Roadkill Nights is approaching fast, and a pair of young Motor City gearheads, Christina Roki and Grant Sloan, have been thrashing on their project car that they hope will lead them to victory at this weekend’s Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Match. It was just four years ago this couple met at M1 during Roadkill Nights and discovered they share the same love and passion fast machines. From that point, this power pair decided to pursue a joint social media account together across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. The goal for Christina and Grant is to create entertaining automotive content that is both educational, accessible and relatable to thousands of automotive enthusiasts throughout the world. This team, in their hopped-up Challenger R/T, will be battling it out among eight other competitors this weekend for bragging rights and some cash.

This couple has been into Mopar_® vehicles for years, largely influenced by their parents and grooving on the muscle car vibe Detroit oozes. It was here in the Motor City that muscle cars came rolling off the assembly lines that provided the world affordable horsepower and endless thrills. For Grant, his love for Mopar muscle started in his youth when his father would take him to car shows in their Lime Green 440-powered 1970 ‘Cuda with so much power, it would pin him back to the seat when his dad stomped on the accelerator. With Christina, she was always surrounded by fast Mopar vehicles and wanted to learn as much as possible about the history of these cars and the culture of the community. From there, it grew and flourished into an all-out passion. “We both look forward to working closely with Dodge in the future and are eager to grow our roots in the industry, especially within the Dodge community,” commented Christina.

When Christina and Grant got the call to be a part of this year’s Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Match, they were both excited and shocked. “Our schedules are always packed, however, when we were invited to participate in the Dodge Roadkill Nights race, we immediately moved some things around in our calendar to make this work – and we’re glad we did,” smiled Christina. “Detroit is our home and taking part in an event in our own backyard is something we will be able to check off of our bucket list. Additionally, this will be the very first time we’re participating in a drag race, which only adds to the excitement!”

With Dodge’s Roadkill Nights less than a week away, Christina and Grant have been working feverishly on a 2010 Challenger R/T, but infusing it with a 6.2L supercharged Redeye HEMI^® engine and updating other driveline components to handle the 800-plus horsepower heading to the rear wheels. “While it was a bit chaotic due to the quick turnaround, the build was smooth and we’re pumped to be on Woodward Avenue this Saturday burning rubber,” exclaimed Christina. “The only challenge was the quick turnaround and budget constraints. While it was exciting to track down all of the parts that we needed, we only had 4 weeks to do so – but the good news is that we came in right under budget. Apparently, none of the other competitors were able to do this and we’re glad we accomplished that goal.”

So why did Christina and Grant take a basic 12-year-old production Challenger and build it for the grudge match? “Our 2010 Challenger R/T was cheap, affordable, and most importantly, practical. When given the choice between the newer Dodge or a vintage Plymouth muscle car, we chose the Challenger because it would be less difficult swapping in the new drivetrain as it shares similar components with the Redeye/Hellcat HEMI V8,” noted Christina. But with Woodward Avenue’s finicky street surface being the equalizer among the other grudge match competitors, they will be limiting how much power they can lay down at the hit of the throttle. “We’re all about learning and knowledge transfer, so we spent a good amount of time researching what made last year’s winners, well… winners,” smiled Christina. “Realizing that the main focus should be traction, we prioritized an adequate suspension setup and wheel/tire setup. And speaking to a few of our competitors, we’ve come to understand that they are mostly worried about their own car, and their ultimate performance.”

When we asked Christina and Grant what advice they would give aspiring young Mopar enthusiasts looking to go drag racing at Roadkill Nights, they had this to offer: “Be curious, hungry and competitive – you’ve got to come in with an open mind. However, the most important thing is to have fun as this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

To help Christina and Grant with this daunting project took a lot of help from friends, sponsors, and partners like Performance Lab Detroit for leading this build and making it possible. There’s many others such as MotorTrend, Motul, Forgestar Wheels, Magnaflow, Mishimoto, NRG INNOVATIONS, Brembo, The DriveShaft Shop, Viking Performance, Holley, HPTuners, and Big Time Graphics that are making this power couple’s dream come true!

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