Bandimere Speedway lives up to its Thunder Mountain nickname when the Mile High Nationals drag-racing event rolls into the Golden facility July 22-24.
For three days, the air will be filled with the sounds of drag racing. The sounds range from the growl of the engines powering street-legal cars to the ear-splitting roar of the 10,000-horsepower top fuel dragsters and funny cars.
This marks the 37th year for the Mile High Nationals, the biggest days of the year for avid drag-racing fans.
"We come to the Mile Highs every year," Centennial resident Tracy Powers said. "My parents came to the races every year and we have continued the tradition. I did compete in the high school drag races, but I think it would be a real thrill to get to go as fast as some of these cars go."
Racing teams begin arriving at Bandimere Speedway early in the week of the event. The huge tractor-trailer rigs, usually emblazoned with team logos of the sponsors and artwork depicting the cars, are trademarks of the National Hot Rod Association's professional classes, top fuel dragster, top fuel funny car, pro stock and pro stock motorcycle.
However, there will also a huge number of the local and regional racers who arrive with smaller outfits. So, by the time competition begins July 22, the pit areas will be packed with hundreds of rigs and cars.
The Mile High Nationals are the 14th stop on the NHRA racing schedule and, like all national events, a major attraction for the fans is the fact that most of the top teams and drivers will be on hand for the event. A special fan attraction at national drag racing events is the pit pass that comes with tickets, which allows fans to watch mechanics prepare the cars for action and even get a chance to talk and get autographs from their favorite drivers. It equates to allowing football fans access to a pro football team's locker room.
While pro drivers from around the country will be at the Mile High Nationals, there will also be drivers who live in the local area or used to live in the local area in the competition. In the pro classes, former Littleton resident Tommy Johnson Jr. will be at the wheel of the Make A Wish Funny Car, and top fuel dragster driver Tony Schumacher, who began his racing career at Bandimere Speedway, will be on hand for the races.
A small army of local drivers plans to compete in the sportsman class at the Mile High Nationals. Arvada resident Vicky Johnson captured the top dragster championship at last year's Mile High Nationals and plans to be on hand to defend her title, and Bradley Johnson, a Lakewood resident, was last year's Division 5 champion and is expected to be in the Mile High Nationals super gas competition. Littleton resident Troy Kaiser also is expected to be behind the wheel of his dragster for the Mile High Nationals.
Qualifying competition for sportsman classes begin at 11 a.m. July 22, with the top fuel dragsters and funny cars making their runs starting at 5:30 p.m.
The schedule is about the same for July 23, with the elimination races scheduled to start at 11 a.m. July 24.
Drag racing is all about harnessing horsepower and torque to produce as much speed as quickly as possible from a standing start to the finish line a quarter-mile away. The top fuel dragsters are at the top of the list of achieving those goals. The powerful 10,000-horsepower engine is behind the driver in the long, low-slung dragster. The engine idles at about 2,100 revolutions per minute and gulps fuel at about 1.2 gallons per second to generate the power needed to accelerate the car from the starting line to 100 mph in about one second and complete the quarter-mile run in four seconds or less. The car can be traveling more than 320 mps as it crosses the finish line.
For information on tickets or the Mile High Nationals schedule, call Bandimere Speedway at 303-697-6001 or visit the website at www.bandimere.com.
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Premier-drag-racing-event-returns,226395
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