{"id":72324,"date":"2023-08-16T09:32:59","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T13:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=72324"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:19:27","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:19:27","slug":"new-roadkill-nights-location-leads-to-better-racing-on-woodward-avenue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/events\/2023\/08\/new-roadkill-nights-location-leads-to-better-racing-on-woodward-avenue.html","title":{"rendered":"New Roadkill Nights Location Leads to Better Racing on Woodward Avenue"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The main attraction at the annual Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge automotive festival in Metro Detroit is the legal street racing program, which takes place on the legendary Woodward Avenue. The event organizers block off the four-lane road, line it with concrete barriers, install a timing system, paint starting lines and finish lines, create a burnout box and make a race track. Some years, Roadkill Nights has used an official Christmas tree, like you find at your local drag strip, but for 2023 (and some past years), the drivers raced on the arm drop by the starter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For 2023, Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge moved to downtown\nPontiac, with the racing taking place on a much nicer stretch of concrete road.\nThe \u201crace track\u201d on Woodward, outside of the M1 Concourse road racing facility,\nhas a serious crown to it, with lots of uneven pavement, train tracks, sewer\ncovers and other obstacles. The new stretch in downtown Pontiac is smooth,\nrelatively flat and free of many imperfections in the road, making it a much\nbetter spot for street racing. The organizers added grandstands (and protective\nfencing) along both sides of the track, with over 4,000 feet of concrete barriers\nlining the track, cones separating the two racing lanes and a metal archway\nwith a win light on each side hanging over the starting line. More than 200\ngallons of sticky traction material was applied to the surface to help the\nvehicles put more power to the pavement without going up in smoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In total, building the drag strip on Woodward Avenue took the\nteam between five and six hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After making a pass down the temporary drag strip, each racer drove back past the fans on the event-side of the track, providing a closer look at the vehicles as they headed back to the pits. Track times were not announced to the crowd or the drivers, but the organizers did keep track of the elapsed times to select the top eight quickest vehicles from the Big Tire and Small Tire classes. Those two groups of eight racers then went head-to-head in a single elimination shootout to the win in each class. The winner in the Big Tire class was Jimmer Kline, who has won in past years, but this year, he was driving his son\u2019s 1966 Pontiac Acadian. Over in the Small Tire class, Mikael Borggren and his V8-powered Volvo wagon \u2013 a popular competitor from Hot Rod Drag Week and 2022 Roadkill Nights Small Tire Winner \u2013 backed up his title with another big win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The title of the Quickest Big Tire Dodge went to Lenny Melton and his 1968 Dodge Dart<\/a>, while Peter Bokedon was the Quickest Small Tire Dodge in his 1972 Dodge Dart. Melton, who has been featured here on DodgeGarage, has won the Quickest Big Tire Dodge twice before in 2017 and 2022, along with being the overall Big Tire class runner-up in 2017 and 2022. As for Bokedon, the Quickest Dodge title for an incredible fifth-straight year, leaving no question that he is THE QUICKEST Dodge on a smaller tire in the Roadkill Nights crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two videos below offer a look at the racing action, with a look at Tom Bailey\u2019s Dodge Durango and James Pranis\u2019 Dodge Charger, which has served as one of the Quickest Dodge products in past years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n