Roadkill Nights 2024 Was a Who’s Who of Superb Vintage American Muscle

It’s become a cherished tradition in Pontiac, Michigan, in the days leading up to Detroit’s world-famous Woodward Dream Cruise: Roadkill Nights. For nine years running, MotorTrend’s Roadkill crew has come to the Detroit area to put on a drag racing event unlike any other, drawing crowds in the tens of thousands to come out and watch hundreds of drag-prepped cars duke it out on the eighth-mile for a shot at glory and a sizable check. Most often, the racing is conducted on the hallowed pavement of Woodward Avenue itself, making it a truly one-of-a-kind event.

Naturally, Roadkill Nights attracts some of the best vintage steel in and around the Motor City. Walking the grounds of Pontiac’s M1 Concourse race track off Woodward on August 10th this year turned up everything from exquisitely well-preserved Mustangs to powerful blown Pontiacs with stripped interiors, and absolutely everything between. It’s like a Concours d’Elegance of Detroit’s finest modified and race-prepped historics, where all the cars are big-block-swapped, nitrous-injected, supercharged, turbocharged, stripped, or caged—often several of the above.

Whether you made it out to Roadkill Nights 2024 at Pontiac’s M1 Concourse or not, we’ve rounded up and photographed our favorite muscle cars to grace the strip this year. Immerse yourself in Detroit’s finest souped-up muscle cars in the gallery below.

1965-’66 Ford Mustang Coupe

Kicking things off is this well-kept and respectable-looking Mustang coupe, shod in Vintage Burgundy and giving very little outwardly visible indication that it’s anything but a well-preserved classic. Take a peek under the hood, however, and you’ll notice what looks to be a genuine Ford Performance engine, with gorgeous polished Ford Racing valve covers and a block clean enough to eat off of.

Race-Prepped 1957 Chevrolet Station Wagon

Now, for something completely different: this drag strip-ready 1957 Chevrolet, featuring what we’ll call “heavy” patina, a stripped and caged interior, parachutes, and side exit exhaust pipes tucked neatly behind the front wheels. This thing just oozes “cool,” and with a pair of big nitrous bottles mounted to the cage, everything points to beaucoup power. Its piloted by Aydan Bailey, son of multiple Drag Week Winner Tom Bailey and its had a storied career doing drag and drive events over the last several years.

1967 Buick Wildcat

While it’s perhaps not as widely mentioned today as its full-size counterparts the Chevrolet Impala and Pontiac Grand Prix, the second-generation Buick Wildcat was inarguably a very handsome full-size car in its time, and this example from Roadkill Nights at M1 Concourse looks quite clean and original. It’s also fitted with an enormous 430-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) V8, which looks to be in remarkably good shape. All in all, it’s a beautiful vintage survivor.

1969 Ford Mustang

One of the cars to qualify for the Top 8 showdown at Roadkill Nights this year, this 1969 Boss 302 is driven by one Jay Barnabei, and it’s plain to see it’s got a lot going on under the hood. This Mustang packs a built V-8 based on a Ford Motorsport R-302 block, with a Procharger F1r centrifugal supercharger, and all that power showed up at Roadkill Nights with a truly awesome performance in the eighth-mile.

1970 Dodge Superbee

This sharp and clean 1970 Superbee very nearly suffered an unfortunate fate, having originally been purchased strictly as a parts car. Yet happily, the owner changed his mind, restoring the classic muscle car and, over time, turning it into a bonafide Pro Touring beast with Wilwood brakes, racing seats, and most importantly, a 392 Gen III Hemi, which sends its torque through a modern 8-speed auto.

2011 Ford Crown Victoria

Much like with the 1957 Chevrolet mentioned above, we may be stretching the definition of “muscle car” here a bit, but then again, what about standard V-8 power and a solid rear axle doesn’t sufficiently fit the bill? Beyond that, this particular Crown Vic, with its deliciously patriotic graphics and knobby front tires, is obviously helped by its gigantic man-eating turbo kit and 6.0-liter LS small-block.

1968 Dodge Charger Custom Widebody

Hands-down one of the slickest-looking muscle cars at Roadkill Nights or anywhere, this 1968 Dodge Charger looks outstanding with its custom steel widebody and Lotus Fire Red paint, but it also has so much more going on underneath the skin. Case-in-point: it has a Frankenstein AWD setup, featuring a Trail Blazer front axle and Detroit TruTrac rear differential fed through an NV-149 transfer case, and between the front fenders sits a 5.7-liter Eagle Hemi with dry-sump lubrication and cowl induction. It’s decidedly not the quickest car to grace Roadkill Nights, but it might just be the coolest.

1972-’73 Pierre Cardin AMC Javelin AMX

It’s always a treat to spot an AMC Javelin in the wild, especially the gorgeous second-generation model with its flowing, sculpted wheel arches and chiseled face. It’s even more of a treat when that Javelin happens to have the oustanding Pierre Cardin interior design package, which saw the seats and door skins upholstered with something akin to the booth seating in a 1970s arcade. Under the hood is a very clean and tidy 401-cubic-inch V8, good for 255 horsepower when new—hardly enough to win at Roadkill Nights, but a gem of an engine all the same.

1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda Shaker

There’s just something so fun about a shaker hood, so naturally, this 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda had to make our list. We even like the violently pink paint job – something referenced and accentuated by the pink panther-style tail the owner put on the decklid of this example. Under the hood appears to be the original 383-ci V8 which, while not the biggest-displacement engine offered in the Barracida, looks quite well looked-after.

1966 Acadian

We couldn’t possibly release this list without including the overall event winner in the Big Tire drag racing category: the weird and wonderfully obscure Acadian of Jimmer Kline. Not to be confused with the Pontiac Acadian, which was Canada’s version of the Chevette, the Acadian was a uniquely Canadian product, albeit pretty much indistinguishable from the Nova. Granted, whatever trim level this example started life as doesn’t much matter, as it’s been fitted with a real planet-eater of an engine: a nitrous-injected 622-cubic-inch (10.2-liter) crate V8. There’s a lot to love about this car beside the power, though, from the clear box over the air intake, to the fender-exit exhaust, to the wild green-and-black paint job. It’s a rare piece of automotive history, and a tough car to dislike.