But it’s not a record time or unbelievable finals that Michael, a 62-year-old NHRA diehard from Denver, named as one of his favorite memories at Bandimere Speedway.

Instead, Michael recalled a moment of racing camaraderie that epitomized the deep community roots of a facility that is closing at the end of 2023 after a 65-year run nestled against the Jefferson County foothills.

“Two drivers were going to race in the final, and just before the race, one guy broke his U-joint,” Michael recalled. “He’s toast, because (by rule) you only have a certain amount of time to get to the starting line. But the other guy he was going to race against had one, and that driver’s crew grabbed the part, went over to the pit and they all furiously helped their competitor get his car fixed so they could race.

“It just goes to show, out here at Bandimere, it’s a community, but it’s more than that — it’s a big family. Everyone wants to win, but they don’t want to win by default. (The amateur drivers) want their competitor to get to the starting line with their full potential, and that’s what the fans want to see. And that’s what this place is all about.”

While tens of thousands packed the Bandimere bleachers for the final Mile-High Nationals this weekend, the majority of the races the track hosts are for amateur drivers or enthusiasts with few spectators outside of family members and friends in the stands. Those 100-plus annual events, in conjunction with 43 Mile-High Nationals, played equal parts in fueling the speedway’s sense of community — and cementing its status as a one-of-a-kind NHRA mecca for fans, pro drivers and hobbyists alike.

None of whom seem to be bothered by the inherent difficulties of drag racing at 5,800 feet. Not when they have scores of other gearheads to pass the hours with on Thunder Mountain, where the races last just a few seconds.

“(The cars) run slow up here, but the people still dig it, because it’s a great environment,” said 41-year-old Phoenix driver Brandon Dolezal, who has been coming to Bandimere since he was a kid in the 1990s. “That’s a testament to the track. … I’m not in this for the money, and neither are most. People say, ‘How do you make a million bucks drag racing? Well, you start with three.’ But it’s all after the Wally — the gold man.”

Whether the goal is a Wally — the official NHRA trophy named in honor of association founder Wally Parks — or simply fun at the track, the speedway’s become a playground for drivers of all ages. It’s also become a platform for Denver-area racing companies — such as Madcap Racing Engines and Lazarus Race Cars, which share a Lakewood shop — to showcase their work.

From the older drivers who make up the Vintage Drag Racing Association to the young kids who participate in the speedway’s youth programs, Bandimere Speedway established itself as the spot to come if you’re a local racing fan. It draws over a half-million racers and fans each year. And it’s become a draw for the national hot rod community, too, with all but two states represented at this year’s Mile-High Nationals.

Track executive John “Sporty” Bandimere III called the speedway’s three youth programs” the “peak essence” of the speedway, which has groups for high school, junior street (ages 13 through 16) and junior dragsters (ages five-plus). About 100 kids a year participate in the programs, which took root back in 1973, when the High School Drags and High-Altitude Bracketnationals began.

“Those kids are our sport’s future, and it’s giving them direction,” Bandimere III said. “A lot of the kids in our program don’t have both parents or some don’t even have one parent. We believe this is important because part of my grandfather’s original vision for building the track was to provide a safe, productive space for kids who needed some direction or just want an outlet.”

Chandler Thyssen, last year’s winner in the Top Dragster category, is a local who came up through the speedway’s junior dragsters program. The 20-year-old started racing at eight, and said the track’s commitment to young fans and drivers underscored its popularity over the years.

“I see myself in these kids around here, the ones walking around, looking at all the cars, being wowed by the loudness and the drivers,” said Thyssen, a 2021 graduate of Green Mountain. “Now I’m one of those drivers, which is still a little surreal. Throughout all that, the track (has been the constant) in my life. Now, I just hope to inspire some kids.”

Beyond the feel-good, there is the economic impact to consider.

As the speedway’s marquee event, Mile-High Nationals generates an estimated $15 million annual economic impact on the metro area, according to the track. Officials said that number is likely a conservative estimate for this year’s record turnout featuring sellouts on all three days.

