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In its 10th year, Roadkill often draws about 40,000 attendees and serves as the appetizer for next weekend's Woodward Dream Cruise.
The racing returned to Woodward Avenue this year after a brief hiatus to the nearby private Dodge CEO Matt McAlear called the event "controlled mayhem at its finest" and said it's Dodge's most iconic gathering. It also serves as an ideal place to launch new products for the Stellantis NV muscle brand that's trying to reverse a rough stretch of sales. In a preview event Friday, McAlear unveiled new V-8 versions of the brand's Durango SUV while showing off its six-cylinder Charger muscle car set to hit dealers later this year.
The inventor of this August day of car racing madness is Tim Kuniskis, the current Ram CEO and former Dodge CEO, who earlier this summer was promoted to oversee all of Stellantis' U.S. brands. In between glad-handing with Mopar enthusiasts and signing autographs on Saturday afternoon, he recalled the early days of Roadkill in 2015.
Originally, Kuniskis said, it looked like legal concerns around holding drag races in such a public setting might end the idea before it ever got off the ground. "The liability is out of control, cannot be done," he said he was told. But Dodge worked with MotorTrend to overcome the red tape.
"the First year we did it, we did it at the Pontiac Silverdome before they ripped it down, we did in the parking lot there," Kuniskis told The Detroit News. "We announced that we were gonna do it probably three weeks before we actually did it. And it was really gritty, really low budget. We had no idea if five people would show up or 500. Yeah, 10,000 people showed up to that first one, and it was out of control."
He added: "Anybody that went to the first one knows the origin story was really, really sketchy. I mean, it was a nasty, rough parking lot. It was kind of crazy."
While Kuniskis is a veteran of the Roadkill muscle car scene, newly-appointed Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa attended his first on Saturday, joined by his two young boys. He paused to get some video footage on his phone as a pair of cars roared off the starting line.
"I was surprised to see him, actually, because he's now global CEO," said Aakash Barooa, a Mopar employee from Rochester Hills who has spectated the Roadkill racing for several years and briefly greeted Filosa. "It's nice to see our CEO so involved in the events, and you know, out and about with everybody."
All varieties of cars took the start line Saturday: Dodge Chargers, Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros, of course, but also modified Durangos, Jeep Grand Cherokees, several old pickups, a converted police car and a high-powered Geo Tracker. Nearby, attendees took drifting joy rides in Dodge Chargers, or raced down an adjacent track in the passenger seat of Ram and Dodge vehicles. McAlear, the Dodge CEO, said he loves watching people hop in those thrill rides for the first time.
"When they get out, they are just completely taken aback," he said. "And then you watch them, and (they) see the video, and they share it. It's so much fun to see the reaction on people's faces, big and small."
Scott Krugger, who has managed Dodge exterior design for the past few years and was recently promoted to oversee design across Stellantis' North American brands, said Roadkill also can provide inspiration for executives like him. It helps to be up close with the people who are "living, breathing these cars on a daily basis."
"All the fun stuff people are doing with their cars, modifying them, putting more performance upgrades — it's important for us to see that, and understand the things that they value," Krugger said as cars took nearby test runs down Woodward on Friday. "We kind of implement our own twist on a lot of that in the way that we design the vehicles."
Michael Martinez, part of an Indiana group of car enthusiasts and influencers called the Hooligan Brothers, had shown up with a green and yellow 1991 Ford Fox Body Mustang with an engine so big and powerful that the hood wouldn't fit on top. He was taking part in the headliner Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Race, which drew a half-dozen competitors and requires everyone to use the same engine and transmission.
About 45 days ago, Martinez and the team started overhauling the car from scratch, preparing it for Roadkill. They weren't finished making some final last-minute repairs and adjustments until 4 a.m. Friday — a few hours before the car's public debut. He got two test runs on Friday, and another two on Saturday before the races began in earnest in the evening: "We're here to party, man, ready for the runs," he said.
Bagby, the Arizona influencer who was also participating in the Grudge Race, had also gotten a few quality test runs in by Saturday afternoon, along with some coaching by a drag racing expert. Her team had taken some air out of the tires, and de-tuned the car a bit, helping it handle better off the line.
"I got the jitters out," Bagby said, adding she was enjoying her first time in the Motor City.
"Got some Detroit pizza last night," she said. "I have 10 people here supporting me, my friends and family. So we got a whole squad, which is awesome. And I've gotten such positive feedback on my car today. Everybody's like, "That's my favorite, that's my favorite!'
"They're like, 'Please pop the hood, it's so clean, I love the car,'" she added. "I mean, who doesn't love a Grand National?"
Woodward Dream Cruise this weekend :
In August 1995, Mr. Nelson House and a group of local volunteers looked to relive and recreate the nostalgic heydays of the ’50s and ’60s, when youth, rock’n roll and Motor City steel roamed the historic Woodward Avenue, America’s first highway. That year, nearly 250,000 people participated—ten times the number expected. The rest, as they say, is history.
Since then, the Woodward Dream Cruise has grown to become North America’s largest one-day automotive event,
drawing nearly one million people and 40,000 classic cars annually from around the globe from as far away as Australia.
Cruisers from all across North America caravan to Metro Detroit to participate in what has become, for many, an annual rite of summer.
www.woodwarddreamcruise.com
People & vehicles line up on both sides of the road for 16 miles !
