{"id":90074,"date":"2023-10-20T18:18:50","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T18:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/saying-goodbye-to-bandimere-speedway-at-the-final-nhra-mile-high-nationals\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T18:18:50","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T18:18:50","slug":"saying-goodbye-to-bandimere-speedway-at-the-final-nhra-mile-high-nationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/saying-goodbye-to-bandimere-speedway-at-the-final-nhra-mile-high-nationals\/","title":{"rendered":"Saying Goodbye to Bandimere Speedway at the Final NHRA Mile-High Nationals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tens of thousands of fans have poured through the gates at Bandimere Speedway, and they\u2019re all on their feet as 16-time NHRA Funny Car world champion John Force addresses the masses from the top end. After NHRA on FOX reporter Amanda Busick asks Force what makes this Morrison, Colorado, facility so special, the iconic Funny Car driver gives an impassioned response that sends vibrations through the facility not unlike those created by his 3.92-second, 320-MPH blast down the Bandimere 1,000-foot dragstrip just moments earlier during Friday night qualifying.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[Editor\u2019s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #184, the State of Drag Special Issue, in September\/October of 2023.]<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Mount Rushmore,\u201d says Force, the winningest professional driver in Bandimere history with eight wins spanning 24 seasons. \u201cThey built this in the side of a mountain. How do you do that? I sat on that hill in \u201979 with my dad and [John] Bandimere Sr., and they\u2019re gone now, but we love this place. I won it because I had great crew chiefs \u2013 Austin Coil, Bernie [Fedderly], and others that are with me now, but at the end of the day, this place is important to us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI understand how the world changes, but look, we packed \u2019em in here and we\u2019ll pack \u2019em in on Saturday and Sunday,\u201d Force continues. \u201cI know the world\u2019s changing and everybody needs room and they\u2019re building homes, but this thing is something special. This is God\u2019s gift. This is mythical shit up here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Force is referencing the rapidly growing housing development on the other side of Colorado State Highway 470, one of the reasons fans have speculated that Bandimere Speedway is closing at the end of the 2023 season. But for one reason or another, the track is destined to close after celebrating 65 years of drag racing at one of the most picturesque dragstrips in the world. Fans and racers from nearby towns like Golden and Littleton and from around the world have made the pilgrimage to Bandimere for one final NHRA Mile-High Nationals. They\u2019re here to reminisce, create new memories, and show their appreciation for the Bandimere family, and Force is right there with them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI love racing,\u201d Force says, \u201cand I love this hill, and I want \u2019em all to know it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The 43rd annual Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals begins bright and early on Friday, July 14th with time runs for NHRA Lucas Oil Series sportsman classes like Super Street, Stock, Super Comp, Super Stock, and Super Gas. Later, Top Dragster and Top Sportsman will join the fold. Unlike most other national events on the NHRA Camping World Series tour, the fans have already started to file into the grandstands to watch racers like nearby Golden\u2019s own Scott Burton, who will go on to win his fourth national event Wally in Super Stock on Sunday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe atmosphere is always different here because the fans watch every run of every class,\u201d says Brian Lohnes, the lead broadcaster for NHRA on FOX. \u201cEven during the early part of the weekend, you\u2019ll see people actively watching Super Gas the same way they would watch the fuel cars or Pro Stock. That has always impressed me about this place. The fans are dedicated to basically watching all of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As the nitro pits start humming with action, a large crowd gathers around Antron Brown\u2019s Matco Tools Top Fuel dragster pit area. Fans who follow the NHRA news cycle closely know six-time NHRA world champion Kenny Bernstein is set to warm up Brown\u2019s Top Fuel machine, marking the 69-time national event winner\u2019s first time back in the seat of a nitro car since his final Funny Car campaign in 2007.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The choice to have Bernstein do this warmup at Bandimere wasn\u2019t an accident. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee met his wife here 42 years ago, and he\u2019s won at Bandimere four times over the course of his career in Top Fuel and Funny Car.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we heard that this was the last one, we wanted to come back for that, then Antron put the icing on the cake for me,\u201d Bernstein says after the warmup. \u201cThere was no question I was coming back to be here for this. It\u2019s a great place. The Bandimeres do a phenomenal job. I hope they get it going somewhere else. But the one thing about this place is there\u2019s nothing else like it. It\u2019s 5,000 feet in the air, it\u2019s hard to run, there\u2019s no air to push that wing down, and let me tell you, it\u2019s a tough place. When you win here, you\u2019ve had a good day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While Brown\u2019s experience at Bandimere doesn\u2019t go back as far as Bernstein\u2019s, he\u2019s won here nearly as many times with three Mile-High victories. Locking in more memories was on his to-do list going into the final running.