NHRA stars set to appear at Roadkill Nights powered by Dodge this weekend
![Ida Zetterstrom](/sites/default/files/styles/news_gallery_big_image_920x518/public/2024-08/IDA920.jpg?itok=XUEX_bB8)
The ninth edition of MotorTrend presents Roadkill Nights powered by Dodge is set to return to M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Mich., on Saturday, Aug. 10. The unique event includes street-legal drag racing in big-tire and small-tire classes, a muscle car cruise-in, Dodge Thrill Rides, and much more.
For NHRA fans, the highlight of the show will feature three-time Funny Car champ Matt Hagan and European Top Fuel champion Ida Zetterström, who will perform burnouts in their 11,000-horsepower nitro cars on the temporary dragstrip located within the M1 Concourse. Both Hagan and Zetterström have close ties to the Dodge brand, and the event will mark the official unveiling of the paint scheme that Zetterström will carry on her JCM Racing dragster when she makes her official NHRA debut next weekend at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals in Brainerd.
Hagan’s Tony Stewart Racing teammate and fan-favorite Dodge racer Leah Pruett will also be in attendance and will participate in an autograph session with Hagan and Zetterström.
The Roadkill Nights main event on Saturday will also host the Direct Connection Grudge Race, now back for a fourth consecutive year. Automotive builders with legions of online followers were given Direct Connection HurriCrate engines, derived from the high-output version of the 3.0L Hurricane Twin Turbo engine, to use as building blocks in their drag-car build projects.
A recent addition to the list of competitors is media personality and Hemmings Director of Programming Mike Musto, who together with builder and fabricator Suppy Wejpanich will install a HurriCrate engine in the world’s only wide-body Dodge Hornet GT. Musto will race the modified Hornet GT against six previously announced competitors, battling it out for Grudge Race bragging rights online and on the strip.
There will also be appearances by Roadkill television personalities David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan.
Enthusiasts can reserve a spot to watch adrenaline-pumping, legally sanctioned drag racing on Metro Detroit’s famed Woodward Avenue and choose from a variety of available ticket packages at motortrend.com/roadkillnights. Tickets start at $25.