The racing returned to Woodward Avenue this year after a brief hiatus to the nearby private Dodge CEO Matt McAlear called the event "controlled mayhem at its finest" and said it's Dodge's most iconic gathering. It also serves as an ideal place to launch new products for the Stellantis NV muscle brand that's trying to reverse a rough stretch of sales. In a preview event Friday, McAlear unveiled new V-8 versions of the brand's Durango SUV while showing off its six-cylinder Charger muscle car set to hit dealers later this year.
The inventor of this August day of car racing madness is Tim Kuniskis, the current Ram CEO and former Dodge CEO, who earlier this summer was promoted to oversee all of Stellantis' U.S. brands. In between glad-handing with Mopar enthusiasts and signing autographs on Saturday afternoon, he recalled the early days of Roadkill in 2015.
Originally, Kuniskis said, it looked like legal concerns around holding drag races in such a public setting might end the idea before it ever got off the ground. "The liability is out of control, cannot be done," he said he was told. But Dodge worked with MotorTrend to overcome the red tape.
"the First year we did it, we did it at the Pontiac Silverdome before they ripped it down, we did in the parking lot there," Kuniskis told The Detroit News. "We announced that we were gonna do it probably three weeks before we actually did it. And it was really gritty, really low budget. We had no idea if five people would show up or 500. Yeah, 10,000 people showed up to that first one, and it was out of control."
He added: "Anybody that went to the first one knows the origin story was really, really sketchy. I mean, it was a nasty, rough parking lot. It was kind of crazy."
While Kuniskis is a veteran of the Roadkill muscle car scene, newly-appointed Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa attended his first on Saturday, joined by his two young boys. He paused to get some video footage on his phone as a pair of cars roared off the starting line.
"I was surprised to see him, actually, because he's now global CEO," said Aakash Barooa, a Mopar employee from Rochester Hills who has spectated the Roadkill racing for several years and briefly greeted Filosa. "It's nice to see our CEO so involved in the events, and you know, out and about with everybody."
All varieties of cars took the start line Saturday: Dodge Chargers, Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros, of course, but also modified Durangos, Jeep Grand Cherokees, several old pickups, a converted police car and a high-powered Geo Tracker. Nearby, attendees took drifting joy rides in Dodge Chargers, or raced down an adjacent track in the passenger seat of Ram and Dodge vehicles. McAlear, the Dodge CEO, said he loves watching people hop in those thrill rides for the first time.
"When they get out, they are just completely taken aback," he said. "And then you watch them, and (they) see the video, and they share it. It's so much fun to see the reaction on people's faces, big and small."
Scott Krugger, who has managed Dodge exterior design for the past few years and was recently promoted to oversee design across Stellantis' North American brands, said Roadkill also can provide inspiration for executives like him. It helps to be up close with the people who are "living, breathing these cars on a daily basis."
"All the fun stuff people are doing with their cars, modifying them, putting more performance upgrades — it's important for us to see that, and understand the things that they value," Krugger said as cars took nearby test runs down Woodward on Friday. "We kind of implement our own twist on a lot of that in the way that we design the vehicles."
Michael Martinez, part of an Indiana group of car enthusiasts and influencers called the Hooligan Brothers, had shown up with a green and yellow 1991 Ford Fox Body Mustang with an engine so big and powerful that the hood wouldn't fit on top. He was taking part in the headliner Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Race, which drew a half-dozen competitors and requires everyone to use the same engine and transmission.
About 45 days ago, Martinez and the team started overhauling the car from scratch, preparing it for Roadkill. They weren't finished making some final last-minute repairs and adjustments until 4 a.m. Friday — a few hours before the car's public debut. He got two test runs on Friday, and another two on Saturday before the races began in earnest in the evening: "We're here to party, man, ready for the runs," he said.
Bagby, the Arizona influencer who was also participating in the Grudge Race, had also gotten a few quality test runs in by Saturday afternoon, along with some coaching by a drag racing expert. Her team had taken some air out of the tires, and de-tuned the car a bit, helping it handle better off the line.
"I got the jitters out," Bagby said, adding she was enjoying her first time in the Motor City.
"Got some Detroit pizza last night," she said. "I have 10 people here supporting me, my friends and family. So we got a whole squad, which is awesome. And I've gotten such positive feedback on my car today. Everybody's like, "That's my favorite, that's my favorite!'
"They're like, 'Please pop the hood, it's so clean, I love the car,'" she added. "I mean, who doesn't love a Grand National?"
Woodward Dream Cruise this weekend :
In August 1995, Mr. Nelson House and a group of local volunteers looked to relive and recreate the nostalgic heydays of the ’50s and ’60s, when youth, rock’n roll and Motor City steel roamed the historic Woodward Avenue, America’s first highway. That year, nearly 250,000 people participated—ten times the number expected. The rest, as they say, is history.
Since then, the Woodward Dream Cruise has grown to become North America’s largest one-day automotive event,
drawing nearly one million people and 40,000 classic cars annually from around the globe from as far away as Australia.
Cruisers from all across North America caravan to Metro Detroit to participate in what has become, for many, an annual rite of summer.
Home - Woodward Dream Cruise
The Woodward Dream Cruise is North America’s largest celebration of automotive culture, attracting nearly one-million visitors and thousands of classic and specialty vehicles to Metro Detroit.
www.woodwarddreamcruise.com
People & vehicles line up on both sides of the road for 16 miles !
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