The speedway’s made an effort to connect with kids in the academic sphere. Its “Race to Read” initiative is in its 27th year, and about 19,000 students across more than 40 elementary schools participated this spring in the incentive-based read-at-home program that includes speedway tickets as a grand prize.

That giveback typifies the speedway’s intertwinement with Jefferson County and beyond, especially for a Bandimere family that has long leaned on their faith as a primary pillar of their ownership.

Now, with the end on Thunder Mountain approaching, this weekend provided one last, big party to celebrate the extended family that the track has built. The Bandimeres acknowledge the speedway’s legacy is nothing without the community it cultivated.

“It’s one of those things where we can’t get this year back, so people are leaning in even more on each other, and having each others’ backs even more than ever before,” explained 32-year-old dragster Bri Bandimere Herman, Sporty’s daughter and part of the fourth generation to run the track. “We are a racing family, gathered out here on the mountain. Every day of Mile-High Nationals (proved) that again.”

12 Historical Markers at Bandimere Speedway

1958 — The facility opens as the “Safety Proving Grounds of America” with an oval track, drag strip, garages for teaching youth automotive repair and a testing facility.

1968 — The speedway receives sanctioning from the National Hot Rod Association.

1977 — The first NRHA national event comes to Bandimere Speedway, the NHRA Sports Nationals.

1978 — The speedway hosts its first Mile-High Nationals, the start of a decades-long run for the prestigious NHRA event on Thunder Mountain.

1981 — Local racer Bob Brockmeyer works with Bandimere Speedway facility manager Larry Crispe to invent the Compulink timing system at the track. It’s first used in an NHRA event in Arizona in 1984 and becomes a drag racing standard by the end of the decade.

1989 — Following a $4 million renovation that tripled the speedway’s seating, Bandimere lands a sponsorship with MOPAR. The Dodge/MOPAR sponsorship is still going, making it the longest-running partnership between a company and a track in autosports history.

1991 — Lori Johns runs a 4.991 during the qualifying round at Mile-High Nationals, becoming the first four-second driver at Bandimere.

1994��— The “Top Eliminator Club” is added on the south side of the drag strip: 752 seats and a 150-foot long covered pavilion that the speedway bills as a premium viewing experience for drag racing fans.

1998 — NHRA’s all-time winningest driver, John Force, runs 301.70 mph during the qualifying round at Mile-High Nationals to become the first 300-mph driver on Thunder Mountain.

2014 — Crispe installs a temperature regulation system beneath the starting line to cool the track in red-hot July during Mile-High Nationals. As a result, seven of eight NHRA track records are broken at the event that year as the system beneath the starting line allows the on-track temperature to fall by as much as 20 degrees, enabling more efficient starts for the drivers.

2020 — Mile-High Nationals is canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A legal fight over personal freedom soon follows after the speedway holds a July Fourth event, with a crowd in the thousands exceeding coronavirus restrictions that limited gatherings to 175 people.

2023 — The final running of Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway before the facility is sold and razed next year; over 100,000 fans come out across three days, including sold-out crowds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. ]]> 5730157 2023-07-16T05:45:02+00:00 2023-07-15T19:11:42+00:00 /2022/07/14/nhra-mile-high-nationals-bandimere-tony-stewart/ /2022/07/14/nhra-mile-high-nationals-bandimere-tony-stewart/#respond Fri, 15 Jul 2022 01:30:37 +0000 /?p=5314447 MORRISON — Tony Stewart once dominated the NASCAR circuit as a three-time Cup Series champion in oval track racing. His attention is now focused on speed burners at Bandimere Speedway.

The first-year Tony Stewart Racing team makes its debut at NHRA Mile High Nationals here this weekend with high expectations for TSR drivers Leah Pruett (top fuel dragster) and Matt Hagan (fuel funny car). They’re both motivated by an owner whose attention to detail has turned heads.

One example? Don’t be surprised if you find Stewart in the pits, removing each imperfection from the vinyl wraps on their high-powered racing machines.

