The 2026 Edition of Roadkill Nights – Racing on Woodward Avenue in Michigan – Concludes With Slocum, Diehl and O’Malley Claiming First Time Wins in Michigan
The popular MotorTrend Presents Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge has followed a similar pattern for more than a decade, racing on Woodward Avenue with everything from high horsepower big tire and small tire rides. Dodge has also fostered and hosted several grudge-style races, including the Direct Connection Grudge Match.
Several familiar names would take to the street in Pontiac, Michigan for their chance at legal racing on Woodward Avenue, as well a possible class win and a big check. And at the end of the day, a trio of first-time winners would claim bragging rights on a Saturday afternoon.
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The Big Tire class has been Jimmer Kline’s playground, as he has claimed the title an amazing six times, including the last three years in a row, in his 1966 Acadian. The winner at Drop The Hammer Judgement Day would face a solid field of big tire and all-wheel-drive rides, and Kline qualified atop the field.
Big Tire round one would stage up an AWD battle to start eliminations, with the turbocharged F-150 of Alex Chud facing the unique twin-turbo Voodoo Ford-swapped GMC Syclone of Eric Mills. The teammates from Alloy Werx knew one rider would go to round two, and Chud wheeled the F-150 to the victory.
Big Tire class runner-up Nick Slocum staged his Chevrolet Blazer opposite the 2009 GT-R of Mersinas Demetrios in the second pair, and this one was multiple car lengths at the finish line, with Slocum in front.
Mike Mislivec and Kline would stage up in the third pair of the round, and Kline would dismiss the clean supercharged Pontiac Trans Am by a couple car lengths at the stripe. That brought a second all-AWD battle to cap off the round with a pair of Jeep Trackhawks, and a side-by-side run found Christopher Torres hanging on by about a half car length for the win over John Paul Delisi.
Round two had a pair of big tire rides, and a pair of all-wheel-drive late models. Pair one got a win in the big tire column, as Slocum outdistanced the Jeep of Torres. That left a spot open for Kline or Chud in the final round, and Kline would score the win.
That meant for the second consecutive year, an all-family match-up would comprise the Big Tire final, as uncle Kline would face nephew Slocum. One year ago, Slocum was left on the starting line with a nitrous backfire; this time Slocum would jump the hand drop opposite Kline. But because Kline chased, it would be a legit race, and Slocum claimed his first win over Kline.
The Small Tire class, which mandates either a 28-inch-tall x 10.5-inch-wide maximum-sized slick tire, or no bigger than a 275/60/15 drag radial, also featured a couple drag and drive entrants among the eight qualifiers for final eliminations, with Johnny Hopewell, Travis Martin, and David Diehl qualifying to enter round one with David McKenna, Glen Ward, Shawn Fensler, Austin Sanchez, and Jerry McQueen.
Round one of Small Tire got under way with a Camaro versus Mustang battle, as Sanchez’s third-gen Camaro faced the ’80 Fox Mustang of McKenna, with a fender length deciding the race in Sanchez’s favor, trailering last year’s runner up early.
The second pair staged up drag and drive competitors Hopewell and Diehl, and when Diehl got the jump on the arm drop, Hopewell could only watch the low qualifier Diehl pull away for the win.
Round one’s third pair put another Camaro versus Mustang match-up on the starting line, with Ward’s Mustang opposite the 2001 Camaro of Martin. This one was another solid battle, with Martin keeping his nose out front by half a car length for the win.
The final pair of the round would be an all-Mustang affair between Fensler and McQueen, and the 2006 model of McQueen powered ahead to a car length win to move to the semifinal round.
After a brief cooldown, the semifinals would be called to the line. First pair pitted Martin opposite McQueen, and the Mustang got a slight jump to hold off Martin at the finish line by less than a car length. That brought Diehl and Sanchez up to determine an opponent for McQueen, and Diehl would hold off Sanchez by half a length to make it an all-Mustang final round.
The Diehl brothers looked to make their second final round in three years pay off, but McQueen wouldn’t make it easy. At the arm drop, David Diehl moved first, and extended the lead all the way to the finish line, earning the ‘Phoenix’ Mustang the title and five thousand dollars.
The Dodge Direct Connection Grudge match pitted eight contestants against each other, with each participant receiving a modern Dodge Charger, as well as the Hurricrate turbocharged 6-cylinder Cat 3 crate engine, and a Torqueflite 8-DC1 transmission.
After some solid match-ups, the final round would pit first time finalists Boosted Motorsports ride driven by John O’Malley opposite Bryan Kiefer of Kies Motorsports. O’Malley got the jump at the start, and held off Kiefer to win the Dodge Direct Connection Grudge match.
As in years past, Dodge also awarded $5,000 checks to the Fastest Dodges on a Big Tire, and a Small Tire.
For the fourth year in-a-row, Tom Bailey claimed the Big Tire check with his Dodge Durango, the first in the sevens at the recent Motion Raceworks Sick Summer event.
Douglas Sherrill claimed the Fastest Dodge Small Tire check with his Dodge Demon.
As a bonus match-up to Roadkill Nights, drag and drive competitors Mike Finnegan and Jeff Lutz would comprise a best 2-of-3 grudge match-up between former Roadkill cars, the ‘leaf-blower Chevrolet Monza, and the ‘Rotsun’ Datsun 240 Z.
The Rotsun had received some fixes / upgrades from Kyle Buntley, and Taylor Jones from OK Race Fabrication, and the Datsun with Finnegan at the wheel made quick work of the Monza, winning the first two races to claim the match up title.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, AutoShotz / speed-luxury.com, Harley Town, Nick Diehl, Curtis Lierman, Steve Sparkman, Douglas Sherrill, and Lutz Race Cars.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com