The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series had a weekend off before starting the strenuous Western Swing that begins this weekend with the 42nd annual Dodge Power Brokers Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway west of Denver, Colorado. As is customary, not every part-timer has elected to make this trip, where horsepower dwindles and high temperatures prevail. It’s not a trip for those not fully invested in making NHRA’s Countdown to the Championship playoffs that start after the Pep Boys U.S. Nationals on Labor Day weekend.
Still, Top Fuel has mustered 17 entries for this contest, which means there will be one severely displeased member of that community packing their bags on Sunday, rather than racing in eliminations. Although four-time and reigning dragster champ Steve Torrence hasn’t lifted a Wally winner’s trophy yet this season, he did win the last two races held at this venue, where cooling beneath the start-line surface aids competitors in launching their machines.
There was no race at Bandimere Mountain in 2020, but Torrence secured wins in both 2019 and last year. In 2019, Torrence became the first – and only – driver to surpass 330mph at Bandimere, using his “older” setup before transitioning this year to a new engine-and-clutch combination that has elevated the performance of current points leader Mike Salinas and Torrence’s regular nemesis Brittany Force. Unfortunately, this new combo has led to inconsistency for the four-time champ; he’s still looking for his first 2022 win.
Along with Salinas, Force and Torrence, currently first through third in the championship chase, the balance of the class’ top ten, Justin Ashley, Austin Prock, Josh Hart, Shawn Langdon, Clay Millican, Doug Kalitta and Leah Pruett are all on-hand to try and shine this weekend, along with close pursuers, Antron Brown (the most recent driver to sweep the Western Swing in 2009 – his second time achieving the feat), eight-time champ Tony Schumacher and Doug Foley. They’re joined by part-timers Alex Laughlin, Terry Totten, Rob Passey, Cameron Ferre and Greg Carrillo. The breadth of this field makes the 11th of 22 races an even more compelling event.
There’s always a sense of urgency with the Western Swing, which goes from the mountain-top of Denver to hills near Sonoma, California to near-ocean-level at Seattle. The different tracks create diverse challenges for crew chiefs as well as drivers over three weeks and miles of travel.
While there are only 14 Funny Car entries for Denver, it’s a hardy group of prominent competitors, all anxious to add their names to those that have won this difficult race. Of course everyone in the top 10 is making the trip to Denver, and why not? It’s a great opportunity to shine at a venue where winning is a tough achievement. Even more than usual, thanks to the altitude and, this weekend, the heat.
Expect to see all the usual suspects, including points leader Robert Hight in his John Force Racing Chevrolet Camaro SS. This is one race Hight has won four or more times – in fact, the only place where Hight has been more successful is the Winternationals, where he’s got five victories. Hight has a 21 point advantage on Tony Stewart Racing’s Matt Hagan, who’s flying the Dodge colors at its namesake race in his Charger SRT Hellcat. Reigning champion Ron Capps is in third place in his Toyota GR Supra, 100 points behind Hight despite two victories and round-winning consistency. Capps is a nine-time winner on the Western Swing with one Denver accolade, four wins in Sonoma and four at Seattle.
John Force, the 16-time champion – and eight-time winner at this track – holds fourth place points in his Chevy Camaro SS, with two-time champ Cruz Pedregon behind him in a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, followed by Bob Tasca III’s Ford Mustang, J.R. Todd and Alexis DeJoria in Toyota GR Supras, Tim Wilkerson and Chad Green’s Mustangs. Joining this top 10 are Jim Campbell, Jack Wyatt and Paul Lee in Chargers, and Terry Haddock’s Mustang. It may be a small group, but they’re looking to topple one another in eliminations.
Pro Stock’s resurgence and return to the Mountain for the first time since 2019 is marked with a 15-car grid, all but three of them Chevrolet Camaro race cars. The Cuadra family, Fernando, Fernando Jr. and Cristian are all driving Elite Motorsports-prepared Ford Mustangs as they have all season. They, and everyone else in this group is gaming for Erica Enders, who is having the best year of her career, which has included four championships to date for Elite Motorsports. That group is celebrating the life of Royce Freeman Sr, who passed away earlier this week.
Freeman’s passing won’t have much bearing on what goes on at the track, because racers have a way of putting such events on the back burner when competition is on. Is there more impetus to win for Mr Freeeman? Sure there is, but for Enders, her teammate Aaron Stanfield (-105) winning is the only thing they’re thinking about as they exit the water box. Kyle Koretsky, of KB Racing is a dire 252 points behind Enders, his teammates Dallas Glenn and Greg Anderson hold fourth and fifth places but are both more than 300 points back. Not that it really makes much difference as the objective is to make the Countdown to the Championship playoffs, but the better the ranking, the happier they are.
Behind this quintet are Mason McGaha, rookie Camrie Caruso – whose exploits keep sponsors heading her way. Caruso has picked up a five race deal for the Western Swing, Topeka and the U.S. Nationals with ultra-premium Tequila Comisario for her efforts behind the wheel. Local driver Deric Kramer is looking forward to moving up from eighth place, and he’s followed by Matt Hartford and Bo Butner III, all present for this race. They’re joined by Troy Coughlin Jr. and Chris McGaha, both attempting to return to the top 10 prior to the start of the playoffs.
There are 13 Pro Stock Motorcycle competitors on the grounds for the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA Nationals this weekend, but again, it’s a stout group that includes both reigning champion Matt Smith, his wife Angie, points leader Steve Johnson, Angelle Sampey (-52) in second, Karen Stoffer, Joey Gladstone, Eddie Krawiec, Jerry Savoie, Ryan Oehler – who has also picked up new partnership with El Bandido Yankee tequila – Jimmy Underdahl, Jianna Evaristo, Marc Ingewersen and the returning Kelly Clontz.
Of course the makeup of this class has changed dramatically over the past year with the ascension of the Suzuki four-valve motorcycle. Forced to add weight due to its winning ways with Johnson, Sampey and Stoffer, in particular, the weight gain hasn’t made much difference. The most recent winner, Jerry Savoie, earned his victory with an older engine when his new one, with a different crankcase than standard, didn’t make the call for finals. At this point, only Angie Smith, Ingwersen and Oehler are using Buell/EBR machinery as Suzukis have become the preferred choice.
The weather will play a big part in this weekend’s happenings, as thunderstorms and very high heat are on the docket for all but Sunday. We can expect high 80s temps on Friday and Saturday and 90-degree-plus temps on race day. Thankfully, the Bandimere family has added chilling beneath the start-line surface and up to the 60-ft mark, which makes it easier to gain traction early in the run. We’ll see how the temps affect engines, tires and drivers or riders on Sunday. While qualifying shows will be seen on both FS1 and FS2, the final eliminations for this race are being broadcast starting at 4PM ET on the FOX broadcast network.
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