“We’re so raw and rough around the edges with these cars because, at 330 miles per hour, they’re on fire and blow up,” said Hagan, the returning funny car winner at Mile High Nationals. “Tony sees an air bubble on the vinyl and he’s picking the air out, making sure it looks really good. It����ap attention to detail. We’re not used to that.”

Hagan enters the weekend second in points this season (908) behind leader Robert Hight (929). Pruett, who is also Stewart����ap wife, is 10th in the top fuel standings (417). She won the event at Mile High Nationals in 2018. Both drivers joined TSR this season after previously being teammates for Don Schumacher Racing.

“I’m not a good spectator in any form of motorsports,” . “To have the opportunity to be engrossed in NHRA drag racing over the last year and a half has created a lot of interest for me to do more than just stand and be a trophy (husband) to stand beside Leah.”

Hagan might have needed a bit more convincing at first, being mostly unfamiliar with Stewart����ap success in NASCAR.

“Honestly, I don’t follow a lot of circle track. I decided to look this dude up and see what he’s done,” Hagan said. “The list kept growing. I was like: ‘I better step up a little bit.’ … When you have a guy with accolades like that, a wheel man who has gone out there, it makes you as a driver want to win for him.”

Stewart����ap commitment to NHRA extends to being licensed to drive a top fuel dragster. It opens the door to an obvious question: Will Stewart get in the cockpit someday as a competitor?

“There are no plans to compete,” Pruett said.

Just don’t tell that to Hagan.

“(Stewart) keeps saying: ‘I’m claustrophobic and all this stuff.’ He’s licensed in a top fuel car. He’s made some runs in that,” Hagan said. “I told him: ‘You get in one of these funny cars and you’ll throw rocks at those dragsters.’ … The NHRA is lucky to have a guy like Tony step in here and want to be a part of this. It shows that our brand is growing.”

NHRA MILE HIGH NATIONALS

When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Where: Bandimere Speedway, Morrison
TV: FS1, FS2 and FOX (Sunday finals)
Availability varies. Individual day tickets ($30-45). Full session tickets ($80-170).

• Friday — Gates open: 8 a.m. Sportsman qualifying: 10:30 a.m. Midway opens: 1:00 p.m. Mile High No Time Big Tire Shootout: 2:45. Pro stock/pro stock motorcycle qualifying: 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Nitro show time qualifying: 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Jet cars: 9 p.m.
• Saturday — Gates open: 8 a.m. Sportsman eliminations: 10 a.m. Midway opens: Noon. Mile High No Time Big Tire Shootout round one: 1:45 p.m. Pro stock/pro stock motorcycle qualifying: 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Nitro show time qualifying: 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Jet cars and fireworks: 8 p.m.
• Sunday — Gates open: 7:30 a.m. Racers for Christ chapel service: 8 a.m. Midway opens: 9 a.m. Pre-race ceremony: 10:00 a.m. Nitro show eliminations: 11 a.m. Parade of champions: 3:45 p.m. Winners circle: 4:20 p..m.

Antron Brown won his third race of the season at the 38th annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals on Sunday over DSR teammate Leah Pritchett. Three of the four finalists at Bandimere represented Schumacher Racing.

“(DSR) teams have always been at the top of the pack,” Brown said. “We have all-star crew chiefs down to crew members. Everyone wants to work together to beat each other. When you motivate each other to beat each other, you raise (the standard) to a different bar.”

This year, DSR has monopolized funny car competition in a way not seen since John Force Racing dominated before the turn of the century. DSR’s four-car team in funny car has won 12-of- 14 races. And before Tommy Johnson Jr.’s loss to Robert Hight in Sunday’s final, DSR had 10 consecutive wins.

But the all-DSR final in top fuel was the big story Sunday. Brown defeated Pritchett with a 3.792-second elapsed time, highlighted by a 0.047 reaction time, at 319.82 mph.