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of those deals where you\u2019re just trying to take it all in,\u201d Brown says. \u201cYou take it in every year you come up here, but this year here, I\u2019m really slowing down and looking at everything around me. Having Kenny out here being a part of it, it\u2019s going to be a memory I\u2019ll never forget.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the fans who made a point to watch the Bernstein warmup is Mark Krekeler, who\u2019s been coming to Bandimere Speedway since 1971. Before a complete overhaul added the modern pit-side grandstands in the late 1980s, Krekeler and his friends would park their cars along the edge of the ridge to watch racing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI clearly remember the old round tower, and the original Christmas tree had square bulbs in it, not the ones we\u2019re used to,\u201d Krekeler says. \u201cWhat I remember mostly, though, is Old Man Bandimere, Bandimere Sr., during the races on the weekend, he\u2019d be back here with a backhoe hogging out the side of the mountain. He did most of that all by himself while the races were going on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the last 50 years, Krekeler has witnessed the evolution of Bandimere Speedway from a small proving grounds on the side of a mountain into its current status as a world-renowned professional drag racing facility. Fans like Krekeler were given a shot of optimism before the final Mile-Highs when John Bandimere Jr., the track\u2019s current president and the son of founder John Bandimere Sr., announced during a media event that the family plans to build a new facility near the Denver Airport, possibly as soon as 2025. Krekeler views these changes as the latest steps in the Bandimere evolution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing that this is the last Mile-High Nationals, it\u2019s a little melancholy,\u201d Krekeler says. \u201cNothing really stays the same forever. You can look at this as a big disappointment or you can look at it as optimism for the future. Whatever comes will be better in every conceivable way than this could be, except for the location and scenery and things like that. There are so many things that will be improved upon. One thing that won\u2019t change is nitro.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As the crowd around Brown\u2019s pit area dissipates, the eight Mountain Motor Pro Stock entries start pulling into the staging lanes for their first qualifying session. The class, which originated three decades ago in IHRA competition, is known for its 800-plus-cubic-inch engines. \u201cThey were big as mountains and most were built there, too,\u201d said Ted Jones, IHRA\u2019s former VP of Competition, in a 2007 interview with <\/span>Competition Plus<\/span> founder Bobby Bennett. While those mountains were much further east, it\u2019s fitting that Mountain Motor Pro Stock got one last chance to race on \u201cThunder Mountain.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absolutely unbelievable that we\u2019re going to get this opportunity,\u201d says John DeFlorian, who pulled up alongside Richard Freeman as the first pair of Mountain Motor Pro Stock cars to go down the track in the first qualifying session. \u201cI thank the Bandimeres and NHRA for inviting us up and allowing the Mountain Motor cars to be on the mountain. They belong here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

DeFlorian was a part of the group that was supposed to race during the Mile-High Nationals in 2020, but circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the track from hosting its annual NHRA national event. Things finally worked out for this edition.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we had this opportunity here, I really wanted to come,\u201d DeFlorian says. \u201cI\u2019ve been here before as a spectator, but to be up here as a participant is altogether different. I want to experience what that\u2019s like, to go down the racetrack at the last there ever will be of the Mile-High race. I\u2019m actually honored and humbled that we did get the opportunity to do this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Following Mountain Motor Pro Stock Q1, as well as the first session for Pro Stock Motorcycle and 500-cubic-inch Pro Stock, Top Fuel rolls down the staging lanes for the first nitro session of the weekend. In the first pair, Colorado\u2019s own Greg Carrillo throws down a 3.832 at a career-best 324.75 MPH. This gets the crowd roaring, and they give his crew a standing ovation as they head down the return road. The pass stands for the provisional No. 1 spot after the 14 other Top Fuel drivers made their first attempts to navigate the challenging track.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell you what, it means a lot,\u201d Carrillo says of his performance and the crowd\u2019s reaction as he signs autographs at his pit area after the run. \u201cI\u2019ve won the Mile-High Nationals and divisional races here before in Super Comp and Super Gas when I raced in the sportsman classes. The guys are excited and we\u2019re coming here to win. Last year, we were No. 2 on Friday night. This team\u2019s not a fluke. This team\u2019s here to stand our own ground.