Updated

Updated · WDIV ClickOnDetroit · Aug 7

Roadkill Nights Returns for 11th Year With 75-Racer Shootout and Legal Woodward Racing

Updated

Updated · WDIV ClickOnDetroit · Aug 7

Roadkill Nights Returns for 11th Year With 75-Racer Shootout and Legal Woodward Racing

Q: What surprises await fans inside the M1 Concourse as Roadkill Nights unleashes its first-ever high-stakes time attack shootout?

Fans can expect Roadkill Nights’ biggest new surprise to be its first-ever time attack-style shootout inside M1 Concourse, adding a second live racing venue beyond the traditional Woodward Avenue drag strip. The closed-course competition will feature about 75 racers on the M1 road course, where drivers will race against the clock rather than in straight-line head-to-head sprints. Organizers say the format is designed to test precision, consistency and speed through a gate-to-gate course, opening the action to a wider mix of vehicles and driving styles than the drag races alone. For spectators, the new attraction is meant to be more than just extra laps. A 20-foot viewing platform has been built so fans can watch the inside-course battles up close, and the expanded setup effectively doubles the racing happening during the festival. There is also more at stake than bragging rights. Additional reporting says the shootout will offer cash prizes for the top three finishers in three classes: Forced Induction, Naturally Aspirated, and Under 3L N/A. The inside-course debut comes alongside the event’s established crowd-pullers outside the gates, including legal street drag racing on Woodward, Big Tire and Small Tire shootouts, the Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Match, celebrity and influencer races, thrill and drift rides, car displays, food trucks and appearances by Roadkill personalities David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan.

Q: Which celebrity builder will conquer the Direct Connection Grudge Match and secure their path to the ultimate showdown at SEMA?

It is not yet known which celebrity builder will win the Direct Connection Grudge Match. The available event coverage says the competition begins at Roadkill Nights on Aug. 8 and continues across a multi-event season, with racers also competing in additional events and submitting a September test-and-tune timeslip. The format then narrows to a final four at the Mopar NHRA Las Vegas Nationals from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, with the overall winning car ultimately headed to the Mopar/Dodge display at the 2026 SEMA Show. The announced field includes Bryan Kiefer of KIES Motorsports, Demi Bagby, Rob Dahm, John O’Malley, Johnathan Rimbo, Evan Shanks, Dave Sparks (“Heavy D”), and Titan Motorsports. All are building and racing Dodge Charger Scat Pack models powered by the 550-horsepower twin-turbo SIXPACK High-Output inline-six, with technical support from Direct Connection and a Dodge build allowance. So, for now, no builder has secured the SEMA path yet. The race to that spot starts at Roadkill Nights, but the winner will only be determined after the full season and the Las Vegas final-four showdown.

3 articles · Updated · WDIV ClickOnDetroit · Aug 7

Saturday’s Roadkill Nights at Pontiac’s M1 Concourse will run 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., with organizers calling the 11th edition the event’s biggest lineup yet.
75 racers are set for a new closed-course shootout inside M1 Concourse, where organizers built a 20-foot viewing platform to expand fan access.
Woodward Avenue remains the centerpiece, offering the rare draw of legal street racing, alongside Dodge-backed celebrity grudge races, big- and small-tire shootouts, and a Dodge influencer race.
Ram will also bring NASCAR trucks and drivers, while food trucks, vendors and family activities round out the festival; children 12 and under get in free.
For fans nationwide, the event taps Woodward’s 1960s street-racing legacy by turning a once-illegal testing ground into what organizers call the country’s largest legal street-drag festival.