Roadkill Nights annual drag race show brings booming engines and burnouts to M1 concourse

At Roadkill Nights, if it's silent, it's weird.

To a constant backdrop of fans cheering, engines roaring and tires squealing, hundreds poured into the M1 concourse Saturday to watch the annual drag racing event hosted by Dodge and MotorTrend. The event, which started in the Pontiac Silverdome parking lot in 2015, features 11 hours of fast cars and noise.

This was the first year the event was hosted on the straightaway at M1 concourse. From 2016-22, the event was run on Woodward Avenue just outside of the venue. Last year, the event shifted north to downtown Pontiac. This year, the event returned to M1, but it's all happening inside the venue after the event team couldn't gain clearance to use Woodward Avenue for the popular races.

Grand Blanc's Dave Witham, 57, has been to almost 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 to see the race move from the street to the track, but was still excited to see the event he loves.

A few hours into the new setup — after almost a hundred cars had raced — Witham was no longer disappointed. "Oh, I love it, man," he said. "It's great!"

Cars of all kinds

This year's event opened with hours of drag races. The track was populated by tricked-out cars, from the sleek and modern Shelby Mustangs or cult-classic Nissan Skylines to funny-looking old Crown Victorias.

In terms of funny cars, though, Matt Hagan's is the most powerful.

Hagan, a four-time Nitro Funny Car World Champion, brought his 12,000 horsepower hot rod to the track. Hagan took the car, capable of doing up to 330 mph across a 1,000-foot stretch, to the M1 Concourse to do a burnout for the crowd.

"The car, it makes your mind go boom," Hagan said. "We push the limits of engineering."

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The car is engineered by Dodge and its high-performance subsidiaries like Mopar and Direct Connection, and Hagan said it will always turn some heads.

"So many folks want to see something go 330 miles an hour while it says Dodge on the side of it," Hagan said "That's what it's all about."

Whether it's a specialized high-power car with thousands of horsepower or a wacky, patinaed, sticker-covered pickup with turbos sticking out of the hood, fans are happy to hear cars roar and smell rubber burn.

Steve White, 59, came all the way from Pittsburgh to take it all in, and his reason was simple.

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"I love naughty things to do with cars," White said.

His wife, Tami, loves it too, for a different reason. "I love to see his face when he gets excited about stuff like this," she said.

Reporter Liam Rappleye can be reached at LRappleye@freepress.com