Bandimere Speedway to Host Mopar Mile-High Nationals This Weekend

Bandimere Speedway looks set for a fantastic weekend as it gets ready to host the 29th Annual Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals. The race has the longest-running NHRA sponsorship and is always a massive success. So as fans prepare to make their way to Morrison, Colorado, between July 11-13, event organizers are doing their utmost to ensure that the masses get what they pay for.

In 2007 Allen Johnson took the Pro Stock trophy while Jack Beckman took the Funny Car class title. Both drivers will be back in 2008 to defend their position at the head of the pack, but that isn’t going to be easy. A massive lineup of racers has already signed up for the event and of course many of them have already earned a reputation elsewhere. A race with this sort of legacy certainly doesn’t need to scrounge around for good drivers. The Mopar Mile-High Nationals has long been Mopar’s premier event – something no doubt made possible by the long and healthy partnership enjoyed by Bandimere Speedway and NHRA. Nevertheless the walk to fame hasn’t been too easy and this year will see two legendary people returning to the track after years of building the Mopar brand and creating its place in auto racing history – Don Garlits and Judy Lilly. Don Garlits, also known as “Big Daddy”, will be playing the role of Grand Marshal during the event, while Judy Lilly, also affectionately called “Miss Mighty Mopar”, will act as an Honorary Starter. Both are veteran drag racers with Garlits having been proclaimed the greatest drag racer of all time by the NHRA in 2001. Lilly is seen as being one of the forerunners of female involvement in the sport of drag racing and her role on the big weekend will be just as well deserved.

But why so much fuss over this year’s race? The year 2008 marks the 50th year that Mopar has been collaborating with Bandimere Speedway. Speaking for Bandimere Speedway, John Bandimere Jr. noted that they are thankful for the relationship enjoyed by the two entities over the past fifty years and that they were “proud to be the Home Track for Team Mopar”. The action will start with the Mopar Big Block party on July 10 from 18:30 on the streets of Golden, Colorado.