Roadkill Nights Racing Program Moved Off of Woodward Avenue

One of the staple attractions of Roadkill Nights since it moved out of the Silverdome parking lot for 2016 was the legal street racing program. However, a press release from Stellantis this morning announced that the racing program was being moved off of the street and onto the straightaway of the M1 Concourse road course.

“MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge, now in its ninth year, is shifting gears, taking drag racing off Woodward and for the first time ever bringing the high-octane action inside the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan, on August 10. The new location will deliver a fan-friendly spectator experience, including first-ever open, walkable pit areas to allow fans to interact with racers, and a viewing area that places event attendees closer to the drag racing action.”

In short, the racing will take place, just not on the public road, but fans will be able to get a closer look at the race cars in the confines of the M1 Concourse. There is no explanation as to why the racing program was moved in the statement.

The straightaway of the M1 Concourse road course is around 1700 feet (some outlets say that it is a third of a mile, which would be around 1740 feet), so if the field races to the 8^th mile mark, they will have around a thousand feet to slow down – which seems reasonable. That straight stretch does have a bit of an arc (up and down, not side to side) to it, but Im not sure where that elevation change is relative to the area used for the drag strip. In the image below, the area of Woodward previously used for racing is highlighted in red while the new area, on the race track, is highlighted in green.

The media preview is tomorrow morning, so we should know more then.

The good news is that the weatherman is calling for clear skies and temperatures in the low 70s, so it should be a beautiful day for an automotive festival. No matter where the racing takes place, I am looking to Roadkill Nights 2024.