Rookie Driver and First-time Competitor Kayla Rundle Took
Home the Crown for Team Corruptt in This Year's Dodge Direct
Connection Grudge Race
PONTIAC,
Mich., Aug. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --
- 2023 MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge
marked the eighth year of the daylong festival
- Hosted in a new location – Pontiac City Square in downtown
Pontiac – more than 42,000 car
enthusiasts of all ages gathered to witness street-legal drag
racing and entertainment, including a special concert by Ice
Cube
- Team Corruptt became the Grudge Race champions with rookie
racer Kayla Rundle taking home the
win in the final round of the Dodge Direct Connection Grudge
Race
- Big Tire and Small Tire classes saw more than 120 competitors
battling for bragging rights and cash prizes totaling $30,000
- Quickest Dodge honors earned by Lenny
Melton (Big Tire) and Peter Bokedon (Small Tire)
- Jimmer Kline drives to Big Tire
class crown
- Mikael Borggre claims Small Tire victory
- Event replay available on DodgeGarage and MotorTrend's YouTube
channel
- MotorTrend to air a half-hour Roadkill Nights special featuring
event coverage on MotorTrend TV, MotorTrend+, and MotorTrend's
YouTube channel
- Fans can also access additional post-event coverage at
DodgeGarage.com
Back for its eighth year, MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights
Powered by Dodge brought the excitement and energy to its new
location in downtown Pontiac at
the corner of Woodward Avenue and West Pike Street on Saturday, August 12.
This year's expanded event drew a record-breaking crowd of more
than 42,000 drag-racing enthusiasts for the festival of all things
automotive. New for 2023, street-festival entertainment with
artists, musicians and more gave gearheads an exciting day on and
off the track. A special concert from world-renowned musician and
actor Ice Cube closed out the day of activities.
Event attendees were also treated to on-site activations by
event partners, such as Amazon, Mickey
Thompson, Tremec and Aeromotive.
"The eighth edition of MotorTrend presents Roadkill Nights
Powered by Dodge featured fresh new event elements, with a unique
new downtown Pontiac event
location, a new team format that increased the smack talk for the
Direct Connection Grudge Race and an amazing performance by a
world-famous artist to wrap up the day," said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge
brand and Ram brand CEO - Stellantis. "The bar just keeps getting
higher and higher for our annual horsepower circus, because we know
it's what drives our Brotherhood of Muscle."
The corner of Woodward and West Pike Street went through an
overnight transformation to become a legal public-road dragstrip
for some of America's quickest street cars. After watching the
professionals race, spectators had the opportunity to feel the
excitement of racing with Dodge Hellcat drift rides and hot
laps.
Roadkill Nights also raised the bar with this year's Dodge
Direct Connection Grudge Race. Six teams of mentors and rookies –
Team Sick-Bastards (Detroit), Team
Corruptt (Phoenix), Team
Dahminators (Los Angeles), Team
Truck Yeah (Kansas City), Team
Throtl (San Diego) and Team Soul
Snatcher (Dallas) – were connected
with a Dodge Power Brokers dealer as they used Direct Connection
performance parts as the foundation to build a Dodge or
Plymouth drag car. The teams then
went head-to-head on the drag strip, ultimately crowning Team
Corruptt the winner.
Team Corruptt, which featured veteran Grudge Race competitor
Tony Arme mentoring
adrenaline-loving rookie Kayla
Rundle, dropped a Direct Connection Hellcrate Redeye 6.2L
Supercharged Crate HEMI® engine and engine controller unit into
their 1969 Plymouth Barracuda vehicle build. In her Roadkill Nights
debut, Rundle defeated the 2001 Dodge Viper of Team Throtl member
Quin Clark (mentored by Rickie
Fernandez) to earn 2023 Grudge Race bragging rights.
Two-time event champion Alex Taylor,
who competed in the Big Tire class this year, was also on hand to
congratulate Rundle on her victory.
"After spending the last few weeks working toward this moment,
there was nothing but excitement when I finally got behind the
wheel," said Kayla Rundle about
bringing home the crown for Team Corruptt in the Dodge Direct
Connection Grudge Match. "I've always loved drag racing, and as a
female racer, rookie and first-timer at Roadkill Nights, this was
truly a dream come true."
The Big Tire (over 275mm width) and Small Tire (275mm width and
under) classes saw competitors battling for bragging rights and
cash prizes on the brand-new drag strip at the corner of Woodward
Avenue and W. Pike St. in Pontiac.
Each class winner earned $5,000, with
the fastest Dodge cars in both classes taking home another
$5,000 each.
MotorTrend Presents RoadKill Nights Powered by Dodge: Race
Results
Big Tire Racing Results
Jimmer
Kline, Wyoming,
Michigan - 1966 Acadian Chevy
Joe Barry, Colorado Springs, Colorado - 1956 Chevrolet
210
Small Tire Racing Results
Mikael Borggren, Northville, Michigan - 1987 Volvo Wagon
Adam Wright, Fort Wayne, Indiana - 2001 Chevy Camaro
Additional activities included a Dodge Direct Connection Alley
area with Dodge Challenger SRT Demon virtual drag race simulators,
Direct Connection crate engines, project vehicles and parts
displays, Dodge Hellcat drift rides and hot laps, car cruise-in
with classic and modern muscle cars, a display of the Dodge Charger
Daytona SRT Concept, RC car demonstrations, a Dodge Hornet ride
area, music and entertainment.