Brown has now won at Bandimere three times in his career, tying him with Scott Kalitta and Tony Schumacher for third-most all time. He has competed in a Sunday final in five of the last seven races.

“We were patching something up every round,” Brown said. “We’re already at the high elevation. But the thing about it is, when that light comes on on that scoreboard in that final … our game just kept on stepping up, and that����ap just a testament to our team.”

Before the final, Pritchett came to Brown and gave him a fist bump — like they do every race weekend. Seeing how amped Pritchett was, Brown said, boosted his energy too. In the final, only 0.024 of a second separated them.

Brown emphasized the importance of DSR staying focused heading to the Sonoma Nationals, July 28-30 in California.

“All the other teams have elevated themselves to the same level,” Brown said. “It����ap anybody’s race. You’ve got cars out here that could win and set world records and run ETs that����ap faster than anyone out here, every weekend.”

Robert Hight, who is married to John Force’s oldest daughter, persevered through a difficult day at Bandimere Speedway to win the division at the 38th Mopar Mile-High Nationals. Despite vomiting multiple times because of stomach illness during the day, Hight drove to the winner’s circle at Bandimere for the fourth time, hours after watching teammates and No. 1 and No. 2 qualifiers Courtney Force and John Force lose in the first round.

“Man, I’ve been sick all day,” Hight said after breaking a 34-race winless streak. “Couldn’t keep anything down, and this isn’t the place you want that to happen. Us guys from California, (we’re accustomed) to sea level, and then you get up here at this elevation and have these problems.”

Hight, who qualified third, defeated Tommy Johnson Jr. and rival team Don Schumacher Racing in the final. Four-car DSR was victorious in the previous 10 funny car races, and 12-of-13 for the season.

“You try to block that out, not even think about it,” Hight said of DSR’s success and his 34-race nonwinning skid. “But TV, the media, they continuously remind you of it. It starts wearing on you a little bit. … So this win really is extra special.”

Antron Brown took the title in top fuel, beating No. 1 qualifier Leah Pritchett in an all-DSR final. No. 1 qualifiers Drew Skillman and Eddie Kawiec won in pro stock and pro stock motorcycle, respectively. Skillman became a first-time winner at Bandimere. Krawiec won for the fourth time, tying Andrew Hines and Matt Hines for a division high at the track.

The biggest celebration in the finals emerged from the left lane after Hight made a 3.995-second pass (317.57 mph) to beat Johnson (4.099, 297.16) and snap DSR’s dominance. It was Hight’s first sub-4-second pass of the day. He limped out of the first round with a 13-second pass — he shut off the engine shortly off the start line against the red-lighting Todd Simpson, then blew cylnders in making modest runs to beat Jack Beckman and Cruz Pedregon. Hight saved his best lap for last.

“Today we got some luck. We needed it,” said the 47-year-old Hight, who also won at Bandimere in 2005, 2010 and 2015. “Those (DSR) guys over there are winning; can’t take anything away from them. But they have had some luck too.”

Hight was the first JFR funny car driver to race Sunday. After flubbing his start, but winning, against Simpson, he watched John Force lose to No. 14 Matt Hagan and Courtney Force bow to No. 16 Jim Campbell.

“(JFR) ran great in qualifying, (finishing) 1, 2 and 3, and then it’s like you snap your fingers and it all turned around,” Hight said.

Regarding his 13-second pass against Simpson, Hight said: “It’s not like you’re in a normal race car out here. When you hear another (top) fuel car leave, and you’re amped up, it’s so hard to not hit that gas. I screwed up and doubled up. But I knew he red-lighted and I won. Luckily, we got by that.”

