Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) drivers Leah Pruett and Matt Hagan list the legendary Bandimere Speedway as one of their favorite drag racing venues on the 22-race NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series and both racers have fond memories on the \u201cMountain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pruett, the defending Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals Top Fuel champion<\/a>, and Hagan, the three-time NHRA Funny Car World Champion, feel sentimental as they head to the Denver area for the final edition of the NHRA national event after 43 years of competition and 35 with Dodge and Mopar\u00ae<\/sub> partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now in its 65th year as a drag racing facility, the Bandimere family announced that 2023 will be the final season for the track\u2019s straight-line activities. A Stellantis brand has sponsored the Mile-High Nationals since 1989, with the 2023 edition marking 35 years of partnership with the NHRA and the Bandimere family. Dodge \u2014 America\u2019s performance brand \u2014\u00a0 and the Mopar brand have long histories at the famed track nestled in the Rocky Mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pruett and Hagan want nothing more than to add to that history by putting their Dodge Direct Connection machines in the final Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High National winner\u2019s circle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBandimere Speedway is my favorite track on the NHRA circuit,\u201d said Pruett, recent Top Fuel winner at the NHRA Summit Nationals last month with her TSR Dodge Direct Connection dragster.<\/a> \u201cIt\u2019s on the mountain, it\u2019s a Mile High and I have so many incredible memories there including winning my very first NHRA \u2018Wally\u2019 trophy at eight years old. Then I chased another \u2018Wally\u2019 for decades at Bandimere before winning my first Top Fuel race in 2018, and again last year. That mountain is special to me. The vibe of the fans and the Dodge enthusiasm is so great because of the Mopar, Dodge Power Brokers and Direct Connection relationship for 35 years with the Mile-High Nationals and Bandimere Speedway. I\u2019d love to win there again this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hagan, the 2021 Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals Funny Car champion<\/a>, admits it took awhile to reach Bandimere Speedway victory lane, but he\u2019ll be ready for this year\u2019s final NHRA national race this weekend, July 14-16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne of my favorite places to race is Bandimere Speedway,\u201d said Hagan, a three-time 2023 NHRA winner in the TSR Direct Connection Dodge\/\/SRT\u00ae<\/sup> Hellcat. \u201cI don\u2019t really like the altitude and I have been on fire and blown up there. It was tough to win that first Mile-High Nationals \u2018Wally\u2019 trophy. But I love the scenery and the atmosphere at that track with the fans. Everybody enjoys themselves at the event and the stands are packed. When I do a burnout, I can see the people so deep along the fences and they\u2019re excited. It\u2019s such a cool event with the Dodge and Mopar involvement. I love meeting the fans there. We\u2019ll be set to run strong I can tell you that much. It\u2019s a blast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n All racers at the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals will join Pruett and Hagan in remembering the 43 years of NHRA event action on the \u2018Mountain\u2019 and in seeking the final Bandimere Speedway victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know the drivers at Bandimere Speedway will be a little sad like myself,\u201d said Pruett. \u201cMy first ‘Wally’ trophies came in Junior Dragsters, and we won as a team. Then we captured the team title with an all-girl team when I was a teenager on the \u2018Mountain.\u2019 I even came to the track as a crew member in hopes of getting a Top Fuel for the NHRA national circuit in the future. And my meeting for the Top Fuel ride came at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals. Then winning twice there in Top Fuel was a thrill. I have so many memories at that track as do many racers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 65 years of Bandimere Speedway and the Bandimere family, with some four generations having been involved at the racing facility, will be saluted this weekend for innovation to the sport and supporting drag racing in the Colorado area dating back to 1958 when John Bandimere Sr. constructed the track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have to thank the Bandimere family for giving us one of the most outstanding drag racing facilities in the world,\u201d said Hagan. \u201cWinning this last NHRA national event at their track would be one to remember throughout your career. I know the Bossman Tony (Stewart), Dickie (Venables, Hagan\u2019s crew chief) and our TSR Dodge Direct Connection crew want to win on the \u2018Mountain\u2019 very badly this time. And I want to take home that last Bandimere \u2018Wally\u2019 too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The nitro-burning cars \u2013 Top Fuel and Funny Car — get underway at this week\u2019s 2023 Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway on Friday, July 14, with two nitro qualifying rounds set for 6:30 p.m. EDT and 10 p.m. EDT. Saturday\u2019s nitro qualification rounds are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. EDT and 9 p.m. EDT. Final eliminations on Sunday, July 16, will get underway at 1 p.m. EDT, with FOX network coverage scheduled to air from 4:00-7:00 p.m. EDT.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Dodge brand will feature a fun-filled display area on Manufacturers\u2019 Midway at Bandimere Speedway, highlighted by the brand\u2019s new 1,025-horsepower 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, the quickest, most powerful muscle car in the world.<\/a> The Challenger SRT Demon 170 is the Dodge brand\u2019s seventh and final \u201cLast Call\u201d special-edition model, commemorating the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger, which are coming to an end in their current HEMI\u00ae<\/sup>-engine-powered forms at the end of 2023. Six special-edition \u201cLast Call\u201d vehicles were previously introduced, leading up to the reveal of the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With its 1,025-horsepower (at 6,500 rpm), 945 lb.-ft. (at 4,200 rpm) production HEMI\u00ae engine, the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 reaches 60 mph in a blazing 1.66 seconds and features the highest G-force acceleration of any production car at 2.004 gs. The Demon 170 can also reach 900 horsepower and 810 lb.-ft. of torque on E10 fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Dodge brand display at Bandimere will also feature Dodge NHRA driver autograph sessions on both Friday and Saturday, as well as Dodge display vehicles, Funny Car and Dodge drag race simulators, Direct Connection parts displays and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDodge Display on Manufacturers\u2019 Midway<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Follow @DodgeMoparMotorsports on Instagram!<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n