Details on 2017 Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge Announced

The initial details on the 2017 Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge event in Detroit have been announced with the focus once again being legal street racing on Woodward Avenue.

FCA announced today that on August 12^th, the 3^rd annual Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge event will take place at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan. This automotive festival was first held in the parking lot of the Pontiac Silverdome back in 2015, but with the move to the M1 Concourse came the introduction of legal street racing on Woodward Avenue. As you might imagine, the legal street racing proved to be a huge hit with racers and spectators alike, so it comes as little surprise that the 2017 Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge event will also be held at M1 Concourse – with legal street racing being the main attraction.

“Continuing the Dodge brand’s efforts to take racing off the streets and to a professionally run strip, there is no better way to kick off Detroit’s annual cruise week than to have a pure enthusiast event like Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Passenger Cars, Dodge, SRT, Chrysler, and FIAT, FCA – North America. “This event is also the perfect opportunity to show muscle car enthusiasts from around the world the new 840-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon where it was born to dominate – on the dragstrip.”

The main attraction at the Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge will be the 8^th mile drag strip which will be set up right on the stretch of Woodward Avenue which borders the M1 Concourse property. If 2017 is similar to 2016, there will be a long stretch of grandstands running along the short, temporary drag strip and behind those grandstands is one of the most impressive automotive festivals in the United States.

The festivities away from the drag strip on Woodward include a huge car show open to all makes and models, live music on the Dodge stage, a dyno area, Dodge-branded displays with new vehicles, a large collection of food trucks and the Dodge Thrill Ride area, which offers spectators a chance to ride shotgun with a professional driver in a Hellcat Challenger, Hellcat Charger or Viper in what can only be described as a burnout and drifting exhibition.

Finally, the 2017 Roadkill event will have a family area with inflatable slides, an obstacle course, a climbing wall, face painting and more.

“Roadkill Nights brings ‘Roadkill’ to life and allows our fans to participate in the thrill of fingers-clenching, top-speed drag racing, which is what we thrive on,” Freiburger says. “There’s something for everyone — drag racers, families, foodies and anyone who is looking to have a great day filled with unparalleled fun at an iconic location.”

The 2017 Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge event on August 12^th officially begins at 11am and runs to 11pm. Drag racing and the Thrill Rides will run from 11am to 930pm and general admission is $10 for adults and free for children under 12. No information has been offered on the registration or cost for racers, but we can expect that to be announced soon.

If you are a fan of the Dodge brand, this is an absolutely incredible event, but even for those folks who are simply fans of high performance vehicles – the 2017 Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge promises to be a great time for all.

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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