Footnotes. En route to a surprising semifinal appearance in funny car, Campbell knocked out the No. 1 qualifier in the first round for the second consecutive event. Campbell, who defeated No. 1 Hight on July 9 near Chicago, sent Courtney Force packing early. … Pedregon lost in the semifinals to Hight before damaging his car well past the shut-off area. Pedregon’s parachutes failed and he drove into the sand at the end of the track, right before the nets. … Terry Haddock, a journeyman top fuel driver, upset No. 5 qualifier Shawn Langdon in the first round. … Pro stock motorcycle’s Matt Smith defeated his wife, Angie Smith, in the first round with a hole shot (superior start). Matt had a splendid 0.024 reaction time, compared with Angie’s 0.100. Matt covered the quarter mile in 7.240 seconds, slightly slower than Angie’s 7.195.

A year ago, No. 2 qualifier John Force defeated Courtney in the all-JFR final at Colorado’s 37th annual national event.

This year, sweeping the top two qualifying spots could be the kiss of death for JFR, which can’t seem to race as well as it qualifies. Coming into Bandimere, JFR has qualified No. 1 a division-most eight times in 13 races, but won just once. The rival Don Schumacher Racing has won 12 races, despite qualifying No. 1 just four times.

“We’re low E.T. almost every week but they’re winning them all,” John Force, the winningest driver in NHRA history, said of DSR. “So we’ve got a problem. We have to learn how to race on race day.”

JFR’s third car, driven by Robert Hight, who is John Force’s son-in-law, qualified third Saturday for a 1-2-3 JFR sweep. In the NHRA’s previous race July 9 outside Chicago, each JFR driver lost in the first round. John Force has the team’s only win, back on March 19 in Gainesville, Fla.

“We have yet to win this season, so there’s a lot on my mind,” said Courtney Force, who set Bandimere’s funny car elapsed time and speed records with a 3.889-second pass at 328.30 mph in Friday’s qualifying. “We’d like to end the week on a high note. We got to look for a good race day, and we need to make it happen. We’ve had a great race car. We’ve proven it in qualifying. We’re stumbling over ourselves on race day, and we can’t do it anymore. We’re well aware of it.”

Another nitromethane-powered female, Leah Pritchett, emerged the No. 1 qualifier in top fuel, and Drew Skillman (pro stock) and Eddie Krawiec (pro stock motorcycle) also have the pole positions in their 16-car/bike ladders.

Courtney Force will face No. 16 Jim Campbell in Sunday’s first round. John Force will open against DSR rival Matt Hagan, who failed to reach 161 mph in four qualifying passes, and Hight will oppose Todd Simpson in the first round.

DSR struggled through much of funny car qualifying before points leader Ron Capps ripped off a 3.965-second run (313.73 mph) in Round 4 to collect the No. 5 position. Teammate Jack Beckman also made big strides in the final round, ending sixth. Like Hagan, DSR’s Tommy Johnson Jr. couldn’t figure it out and stands 12th.

Hagan introduced the new Mopar funny car to commemorate the company’s 80th anniversary Thursday.

“All can say is I’m sorry,” Hagan said of his four poor qualifying runs. “Obviously our performance is not what we hoped and planned for up here on the mountain. We’ve really never been in this situation where we’ve been this far back. We’ll get it figured out (Sunday). I trust in (crew chief) Dickie Venables and the job he’s capable of doing, and the brains that he has, and the decision’s he’s got to make.”

The John Force vs. Hagan race will be the most interesting first-round affair. In top fuel, the big-money teams each qualified in the top half of the field, and there are no big-name early matchups.

Footnotes. Courtney Force is just 5-5 on Sundays when qualifying No. 1 this year. She has lost twice in the first round. … Top fuel’s Tony Schumacher will race his backup car Sunday after bending his chassis in Saturday’s final qualifying run. The front of Schumacher’s dragster went airborne midway through the run and it slammed back on the track after the driver lifted off the gas. … John Force has won seven funny car titles at Bandimere, the most in nitro divisions and tied for first with pro stock’s Bob Glidden and Allen Johnson.

The family business and racing defines Steve Torrence, who has won five of 13 races and is 33-8 on Sundays in his breakout year. Torrence made a 3.707-second pass at a top speed of 322.04 mph to collect top fuel’s provisional pole early in Colorado’s 38th annual NHRA event. He later went 3.775 (323.97 mph) in the last pass of the night, and stands second to Doug Kalitta (3.767, 323.97).

