(July 11, 2023) MotorTrend presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge is moving to a new location in the heart of downtown Pontiac, as well as featuring a new format for one of the highlights of the event, the popular Direct Connection Grudge Race. Direct Connection is the Dodge performance parts brand, relaunched in March 2022, offering factory-backed performance parts through the Dodge Power Brokers dealer network.

The Direct Connection Grudge Race pits online automotive builders in head-to-head drag-racing competition. The 2023 Grudge Race will feature a new twist, with pairs of competitors working together to create a Dodge or Plymouth drag machine using Direct Connection performance parts, including the Hellcrate Redeye 6.2L Supercharged Crate HEMI engine and a plug-and-play Hellcrate Redeye 6.2L Supercharged Crate HEMI Engine Control Unit (ECU).

While 2023 marks the “Last Call” for the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger in their current HEMI-engine-powered forms, Direct Connection will continue to offer HEMI-powered crate engines.

An experienced drag racer and online automotive builder (The Mentor) will team with a “rookie” online builder/racer lacking previous drag-racing experience (The Rookie). The Mentor will “school” The Rookie on building, tuning and testing their build project before The Rookie ultimately battles it out on the drag strip at the corner of Woodward Avenue and W. Pike St. in Pontiac.

A new winner will be crowned for 2023, as two-time Grudge Race champion and drag racer, mechanic and automotive content creator Alex Taylor will move to competing in the Big Tire class at the event.

The six teams of automotive personalities set do battle include:

    •    Team Sick-Bastards: Experienced racer and Sick The Mag founder Tom Bailey instructs his race shop employee EJ Naegeli as she makes her first-ever drag strip run

    •    Team Corruptt: Returning Grudge Race competitor Tony Arme (Corruptt Builds) assists adrenaline-loving rookie Kayla Rundle as she goes for the win

    •    Team Dahminators: Automotive builder Rob Dahmn works with a familiar face — girlfriend and Dodge enthusiast Erica Schrull — as she gears up to compete

    •    Team Truck Yeah: Performance garage owner Justin Keith coaches truck lover Lacey Blair with a RoadKill Nights first-ever build that’s a must-see

    •    Team Soul Snatcher: Grudge Race veteran Herman Young (Demonology) thinks his hard-earned race wisdom can help put ScrapLife Garage’s Lee Carter over the top

    •    Team Throtl: Two-time Grudge Race competitor Rickie Fernandez gives up his seat to school fellow Throtl member Quinn Clark

More information on the full Direct Connection Grudge Race lineup is available at DodgeGarage.com.

All competitors will be linked with a Dodge Power Brokers dealer to assist with their build projects as they use Hellcrate Redeye 6.2L Supercharged Crate HEMI engines as the foundational building blocks of their respective projects. Competitors will also receive VIP access to the Direct Connection Tech hotline at (800) 998-1110 for assistance. More information on Direct Connection and Dodge Power Brokers is available at DCPerformance.com.

MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge is taking street-legal drag racing on famed Woodward Avenue to a new location at the center of downtown Pontiac, Michigan, as well as growing the overall footprint of the one-day horsepower festival. The new starting line for street-legal drag racing competition will move to the corner of Woodward Avenue and W. Pike St. in Pontiac. The popular enthusiast event, scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 12, 2023, set a one-day attendance record of more than 40,000 attendees in 2022, and will bring tens of thousands of gearheads to downtown Pontiac.

The event will mark its second stop of 2023 with the visit to Pontiac. Dodge Last Call Powered by Roadkill Nights Las Vegas, held at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 20, 2023, brought the horsepower festival out west for the first time and served as the setting for the helicopter-drop reveal of the 1,025-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, the seventh and final Dodge “Last Call” special-edition vehicle to be revealed.

In addition to the Direct Connection Grudge Race and street-legal drag racing in Big Tire and Small Tire classes, the second Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge event of 2023 will feature a classic and modern muscle car cruise in, Dodge Hellcat Thrill Rides, an all-new Dodge Hornet drive, Dodge Demon drag race simulators, Dodge vehicle displays including the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept, Dodge product displays, Direct Connection performance parts, RC car demonstrations, a vendor midway, beer gardens, entertainment, food trucks, celebrity appearances and more.