MORRISON — It used to be a big deal to reach 300 mph at Bandi- mere Speedway, the most elevated drag strip of its kind. Nowadays, drivers are ripping off 310-plus mph runs like your average tee shot in the middle of the fairway.
“In 1,000 feet too,” top fuel veteran Larry Dixon said, reminding us that the NHRA’s two nitro classes used to compete on a quarter-mile track (1,380 feet).
Dixon, a three-time world champion who has been racing at Bandimere since 1995, said technology and competitive people are responsible for taking mile-high racing to levels that used to be deemed impossible. He takes responsibility.
“As a competitor, that’s your job,” Dixon said Saturday after securing the top fuel pole position for Sunday’s eliminations at the 36th Mopar Mile-High Nationals. “It’s the competition that drives the speed.”
Dixon ripped off a 3.791-second run Friday at a top speed of 326.63, just a smidge behind Brittany Force’s 326.95 mph. The bigger numbers are meaningless — qualifying is based only on elapsed time — but they’re the big sellers. Pound for pound, the Mile-Highs are one of Colorado’s most successful veteran sports events, where beauty hosts the beasts.
“This racetrack is a great racetrack,” Dixon said of his first No. 1 qualifying effort since 2011. “Maybe next year you might see somebody run 330.”
Dixon, 48, is looking for his 63rd career event victory Sunday.
Two 2014 champions at Bandimere — John Force (funny car) and Allen Johnson (pro stock) — also secured pole positions for Sunday’s races, and Eddie Krawiec is No. 1 in pro stock motorcycle.
The 66-year-old Force, the sport’s all-time winningest racer, was the first to break the 300 mph barrier in Colorado. In 1998 he ran 301.70 mph in qualifying. Saturday, he said he mostly remembers the feat because “we beat the dragsters” to it.
Force’s 2015 qualifying effort produced funny car track records in elapsed time (4.015 seconds) and top speed (318.09 mph).
Johnson, who will race unopposed in the first round of the 15-car field, is looking for his fourth consecutive win at Bandimere and seventh in the past nine years. If he succeeds, he will tie pro stock legend Bob Glidden for the most national-event wins at Bandimere, regardless of division.
John Force and Joe Amato, formerly of top fuel, also have won six times in Morrison.
Johnson has pro stock’s top- ever time at Bandimere (6.877 seconds), but No. 2 qualifier Larry Morgan (6.878), No. 3 Erica Enders (6.882) and No. 4 Jonathan Gray (6.887) have the ability to beat him. Johnson gets what amounts to a first-round bye because of the shortened field, but he still has to make a clean pass to advance.
Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or
