{"id":33037,"date":"2024-07-19T09:02:53","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T13:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=33037"},"modified":"2024-07-19T09:02:53","modified_gmt":"2024-07-19T13:02:53","slug":"dream-cruise-week-roadkill-nights-dream-show-more-coming-aug-10-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/07\/dream-cruise-week-roadkill-nights-dream-show-more-coming-aug-10-17","title":{"rendered":"Dream Cruise week: Roadkill Nights, Dream Show, more coming Aug. 10-17"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pontiac<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Here comes the Cruise.<\/p>\n

A month out from Metro Detroit\u2019s renowned automobile celebration, the Woodward Dream Cruise, the week\u2019s festivities have firmed up for Aug. 10-17. Motor Trend\u2019s ninth annual Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge will open the carpalooza Saturday, Aug. 10 with drag racing \u2014 returning to M1 Concourse after its 2023 diversion to downtown Pontiac. The week culminates with the Saturday, Aug. 17 Woodward Dream Cruise \u2014 the world\u2019s largest one-day car show.<\/p>\n

M1 Concourse, a private car club that hosts public auto enthusiast events throughout the year, has become a focus of the Cruise, anchoring the northern, Pontiac end of the 16-mile route at South Boulevard and Woodward. Ferndale anchors the south at Nine Mile. Additional participating communities include Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Huntington Woods, Royal Oak and Pleasant Ridge.<\/p>\n

\"Coming<\/figure>\n
Coming to Woodward next month will be a show-stopping parade of classics like this golden coupe seen at the 2022 event. Daniel Mears, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Brands and charities have embraced the Cruise, which is estimated to attract 1 million people. In addition to Dodge\u2019s presence at M1, corporate sponsors include Ford with Mustang Alley at Nine Mile and Chevrolet at the Old Woodward\/Woodward Avenue triangle between Webster and Haynes streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor nearly a decade, Roadkill Nights has brought horsepower enthusiasts together for a celebration of performance like none other,\u201d Dodge brand CEO Matt McAlear said this week. “In addition to drag racing, we have surprises in store this year that are sure to send a charge through all Roadkill Nights attendees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roadkill Nights brings street legal racing to Woodward, but the addition of a Michigan turn lane outside of M1 scrambled the event in 2023 \u2014 forcing organizers to move the event to downtown Pontiac. Without M1\u2019s adjacent, 87-acre property \u2014 which complemented the street racing with a sprawling car show, Dodge thrill rides, and food vendors \u2014 the event fizzled.<\/p>\n

While details are still forthcoming on the dragstrip\u2019s configuration, the event will be back at its traditional M1 location this year with the signature Direct Connection Influencer Grudge Race where hot rodders compete for a $10,000 prize. This year, six influencers \u2014 including Sick Media\u2019s Tom Bailey, \u201cTorque N Tungsten\u201d YouTube channel\u2019s Morgan Evans, and Herman \u201cDemonology\u201d Young \u2014 will move on from Dodge\u2019s V-8 era and build dragsters around Dodge\u2019s new, twin-turbo, inline-6 cylinder Hurricane engine.<\/p>\n

\"Opposities:<\/figure>\n
\n

Opposities: Roadkill Nights Grudge Match finalists from the 2022 showdown at M1. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Dream Cruise feeds on nostalgia for youthful drag racing \u2014\u00a0complemented by blaring music and Motor City steel roaming the Woodward highway.<\/p>\n

M1 Concourse keeps the motors running by extending its Woodward Dream Show event to Wednesday, Aug. 14 \u2014 rebranding the Pontiac event the Woodward Dream Show & Festival.<\/p>\n

\"Corvettes<\/figure>\n
\n

Corvettes on Woodward moves to M1 Concourse on Aug. 14 during this year’s Dream Cruise week. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe Woodward Dream Show\u2019s traditional third weekend in August was from Friday to Saturday. This year, we\u2019ve introduced an all-Corvette event on Wednesday \u2014 the traditional Corvettes on Woodward event (formerly held at the Kingsley Inn at Long Lake and Woodward) \u2014 is now coming to M1 because the facility lends itself to automotive events,\u201d said M1 CEO Tim McGrane in an interview. \u201cWe also have an activity Thursday (morning) with 30-40 Ford GTs on track. Then Friday, we\u2019re celebrating the 60th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary of the Pontiac GTO, and Saturday we have a tribute to the year 1964. Art, music, history fashion \u2014 we\u2019re making it a big, fun-filled festival.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 1964 cultural celebration will include a NASA exhibit with Gemini space suit, three live bands playing \u201860s music, and a history of the miniskirt.<\/p>\n

In addition to hot rodding, the Dream Cruise draws its energy from the heritage of road-side drive-ins captured in films like “American Graffiti.” Woodward hangouts like Ted\u2019s, Suzie Q\u2019s and Big Boy were the places to be seen back in the \u201850s and \u201860s. Today, enthusiast groups \u2014 with monikers like The Flaming Pistons, North Oakland Bowties, DeLorean Motor City Club and American Road Thunderbird Club \u2014 and spectators fill every inch of the route from the Donut Cutter parking lot in Berkley to curbside spots in front of the Roseland Park Cemetery to Hunter House Burgers in Birmingham.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/figure>\n

A Dodge Charger smokes out its tires during a burnout contest Friday at the fifth annual Roadkill Nights in 2019. This year, the event returns to M1 Concourse after a one-year detour to downtown Pontiac. Daniel Mears, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

When they aren\u2019t catching up with friends, fans are ogling street rods, big block V-8s, classic Caddys, European exotics, and Batmobiles cruising just feet away on Woodward.<\/p>\n

Ford Motor Co. will celebrate the 60th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary of the Mustang at its traditional Mustang Alley venue at Nine Mile in Ferndale. The Blue Oval will showcase other models at Kruse & Muer restaurant on Woodward.<\/p>\n

Chevrolet will also present numerous vehicles between Webster and Haynes streets on Woodward. Look for V-8 beasts like the mid-engine Corvette, the electric Silverado and Colorado ZR2.<\/p>\n

\"TheT<\/em><\/figure>\n
he city of Pontiac has declared Friday, Aug. 16 as GTO Day. Brian Baker, M1 Concourse’s director for Festivals and Events outlined the event earlier this summer. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The Cruise has its roots in charity, beginning with a 1995 fundraiser by Nelson House that attracted 250,000 people to raise money for a Ferndale soccer field.<\/p>\n

That tradition continues. Corvettes on Woodward on Aug. 14, for example, will raise funds for Open Hands Food Pantry. Just below Long Lake and Woodward on Aug. 16, Danny’s Miracle Angel Network (D-MAN) offers free, convertible muscle car rides to the physically impaired.<\/p>\n

\"Mustang<\/figure>\n

Mustang Alley on Nine Mile in Ferndale on Saturday was the place to see under the hoods. David Guralnick, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The official Dream Cruise kicks off at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16 in Ferndale with the Dream Cruise Ribbon Cutting Ceremony \u2014 followed at 5:30 p.m. by the Lights & Sirens Cruise Parade.<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pontiac\u00a0\u2014 Here comes the Cruise. A month out from Metro Detroit\u2019s renowned automobile celebration, the Woodward Dream Cruise, the week\u2019s festivities have firmed up for Aug. 10-17. Motor Trend\u2019s ninth annual Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge will open the carpalooza Saturday, Aug. 10 with drag racing \u2014 returning to M1 Concourse after its 2023 diversion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33037"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33037"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33039,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33037\/revisions\/33039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}