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While Carrillo settled into the No. 8 spot by the time all four qualifying sessions were completed, his moment in the sun on Friday gave the part-timer a meaningful jolt of enthusiasm. With Santiago\u2019s, a local Mexican restaurant chain, on board his car, which also featured Bandimere Speedway signage, Carrillo was a fan favorite all weekend. His pit area was a popular spot as fans came by to get autographs and ask his crew about their program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEach guy individually here is great,\u201d Carrillo says. \u201cGlenn Mikres is our crew chief. Rip Reynolds came on board. Really, it\u2019s Aaron Brooks who elevated our program. We owe everything to him. Without him, we\u2019re not successful. To me, he\u2019s the best out there and his influence is very deep on this team.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Carrillo\u2019s provisional No. 1 spot was later taken by Brown, perhaps influenced by \u201cThe King of Speed\u201d warming up his Matco Tools entry earlier in the day. Brown was joined by provisional low qualifiers Matt Hagan in Funny Cars, Erica Enders in Pro Stock, Hector Arana Jr. in Pro Stock Motorcycle, and Freeman in Mountain Motor Pro Stock.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As impressive as Friday\u2019s crowd was, the Saturday turnout tops it. Bandimere Speedway announced a Saturday sellout days before the event even started. Traffic control signs posted up along the routes to get into the track declare tickets will not be available at the gate \u2013 a true sellout. Hours before nitro cars are due to hit the track, cars sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic waiting to get into the track\u2019s numerous parking lots, some of which had to be rented from local property owners.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe three days of complete sellouts \u2013 like literally not selling anymore tickets days ahead of the end of the race \u2013 speaks to the people in this area, but the other thing to remember is this track always has been very strong on the crowds,\u201d points out Lohnes, who first announced at the Mile-High Nationals in 2014. \u201cThis was a great sendoff for this place because of the fact that it\u2019s always been good, but this becomes this all-time story of a grand hug from everybody that loves the sport, and this area is showing up and doing the best they can to enjoy the weekend.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Once fans make it into the facility and find their seats, many of them stop by one of numerous souvenir stands located throughout the property. The track\u2019s Competitive Threads flagship location behind the pit-side grandstands has multiple lines wrapped around it all weekend, while auxiliary trailers in other locations also sell T-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, hats, stickers, hat pins, metal signs, and a number of other Bandimere souvenirs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Janet Arnold, who estimates she\u2019s been coming to the Mile-High Nationals in some capacity for the last 30 of her 41 years, slings merch out of the Competitive Threads trailer located in the staging lanes. She\u2019s worked the trailer for the last eight Mile-High Nationals, giving her a direct connection to the fans who attend this event.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of bittersweet,\u201d Arnold says. \u201cYou can definitely tell that it\u2019s hitting home that it\u2019s the end. A lot of people are telling me stories of, \u2018We wanted to come out for years, we just never made it, but now knowing it\u2019s the last race, we\u2019re here.\u2019 The crowd size, the atmosphere \u2013 you can definitely tell people love this place and they\u2019re sad that it\u2019s going away.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Like so many of the Bandimere employees, Arnold has fielded question after question about why the track is closing, if the Bandimere family will rebuild, and if so, where they will rebuild. While it\u2019s tough to not have the answers to some questions, Arnold realizes the questions come from the fanbase\u2019s passion for the track.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always felt love from the community,\u201d she says. \u201cEverybody has been very supportive. A lot of concern. I know racing in general struggles sometimes. It\u2019s difficult to get the crowds and the competitors and all that together to have an event like this. So, I understand both sides of the coin. I think that everybody has really stepped up and embraced it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The fans who come out on Saturday are treated to two qualifying sessions that include some of the quickest and fastest passes in track history. Reigning Top Fuel world champion Brittany Force lays down a 3.724 at 337.33 in her Monster Energy dragster, setting a new track speed record.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really proud of our run,\u201d Force says. \u201cI love this racetrack and I\u2019ve been coming here since I was a kid. We want to leave our mark here, and to run 337, I\u2019m proud of this entire Monster Energy team.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Enders, driver of the Johnson\u2019s Horsepowered Garage\/Melling Performance Camaro, joins Force as a No. 1 qualifier when her pass from Friday maintains its spot atop the qualifying order.