Morgan Evans Wins the Roadkill Nights Grudge Match – Again!

For the second year in a row, the Roadkill Nights Grudge Match focused on the performance capabilities of the Hurricane straight six engine and for the second year in a row, Morgan Evans drove her 1987 Dodge Ram D150 to victory.

The biggest difference in the rules this year was that there were almost no rules. Dodge made the decision to make the 2025 Hurricane Grudge Match an “outlaw” class with the only rule being that all competitors used the Hurricane engine. Competitors were welcome to modify it however they wanted and they could put the engine in anything, leading to the first time we have seen a Buick and a Ford in the lineup, but it didn’t matter – Morgan Evans and her Dodge Ram were the cream of the crop once again.

The 2025 Hurricane Grudge Match consisted of six entries:
Morgan Evans – 1987 Dodge Ram D150
Garrett Dobbs – 2005 Dodge Magnum R/T
John O’Malley – 2000 Dodge Viper ACR
Deshown Luckey – 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody
Demi Bagby – 1987 Buick Grand National
The Hooligan Brothers – 1991 Ford Mustang

Since this was an outlaw class, the competitors were free to build and modify their vehicles as they saw fit, leading to very different directions for the builds. For example, The Hooligan Brothers left their Hurricane engine completely stock and focused on weight reduction, getting their Fox Body Mustang down to a svelte 2,400 pounds with the driver. On the other hand, Morgan Evans and John O’Malley were on the other end of the spectrum, swapping to single-turbo setups, allowing them to pack more than 800 horsepower.

In the first round, the crowd lined up along Woodward Avenue watched Garrett Dobbs beat Deshown Luckey, followed by The Hooligan Brothers beating Demi Bagby and Morgan Evans beating John O’Malley’s Viper.

The second round, comprised of just three entries, saw faceless Fox Body make a single pass while Morgan Evans claimed her second victim of the event, beating Dobbs’ Magnum.

Finally, Morgan Evans and her 1987 Dodge Ram D150 took on the Fox Body Mustang of The Hooligan Brothers…pitting a heavy truck with big power against a lightweight pony car with stock Hurricane power. You can watch how the race played out in the video below, but you already know who wins.

For the win, Evans was awarded the trophy that she made for this year’s competition, but more importantly, she showed how well the new Hurricane engine platform can be modified to make big power without any internal changes.

Patrick Rall

Patrick Rall is a professional writer and photographer with a passion for all things automotive. Having grown up in his father’s performance shop, he spent extensive time at the oval track and drag strip – both driving and wrenching on various types of vehicles. In addition to working as a writer, Patrick previously worked as an automotive technician before moving on to a business office position with a chain of dealerships, and this broad spectrum of experience in the industry allows him to offer a unique look on the automotive world. Follow Patrick on Twitter, Facebook and on Youtube.