When it’s quiet at Roadkill Nights, it’s weird.
With fans cheering constantly, engines roaring and tires screeching, hundreds flocked to the M1 concourse on Saturday to watch Dodge and MotorTrend’s annual drag racing event. The event, which began in 2015 in the parking lot of the Pontiac Silverdome, features 11 hours of fast cars and noise.
This was the first year the event was held on the straightaway inside the M1 concourse. From 2016 to 2022, the event was held on Woodward Avenue just outside the venue. Last year, the event was moved north to downtown Pontiac. This year, the event returned to the M1, but everything is being held inside the venue after the event team was unable to get approval to use Woodward Avenue for the popular races.
Dave Witham, 57, of Grand Blanc has been to nearly every Roadkill Nights event with his son.
“I love high performance and horsepower,” Witham said. “How could you not?”
Standing in line before the event, Witham said he was a little disappointed that the race was moved from the road to the track, but he was still excited to see the event he loves.
After a few hours with the new setup – after racing nearly a hundred cars – Witham was no longer disappointed. “Oh, I love it, man,” he said. “It’s great!”
Cars of all kinds
This year’s event began with hours of drag racing. The track was teeming with souped-up cars, from sleek and modern Shelby Mustangs or cult classic Nissan Skylines to funny-looking old Crown Victorias.
However, among the Funny Cars, Matt Hagan’s car is the most powerful.
Hagan, a four-time Nitro Funny Car World Champion, brought his 12,000-horsepower hot rod to the track. Hagan drove the car, which can travel up to 330 miles per hour on a 1,000-foot track, to the M1 Concourse to perform a burnout in front of the crowd.
“The car lets you go wild,” said Hagan. “We’re pushing the boundaries of technology.”
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The car was developed by Dodge and its high-performance subsidiaries such as Mopar and Direct Connection, and Hagan said it would always turn heads.
“So many people want to see a car that goes 330 miles an hour with Dodge on the side,” Hagan said. “That’s what it’s about.”
Whether it’s a custom high-performance car with thousands of horsepower or a crazy, patinated, sticker-covered pickup truck with turbos sticking out of the hood, fans enjoy hearing the cars roar and smelling burning rubber.
59-year-old Steve White came all the way from Pittsburgh to witness it all, and his reason was simple.
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“I love the naughty things you can do with cars,” White said.
His wife Tami is also excited, but for a different reason. “I like to see his face when he’s happy about things like that,” she says.
Reporter Liam Rappleye can be reached at [email protected]