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always challenging to come up here on the mountain,\u201d says Enders, who\u2019s also a part of the Mountain Motor Pro Stock field. \u201cPro Stock cars, we\u2019re down quite a bit of horsepower and our shift points come at different increments than normal. Having said all of that, I feel like we performed pretty awesome this weekend and we\u2019re going to try to continue that tomorrow.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Race day Sunday begins with the Sealmaster Track Walk hosted by NHRA announcer Joe Castello. The crowd returns to the starting line for driver intros and opening ceremonies, which includes emotional remarks by John Bandimere Jr. and his wife, Lorraine. They\u2019re joined by Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett, the honorary starter, as well as NHRA President Glen Cromwell and Dodge\u2019s Mark Whitney, who present the Bandimeres with a special edition of <\/span>National Dragster<\/span> with the family on the cover. Bandimere Jr., who\u2019s addressed the fans and held pre-race prayers each day, lets the weight of the moment shine through in his words.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat runs through my mind is relationships and family,\u201d Bandimere Jr. says. \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for our family, we wouldn\u2019t be here. We\u2019re just a little bit fragile right now, so thank you, and may the Lord bless you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Thirty years after his father built the track in 1958, Bandimere Jr. put his own stamp on the family legacy by completing a multi-million-dollar overhaul of the facility in 1988. The second-generation track owner\u2019s bet paid off, as Bandimere Speedway quickly became one of the destination tracks on the NHRA tour. The third and fourth generations of the family now work at the track, each adding their own influence on an incredible legacy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think the Bandimere family has been one of the handful of families that have shown people the right way to do this,\u201d Lohnes says. \u201cYou put them in a very small group with the Bader family [of Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio], with the New family up at Firebird [Raceway near Boise, Idaho], and people in that ilk because this is the gold standard of how you operate a facility. Every part of this place looks like it was put here last week, and in fact, most of it\u2019s been here since 1988 when they redid it. I think the significance they have and the legacy they have at this track is that if you wanted to see how the job should be done, this is how you do it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As eliminations progress, numerous captivating story lines develop into unforgettable moments for the drivers and teams that will now be able to say they won the final NHRA Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Top Fuel, Clay Millican claims the second Wally of the season for second-year team owner Rick Ware and the Parts Plus team. He knocks down one of the winningest drivers in the class, Doug Kalitta, in the final round.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you race Doug Kalitta, you can\u2019t leave anything on the table,\u201d Millican says. \u201cMan oh man, what this group has done. We had not won a single round until Chicago. What do we do, we win the race. So, when we won first round here, I\u2019m like, we\u2019re winning the race.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty amazing what [crew chief Jim Oberhofer] has done,\u201d Millican continues. \u201cWhen he gets it, he just does it over and over and over. I just can\u2019t believe how good this was. It was exactly like Chicago \u2013 the only way for me to lose this race was for me to do something wrong. Thank the man upstairs, I didn\u2019t do anything wrong. It\u2019s just incredible what happens when the first-round win light comes on. You hold a Wally.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Funny Car win goes to points leader Matt Hagan, who repeats his performance from the 2021 Mile-High Nationals. It was truly like d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu for Hagan, as his path to the winner\u2019s circle was the exact same both years \u2013 first- and second-round wins over Chris King and Ron Capps, a bye to the finals, then a final-round win over Alexis DeJoria. This time, though, he also earned his 50th career No. 1 qualifier and picked up the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge win for a sweep of the event.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I need to go buy a lottery ticket,\u201d says Hagan, driver of the Dodge Direct Connection Charger SRT Hellcat. \u201cHonestly, it\u2019s one of those weekends that\u2019s just magical. I\u2019ve been up here close to 15 years racing a fuel Funny Car, and to think that you\u2019re not going to come back here \u2013 and then walk away with the Wally and the extra special trophy from the Bandimere family, to have the #2Fast2Tasty check, my 50th No. 1 qualifier. Just so many milestones and things to remember.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing and such an emotional weekend,\u201d Hagan adds. \u201cJust being here and seeing all these fans every time we make a run, it\u2019s something I\u2019ll never forget. It\u2019s just a super special weekend and just incredible. I\u2019m very, very blessed to be here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The #2Fast2Tasty Challenge winner in Pro Stock, Troy Coughlin Jr., also goes on to win the event on Sunday. He races past four of the toughest drivers in the class \u2013 Aaron Stanfield, Greg Anderson, Erica Enders, and Dallas Glenn \u2013 to earn his second win of the season in the JEGS.com Camaro.