The National Hot Rod Association revved up in Morrison for one last time over the weekend. It was the Bandimere Speedway’s last time on the national stage, hosting the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals before the track closes for good at the end of the season.
Drivers and fans said they will miss the legendary track, which is in its 65th year.
Tyler Jackson said he attended his first national event at the speedway in 2012 with his grandfather, driver Chuck Haynes. For Jackson, Bandimere’s closing marks the end of something special.
“It breaks your heart a little bit to know that this particular spot is going to disappear and not be here,” Jackson said.
Though Haynes passed away in April, Jackson has continued his legacy by taking the wheel of the Volcano, the car Haynes raced to victories and track records all over the world. Jackson, who drives with Haynes Jet Racing, was at the track to race.
Bandimere is unique, in part, because of its location, he said.
“There's nothing more iconic than where [the track] is right now up on the mountain,” he said. “When the cars run, you get that echo off the mountain.”
John Bandimere, Sr., opened “Thunder Mountain” in 1958. The quarter-mile drag strip sits along I-470 just north of Morrison where the foothills begin to level out. In its 65 years, the facility hosted thousands of competitions, including its first national event in 1977, the NHRA SPORTSnationals.
While the scenery is a big draw at the track, drivers have also come for the challenge of racing at a 5,800 feet above sea level.
“It's a tough track because of the altitude,” said Stephanie Mott of the California-based Muy Caliente Jet Dragster team. “In a super comp car, cars with carburetors don't like the altitude. It's like it's got a cover on it. The jet cars, that slows them down as well. It's more competitive for a driver because it's more of the driver-against-driver here because everybody's at the same disadvantage with the altitude.”
Mott, who started racing when she was a 14-year-old junior dragster, says Bandimere Speedway has been her home since the Rocky Mountain Raceway in her hometown of Salt Lake City, UT closed in 2018.
John Bandimere, Jr., announced that the family had agreed to sell the track and surrounding land. Development in the area around Morrison was a major factor in the decision, Bandimere said in a press conference Wednesday. The second-generation owner hopes to open a new racing facility near Denver International Airport, where they will have more space to spread out.
The decision to move the track has left some Colorado fans with bittersweet feelings.
Joe Evans has been going to the track since 1994. The Southwest Denver resident said he understands why the family is leaving Morrison.
“It sounds like they'll have a lot more room and probably be able to provide an overall better rate experience for the fans,” Evans said. ”Being here on the side of the mountain is pretty challenging and [doesn’t provide] much protection from the sun.”
Rick Haman, from Colorado Springs, has been going to the speedway for seven years. He wished the track would stay in Morrison.
“A lot of fans are upset that it's going. People don't want to be out there in the heat, be out there in the flat track,” he said. “You're going to lose a lot of customers. I think they're going to go to Phoenix and other race tracks.”