“To be able to come out and do this as a family run operation, self-funded, and have the success we’re having, it makes you proud of what you are and where you come from,” Torrence said during a rain delay in Friday’s first qualifying session. “I worked this morning at Capco and then flew here at lunch. I fly to the races on Friday and fly home on Sunday nights. I’m at work on Monday.”

Torrence, 34, owns his single-car team, which is sponsored by Capco. But Torrence admits there is little advertising or marketing benefits for Capco to be the lead sponsor.

“We don’t need to advertise here to get business,” he said. “We use it as an entertainment tool. We take some of the people that we work with and bring them out to the races. It’s hospitality and appreciation. I’ve taken people hunting. I’ve taken people to the races. My dad calls me the ‘Ambassador of Entertainment.’ ”

He added: “There’s a few companies that are involved with us that we are really proud to represent. But we’re a family race team. Everything we do is family oriented. We race with our heart on our sleeve, and we’re a single-car team in a multicar team sport. We’re having a lot of success and that’s more gratifying to me — owning the team, being part of the day-in, day-out operations and being on that island by yourself. It’s very gratifying.”

Torrence, who finished a career-best third last season, has advanced to seven of 13 final rounds this year, going 5-2. He is on an eight-race winning streak, having swept the previous two events in Norwalk, Ohio and Chicago. Torrence has yet to lose in the first round, but lost three quarterfinal races in the first four events of the year.

Torrence entered this season with a 154-154 career elimination-round record, and he was average early this season until winning the fifth race in front of family and friends April 23 in Houston.

“First few races we struggled. And then we developed our clutch package and everything in the bell housing,” he said. “We’ve been able to work on that tuneup, refine that tuneup. And I’m driving more confident than I ever have just because of the race car and the way it’s performing.”

Footnotes. John Force Racing came out strong in its three-car funny car program, running 1-2-3 in the delayed first qualifying session and that stood through the second session. John Force broke the funny car track record elapsed time with a 3.899-second run before daughter Courtney Force broke that with a 3.889 pass. Courtney also rewrote the track speed record, going 328.30 mph. JFR’s Robert Hight had the third-fastest time of the first session. … The first qualifying session, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., featured several rain delays and lasted past 8:45 p.m., after pro stock and pro stock motorcycle. Those divisions were limited to one session Friday and Drew Skillman (pro stock, 6.925, 197.94 mph) and Eddie Krawiec (pro stock motorcycle, 7.178, 185.86 mph) own the provisional pole positions. … There are two scheduled qualifying sessions Saturday before Sunday’s 16-ladder races in top fuel, funny car, pro stock and pro stock motorcycle.

“You can’t do that,” said DSR funny car driver Tommy Johnson Jr. “And we’re doing it.”

The National Hot Rod Association’s 38th annual event at Bandimere is being sponsored by Mopar for the 29th consecutive season, the longest title sponsorship in the sport’s history. Only Dodge/Mopar drivers were invited to Thursday’s media luncheon at Elway’s in Cherry Creek, and as you can imagine, they had a lot to say about DSR’s season dominance over three-car John Force Racing, backed by Chevrolet, and everyone else.

“At some point you have to sift through all the luck and fate and intangibles, all those factors, and stand back and look at the numbers. And 12 out of 13 races is mind-blowing,” said DSR’s Jack Beckman.

At times, the DSR drivers and news conference moderator poked fun at those competitors continually losing to DSR teams. But everyone still has the utmost respect for John Force, the legendary 16-time world champion and defending winner at Bandimere who turned 68 in May.

“Look at that dude. He’s got nothing to prove to anybody,” DSR’s Matt Hagan said of Force, the NHRA’s all-time winningest driver. “He’s won 16 championships, 10 straight (from 1993 to 2002). He understands what domination is. Just a little taste back his way. When you give some punches, you have to take some punches. But he’s a great guy. I respect him. I look up to him. He’s a great individual. But at the end of the day, man, we’re out here to race, not to make friends.”