"For the eighth straight year, we've brought car culture to life
for gearheads at MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by
Dodge, and this year we elevated the experience to unprecedented
heights," says Eric Schwab,
MotorTrend Group's Group SVP, Head of Revenue, Operations, and
Partnerships. "With a new location in downtown Pontiac, we expanded and drew a
record-breaking attendance of more than 42,000 automotive fans,
treating them to a pulse-pounding day of white-knuckle drag racing,
adrenaline-infused thrill rides, and a show-stopping musical
extravaganza headlined by none other than Ice Cube, delivering on
the excitement that Roadkill Nights promises year over year."
Fans unable to attend MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights
Powered by Dodge joined the fun by watching the event Livestream,
which can still be found on Dodge.com, DodgeGarage.com, Dodge's
YouTube channel, MotorTrend's YouTube channel and MotorTrend's
video streaming service as event replays. Two half-hour Roadkill
episodes will air on MotorTrend television in late 2023. Fans can
also access additional post-event coverage at DodgeGarage.com.
MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge: By The
Numbers
1 million+ online views
42,750 MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge
attendees
120+ drag-racing competitors
1/8-mile, in length, of Woodward Avenue drag strip
Approximately 200 gallons of compound used to prep drag
strip surface
4,000 feet of jersey barrier created the track walls
5-6 hours to build the dragstrip
$30,000 in total payouts
for drag racers
Street racing can have serious legal and safety risks. Both
MotorTrend and Dodge want enthusiasts to enjoy performance driving
in a safe, controlled environment, run by professionals with
vehicle safety inspections, driver evaluations and track
safety.
ROADKILL
The ROADKILL brand delivers a one-of-a-kind
taste of "Automotive Chaos Theory" and features authentic gearheads
David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan in a variety of mediums, including
Roadkill Nights branded events, and Roadkill, Roadkill Extra,
Roadkill Garage, and Roadkill's Junkyard Gold shows, available on
MotorTrend+.
MotorTrend Business Solutions and Live
Events
MotorTrend partners with the world's largest
automakers, technology companies and aftermarket companies to
develop multi-year, multi-million dollar programs that educate
audiences on the latest EV technology and software innovations as
well as highlight oil, parts and tire brands.
MotorTrend hosts events throughout the U.S. that offer unrivaled
automotive experience to tens of thousands of fans, including
Roadkill Nights, HOT ROD Drag Week, HOT ROD Power Tour and white
label events.
MotorTrend Group
MotorTrend Group, a Warner Bros.
Discovery company, is the world's largest automotive media group
dedicated to introducing, inspiring and intensifying people's
passions for the motoring world. Comprised of more than 50 iconic
brands including MOTORTREND, HOT ROD, ROADKILL, TOP GEAR AMERICA
and more, MotorTrend Group is the ultimate source of entertainment
and information for both auto enthusiasts and car shoppers, with a
monthly audience over 30 million including two million premium
members in addition to over 70 million social followers. Featuring
world-class automotive entertainment across the #1 television
network for automotive fans, digital streaming channels, iconic
events, the largest automotive social network, over seven decades
of print and digital editorial content and cutting-edge resources
for new car shoppers, MotorTrend embodies every corner of car
culture. From electric vehicles to timeless classic customs,
MotorTrend Group brings the latest motoring trends to fans of all
generations.
Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:
WBD) is a leading global media and entertainment company that
creates and distributes the world's most differentiated and
complete portfolio of content and brands across television, film
and streaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories
and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and
entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and
products including: Discovery Channel, discovery+, CNN, DC,
Eurosport, HBO, HBO Max, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation
Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel,
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Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema,
Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en
Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please
visit www.wbd.com.
Dodge//SRT
For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand
has carried on the spirit of brothers John
and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge
shifts into high gear with a lineup that delivers unrivaled
performance in each of the segments where they compete.
Dodge drives forward as a pure performance brand, offering SRT
Hellcat versions of the Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger and Dodge
Durango, as well as an R/T performance hybrid version of the
all-new Dodge Hornet, representing the brand's first-ever
electrified performance vehicle. Dodge delivers the drag-strip
dominating 807-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock; the
797-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Redeye, the most powerful and
fastest mass-produced sedan in the world; and the 710-horsepower
Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most powerful SUV ever; and
best-in-class standard performance in the compact utility vehicle
segment with the Dodge Hornet. Combined, these four muscle vehicles
make Dodge the industry's most powerful brand, offering more
horsepower than any other American brand across its entire
lineup.
In 2022, the Dodge brand ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL
Study (mass market), making it the only domestic brand ever to do
so three years in a row. In 2020, Dodge was named the "#1 Brand in
Initial Quality," making it the first domestic brand ever to rank
No. 1 in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS).
Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading
global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more
information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit
www.stellantis.com.
Follow Dodge and company news and video on:
Company
blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Media website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com
Dodge brand: www.dodge.com
Direct Connection: www.DCPerformance.com
DodgeGarage: www.dodgegarage.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dodge
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dodgeofficial
Twitter: www.twitter.com/dodge and @StellantisNA
YouTube: www.youtube.com/dodge,
https://www.youtube.com/StellantisNA
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SOURCE Stellantis