Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge will celebrate its 10th anniversary when this year’s event is held in Downtown Pontiac on August 9, 2025. The event has changed quite a bit since it started back in August of 2015, but every year, one thing has remained the same – the quickest Dodge drivers in the field have taken home a significant prize. Today, we take a look at the top Dodge drivers from Roadkill Nights, most of which have won more than one time.
It All Started at The Silverdome
When Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge started back in 2015, it looked very different than it has since 2016. There was no street racing program, as the entire event – including the drag strip – was held in the parking lot of the soon-to-be-demolished Pontiac Silverdome. Entry for everyone, from racers to show cars to spectators, was free, and anyone who showed up and wanted to race was allowed to race. That led to some pretty unusual (and pretty slow) racing vehicles, but there were still plenty of quick vehicles in the racing field. The racing program was capped off with a shootout of the quickest Dodge vehicles in the field, which saw a Dodge Ram Cummins Turbo Diesel pickup taking on a 1969 Dodge Super Bee driven by Brandon Phillips, with Phillips and his classic muscle car taking the win.
For that win, Brandon Phillips took home an SRT® Hellcat HEMI® crate engine and a transmission.
Racing on Woodward Avenue
In 2016, Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge moved to the M1 Concourse, also in Pontiac, with the racing being held on the stretch of Woodward Avenue that runs along the front of the road racing facility. With that move, the legal street racing aspect was born, becoming a key annual attraction of Roadkill Nights. The move to M1 Concourse and the high level of interest led the organizers to change the racing program entry process, requiring prospective racers to apply with information on themselves and their vehicles. This allows the organizers to make sure that the vehicles competing belong on a race track or, in this case, a street where people are going really fast under the watchful eye of the event organizers.
The overall winner of the racing program for 2016 Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge was Mike Moran and a wicked 1969 Dodge Charger. For the win, he took home a big check for $10,000.
The Roadkill Nights racing program was similar in 2017, but with more high-powered non-Dodge products in the field, the 2017 program included a prizes for the overall winner and the Quickest Dodge. The Quickest Dodge in 2017 was the 1968 Dodge Dart, driven by Lenny Melton, and he took home a big check for $10,000. We will talk more about Melton and his show-quality “Family Tradition” Dart later on in this piece.
Big Tire, Small Tire Era Begins
Starting in 2018, Roadkill Nights split the main racing field into Big Tire and Small Tire classes, with awards for the Quick 8 shootout and awards for the Quickest Dodge in each of the two classes.
The title of the Quickest Small Tire Dodge has been dominated by one man since this format began. Peter Bokedon and his 1972 Dodge Dart have won the Quickest Small Tire Dodge title every year since the Small Tire class began, for a total of six wins (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024), and with those titles came six big checks for $5,000 each.
We spoke with Peter Bokedon and he will be racing at 2025 Roadkill Nights with his 1972 Dodge Dart – looking to win his seventh-straight title.
In 2018, 2019 and 2021, James Pranis and his monstrous 1968 Dodge Charger won the Quickest Big Tire Dodge title, taking home $5,000 each of those three years. It should be noted that Roadkill Nights 2020 was canceled due to Covid-19, so Pranis won the Big Tire Dodge title three-straight times.
We have talked to James Pranis and he will be racing at this year’s Roadkill Nights with his Dodge Charger, seeking his fourth win.
In 2022, Lenny Melton and his 1968 Dodge Dart were back in the winner’s circle, claiming the Quickest Big Tire Dodge title and $5,000 while racing outside of the M1 Concourse.
The 2023 Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge moved from M1 Concourse to an open area in Downtown Pontiac due to road construction in front of M1. This is also where the 2025 event will be held. This provided racers with a fresher, flatter stretch of Woodward Avenue to race on, and Lenny Melton took advantage of the new track area – claiming the Quickest Big Tire Dodge title for the second time after serving as the Quickest Dodge in the field one time as well. Melton won $5,000 for his win in Downtown Pontiac.
Finally, the racing program for Roadkill Nights 2024 was forced to move from Woodward Avenue to the long straightaway of the M1 road course. This move happened at the last minute due to some permit issues that prevented racing on the street. It was not ideal, but the event organizers made the most of the bad situation, providing a fun day of drag racing in an unusual setting. Tom Bailey and his super-modified Dodge Durango took home the title of the Quickest Big Tire Dodge and the big check for $5,000.
Tom Bailey does plan to attend Roadkill Nights 2025 with his Dodge Durango, so we could see a showdown between past winners in Pranis and Bailey.
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