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat an exciting day to come out here and get a win,\u201d Coughlin says. \u201cYou just take it one run at a time. We\u2019ve got the best people in the industry at Elite Motorsports. They all work together and we have excellent power. I just had to stay focused. This is one of my favorite facilities and it\u2019s an absolute honor just to be here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Gaige Herrera\u2019s breakout season in Pro Stock Motorcycle continues with his fourth win of the year aboard the Vance & Hines\/Mission Foods Suzuki. He\u2019s now the most recent Vance & Hines rider to win at Denver, joining five-time winner Andrew Hines as well as Hines\u2019 older brother, Matt, and teammate Eddie Krawiec, who both have four Mile-High wins.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad we bounced back here, especially in front of all these fans at Bandimere Speedway,\u201d Herrera says. \u201cThese fans are incredible and this whole weekend has been amazing. I\u2019m glad I\u2019m able to add my name to the list of people from Vance & Hines who have won here. It was an adjustment for sure, but the bike was running good all weekend. It makes my job a little easier when you have a bike like that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Chris Vang, driving the Kramer family\u2019s Colorado-based Camaro in Mountain Motor Pro Stock, breaks through to get his first Mile-High Nationals win. To do so, he lined up against five-time NHRA Pro Stock world champion and Mountain Motor Pro Stock rookie Erica Enders in the final round.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t even describe it,\u201d Vang says in an interview with NHRA announcer Jason Galvin. \u201cI\u2019ve been racing here since I was 18 at my first national event here. It\u2019s never been my great race, but it was like, \u2018Maybe this is it, maybe the last one.\u2019 To do it against one of the best that\u2019s ever driven a car, it\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the most remarkable stories of the weekend comes in Top Dragster, where Josh Herman, son-in-law of track general manager John \u201cSporty\u201d Bandimere III, is victorious. It\u2019s the first time a Bandimere family member has won the Mile-High Nationals. Making the feat more impressive is the fact Herman wounded his engine in the first qualifying session and ran the rest of the event in a car he borrowed from another part of the Bandimere extended family, the Pennington family. That second qualifying session was his first time driving the car.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt means everything,\u201d Herman says of his win when interviewed by Galvin. \u201cThis morning, I was talking to Lorraine Bandimere and she wished me good luck and I told her I would do my best. She told me, \u2018You know, we\u2019ve never won one of these as a family.\u2019 This is our first one right here. It\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Also victorious at the Mile-High Nationals are Scott Burton in Super Stock, John Brimer in Stock Eliminator, Dale Maher in Super Comp, Norman Brungardt in Super Gas, Dan Smith in Super Street, and Bri Bergh in Top Sportsman.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the final NHRA Mile-High Nationals wrapped up, Bandimere Speedway fans near and far are left wondering what comes next for the storied facility and the family that operates it. The Halloween Spook-Trackular on Saturday, October 21, and the \u201cLast Blast\u201d test-and-tune the following day are the final events on the 2023 schedule. The property\u2019s buyer hasn\u2019t been revealed, though Bandimere Jr. noted during his media day interviews that the facility\u2019s new use will be automotive-related rather than becoming a housing development.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While there are few details regarding the Bandimere family\u2019s plans to relocate to a larger piece of land, insiders like Lohnes are confident that this isn\u2019t the end of drag racing in the Denver area.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m optimistic and not in a Pollyanna sense or in a blind hopeful sense,\u201d Lohnes says. \u201cI\u2019m optimistic because the integrity of the Bandimere family remains intact to this day, and I do not believe with any part of myself that they would stand up in front of media outlets like the <\/span>Denver Post<\/span> and look at the cameras and say something that they didn\u2019t actually mean.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy hopefulness or my positivity on a potential new facility comes from the fact that they have more integrity than a lot of people in the sense that they would never say something publicly that would tarnish their own legacy,\u201d he continues. \u201cThat\u2019s why I think they\u2019re going to try to move forward earnestly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The post Saying Goodbye to Bandimere Speedway at the Final NHRA Mile-High Nationals<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated | Drag Racing News, Opinion, Interviews, Photos, Videos and More<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tens of thousands of fans have poured through the gates at Bandimere Speedway, and they\u2019re all on their feet as 16-time NHRA Funny Car world champion John Force addresses the masses from the top end. After NHRA on FOX reporter Amanda Busick asks Force what makes this Morrison, Colorado, facility so special, the iconic Funny […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90074\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}