that spans from Ferndale to Pontiac, Michigan. While there were no cars back in the mid-1800s, there were buggies and carriages that people used to race along the wide streets. These days, Dodge cars and trucks alike line up to street race each other as an homage to the first-ever drag racers.

Seven Car Projects, One Winner

This year, 2024, saw the ninth annual Roadkill Nights presented by MotorTrend. What made this year so unique was the introduction of the Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Race, where seven car owners put Direct Connection HurriCrate engines in their project cars and then drag-raced one another. With his specially built 1987 Dodge D150, Morgan Evans took the top honors by obliterating the competition, even taking down a Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. When asked how he felt about winning the Roadkill Nights drag racing event, Evans said, “We worked so hard over the last two months, and I can’t believe we got here and we ended up winning. The truck worked incredibly, and I couldn’t have asked it to do better. We built a 1987 Dodge D150 with the new HurriCrate twin-turbo inline six. I love that thing. I can’t get over how well it performed. It’s twerky, and it spools fast.”

A Word from Stellantis

“In its ninth year, MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge continues to evolve and get better and better,” said Matt McAlear, Dodge brand CEO - Stellantis. “From the public debut of the all-new Dodge Charger Daytona and its Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust system, to the Direct Connection Grudge Race, to first-ever Dodge Hornet Rally Rides and drag-racing action inside M1 Concourse, it was another weekend for the history books for the Dodge Brotherhood of Muscle.”

The Sick PowerFest at the M1 Concourse

At the Sick Powerfest event at the M1 Concourse, which is the official pre-party event for Roadkill Nights, more than 50,000 fans took part in the two-day automotive celebrations that included Dodge Drift Rides, Dodge Hornet Rally Rides, along with watching the World Burnout Championship that carried a $25,000 prize.

The Main Event

Finally, the main event on Saturday saw the cars competing in the Big Tire (over 275mm width) and Small Tire (275mm width or less) competitions that gave owners $5,000 for a class win and the fastest Dodge cars getting an extra $5,000. Jimmer Kline won in Big Tire while Mikael Borggren in Small Tire. Both drivers also won the same events in 2023.

A Word from Brian Lohnes

“It was a huge win for the event to come inside M1 Concourse with a stadium feel and completely unprepped surface that was honest, no-prep style drag racing,” said Brian Lohnes, Roadkill Nights announcer and NHRA broadcaster. “It required a much higher skill set to be successful. The winners were repeat winners for the most part, but also highly talented drag racers that were pushed to their limit to succeed.”

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