Hagan, who is driving the newly unveiled Mopar car to commemorate the company’s 80th anniversary, has three event victories and is second in the point standings behind teammate Ron Capps, who has six wins. Beckman has two event victories and is third in the standings, while Johnson (one win) is fifth. The six wins for Capps, who didn’t attend Thursday’s news conference, ties his career high.

Capps defeated Johnson in the finals of the previous event, July 9 at Route 66 Raceway outside Chicago. The Force drivers each lost in the first round.

“It just shows the work and commitment from everybody at DSR, and Mopar, and Dodge,” Johnson said. “We’ve raised the bar so high right now.”

John Force, meanwhile, has the only non-DSR victory, April 2 in Las Vegas. He is seventh in the standings, behind son-in-law Robert Hight (fourth) and daughter Courtney Force (sixth). John Force Racing has struggled on Sundays despite qualifying No. 1 a series-high eight times. DSR has had just four funny car pole positions.

“We haven’t been dominant in qualifying, and it goes to show you: Sunday’s requirements can be different than Friday or Saturday. So I don’t care where I qualify (this weekend),” Beckman said.

Beckman didn’t envision the season that has unfolded, because JFR looked so strong in January.

“When I saw the numbers that the Force cars put up in preseason testing, I thought, ‘Man, they’ve found something and we’re going to have to play catch-up,’ ” Beckman said. “And then I reminded myself: Preseason testing doesn’t give points, qualifying doesn’t get trophies. Really, the only thing that matters is how you perform on Sunday. And our group has just been stunning this year.”

38th Mopar Mile-High Nationals

At Bandimere Speedway

Friday:

1 p.m., gates open

5 p.m., NHRA professional qualifying session No. 1

7:30 p.m., NHRA professional qualifying session No. 2

Saturday:

4 p.m., NHRA professional qualifying session No. 3

6:30 p.m., NHRA professional qualifying session No. 4

Sunday:

9 a.m., gates open

10 a.m., prerace ceremony

11 a.m., eliminations begin

Tickets: Bandimere.com, 303-697-6001, at King Soopers or main office at racetrack

Ultimately, Steve Torrence (top fuel), Courtney Force (funny car), Alex Laughlin (pro stock) and Andrew Hines (pro stock motorcycle) emerged with No. 1 qualifying positions for Sunday’s side-by-side elimination rounds at Bandimere Speedway. Racing begins at 11 a.m., followed by 10 a.m. prerace ceremonies.

Rain halted qualifying after the first session Saturday, the fourth and final session was delayed more than two hours. Similar storms also pushed back Friday’s qualifying.

Wilkerson lined up in the left lane opposite John Force but his car took a hard right off the start line and crashed into the right wall, well behind Force. Earlier in the last funny car round, Alexis DeJoria missed the exit at the end of the track and ran into the sand trap. One of DeJoria’s two parachutes didn’t deploy, and her brakes and just one chute wasn’t enough to stop her before the sand.

Torrence, the defending top fuel event winner, was quickest in all four rounds. He rewrote the track 1,000-feet elapsed-time record Friday night (3.776 seconds) and his other qualifying runs were in that same neighborhood.

“(Richard Hogan) is the king of the mountain,” Torrence said of his crew chief. “He’s a mack truck (and) I’m the bulldog on the front.”

He is 17-2 in those five races, and 82.5 percent of his runs — including qualifying passes — have been in the three-second range.

Round after round, the points-leading Capps is looking like a world champion of late. With a series-high four wins, he is looking directly into a championship that has painfully evaded him in a 19-year career that has featured four bridesmaid finishes. In 2012 he lost the championship to Jack Beckman by two points. He also finished second in the points in 1998, 2000 and 2005.

Is this his year?

“We’ll see. Ask me in Vegas,” Capps said, referring to where the NHRA’s annual banquet is held. “It’s cool that every year we’re in the chatter of winning it. I’ve been in the Countdown (playoffs) every year, which is a big deal, and to every year being talked about is cool.

“Let’s just say it would be great if we could do what we’re doing now later in the year, and maybe we will. I just can’t let it get up here (pointing to his head).”

Capps began the weekend unimpressively, making two weak, aborted runs in Friday’s two sessions — both of which were run in relatively cool temperatures under the lights. His top combined speed was 107.35 mph. But the team made gains in Saturday’s first session with a 4.062-second pass (309.84 mph) to climb to ninth in the funny car ladder. Before Saturday’s rain-delayed fourth and final qualifying session, Capps said he is confident the car will go rounds Sunday, suggesting that crew Rahn Tobler is on top of things at “Thunder Mountain.”

“Ask any crew chief on the grounds here: You win here and it will probably go in the middle of their mantel,” Capps said. “This place will separate the men from the boys, as far as crew chiefs. You have to be good. Driver, yeah, you gotta do the normal stuff, be good and maintain your endurance through the weekend and be good on the tree. But the crew chiefs, man, the changes they have to make to come up and run the runs we’re running — 320 mph — it’s incredible.”

NHRA drivers continually talk about the challenges of racing at Bandimere, but Capps might be the first to suggest that the facility would be an excellent playoff host. After the first 18 “regular-season” races, the standings are reseeded and for the the final six “playoff” races.

“It would be pretty fun if somehow this place could be in the countdown,” Capps said of Bandimere. “It would change the game.”

She picks a point at the end of the track, dials in on it, and puts her foot on the gas as the light turns to green. She must shift four times in the six seconds it takes her to get to the finish line.

But back in her trailer at Bandimere Speedway before her qualifying race on Friday night, the 32-year old Enders slouched down into the brown leather bench when asked about the struggles her team has faced this season.

After winning back-to-back NHRA Pro Stock World Championships in the past two years, Enders, who started racing when she was 8, has only five round-wins this year. A year ago, she won nine races and 58 rounds.

“To be able to come in with a new team, a new group of guys that I hadn’t worked with collectively before (2014), and dominate the way that we did, and then with all of the rule changes NHRA implemented this year, we knew it would be a challenge,” Enders said. “I don’t think we expected to be this far behind at this point in the season, (out of the top 10) but I would rather go to the bottom with this group than the top with anybody else.”

The rule changes and a switch to Mopar has led to a season of adjustment as her Mopar Dodge team worked to develop a new Dodge Dart and new fuel-injected engines.

In July 2015, the NHRA announced a list of changes it would be making this year to “increase spectator appeal and reduce and control costs for race teams.” Whereas Pro Stock cars used to have carburetors, now they have electronically controlled throttle body fuel injection systems.

Enders can’t fully explain the effect of the changes while sitting in her trailer, so she walks down the stairs and out to her car, which she clarifies is a girl, and peels off the gray cover.

Patting the hood, Enders explains the inner workings of her car that led to her having “ultimate control with the carburetor. Now, it’s “inconsistent and sporadic.”

Enders made it clear she cares deeply for her crew, referring to them as brothers. But she also knows when she’s at the starting line, it����ap on her.

“I’m a perfectionist and I take a lot of pride in my driving,” she said.

And, on top of perfectionism, Enders understands that she is under a harsher microscope than her male counterparts.

“I can make the same mistake as my teammate who is also a multiple time world champion, but because I’m a female, it����ap looked at completely different,” Enders said. “I could do the same thing great in the car, but it����ap because I had a great team or had a fast race car.”

That pressure helps drive her to iron out the glitches and get back to the winner’s circle. A little more testing and a little more funding money would help, but with the crew she has, Enders is confident she can win big again.

After two rounds Saturday, Enders was second — her best qualifying effort of the season. Her previous best qualifying slot this season was fifth.

After her run, she walked out from underneath the red awning of her trailer, grabbing a Sharpie on the way out, and signed autographs for the small crowd gathered outside. She makes sure to sign a little girl’s poster first.