July 14th was the wedding anniversary of John Bandimere Jr. and his wife Lorraine, who are the second generation of track owners at the drag racing venue known as Bandimere Speedway. Until two years ago, the family-owned track west of Denver, Colorado marked the start of NHRA’s Western Swing, which used to encompass that track, Sonoma and Seattle.
After 65 years in operation, Bandimere Speedway, aka Thunder Mountain, closed following its 2023 season. The track was sold, but the family declared they would search for another location so that they could continue to produce and promote drag racing in the greater Denver metro area. Many thought John Bandimere’s declaration to find a new location and make it as special as the track set against the side of a mountain a mile above sea level couldn’t be duplicated.
Of course venues can’t be duplicated but new tracks can be built and the Bandimere family is set on producing a new racetrack on the other side of Denver. It will logically be easier to build than the old track, which was set against the side of a mountain next to Denver’s US-470 ring road. While their future was uncertain as they attempted to find the right locale, in mid-May of 2025 the family announced the first step and the first parcel they’ve accumulated is in the Hudson area of Weld County, which is northeast of Denver.
As John Bandimere noted, “This is the first piece of a complex puzzle,” as the family works through negotiations for surrounding properties as they attempt to establish the venue on approximately 1,100 acres in Hudson. The site is near Interstate 76 on Highway 52, which many Denver race fans think should be changed to Bandimere Blvd.
Ah, but we’ve got quite a few years before the NHRA’s Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to the Centennial State and to what will definitely be an awesome place to race, once the Bandimere family puts its finishing touches together. In the meantime, there are two venues on the Western Swing and only four races before the Countdown to the Championship takes off: this weekend’s 36th Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals outside Seattle at Pacific Raceways and next week’s Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals at Sonoma Raceway.
This weekend’s race at Seattle marks the start of the second half of a 20-race season and a different approach for the pair of nitro classes: Top Fuel and Funny Car. The 12,000-horsepower monsters will have a single qualifying session on Friday night (starting at 9:15PM) and three on Saturday including the familiar Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge. Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle will have a pair of sessions – starting at 6:40PM on Friday evening and again at 8:15PM. Saturday’s session start at 12:30PM and should be complete for the pro racers by 7PM, while eliminations are set to start at 10:30AM on Sunday.
As with every race, there are momentous occasions that could occur during this meeting in the Pacific Northwest. Last year’s Top Fuel runner-up, Shawn Langdon is hoping to make – at least – the semifinal rounds on Sunday. That would give the Californian, driver of the Kalitta Air 25th Anniversary dragster 400 round wins in his illustrious career. Currently second in the points standings behind Tony Stewart, Langdon is in the hunt to gain a $150,000 bonus should he stand atop all others at the close of the regular season in Indianapolis over Labor Day weekend.
For the second consecutive season, everyone in Funny Car is chasing Austin Prock, the winner of last year’s race in Seattle. But his teammate, Jack Beckman has a secondary goal in mind, in addition to beating his squadmate in another John Force Racing final round. Beckman, the 2012 champion in the Funny Car class, is en route to become NHRA’s 26th 500-round winner. Driving John Force’s Chevrolet SS, Beckman has 498 round wins since becoming a professional racer in 2005; all but four of them have come at the wheel of a Funny Car. That he’s driving Force’s car is a big plus, as the boss has won this race a total of nine times!
There’s a newer face in the Flopper ranks this weekend, as 20-year-old Dylan Winefsky makes his second professional start in the class, after his Las Vegas premiere. Racing with Nitro Moose, the youngster who’s made his mark racing fuel altereds, is looking forward to his next run with the Arizona-based team. Not only is he the race driver; Winefsky will be driving the rig from the team’s headquarters to Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington. “You get a lot of time to think when you are on the road,” he said. While it’s a longshot, Winfesky will join the balance of the Funny Car and Top Fuel teams hoping to be the Decell Power Systems “After Dark Low Qualifier” to gain a $4,000 bonus.
Will Seattle be another KB Titan Racing blowout, or has Elite Motorsports found the magic bullet that could bring a halt to the other team’s rampage? To date, all the races have been won by KB Titan Racing, a departure for Oklahoma-based Elite, which garnered six championships with Erica Enders. Enders, at the start of the year, thought the new Goodyear tire introduced for the door slammer class was part of the team’s issues, but when others aren’t having those issues, it’s a head-scratcher. To date, only reigning titleholder Greg Anderson, Dallas Glenn and Cory Reed – all with KB Titan – have won in Pro Stock? Will the turnaround start here?
It’s a similar situation in Pro Stock Motorcycle, where two teams are prevalent and everyone else is playing catchup. Vance and Hines Motorsports, with two-time consecutive reigning titleholder Gaige Herrera and Richard Gadson holding sway, along with a revolving door of third-Suzuki Hayabusa3 racers affiliated with the team, are the leaders of the pack, but Matt Smith Racing’s quartet of Buell riders Matt and Angie Smith, Jianna Evaristo and Norwalk victor John Hall are the primary competitors for Suzuki’s team leaders, but one can hope that WAR Racing’s Chase Van Sant or Steve Johnson can bring their Suzuki motorcycles to the Winners Circle. Seattle was where Van Sant earned his first Wally winner’s trophy last year; can he do it again?
Mild weather is forecast for the weekend, with Friday night’s temps in the 60s when Top Fuel and Funny Car light up for their sole night qualifying session. The balance of the weekend’s daytime temps look to be in the mid-70s. Last year’s race was won by Steve Torrence in Top Fuel, Austin Prock en route to his first Funny Car championship, Elite Motorsports’ Jeg Coughlin Jr. in Pro Stock and Van Sant in Pro Stock Motorcycle. The Mission #2Fast2Tasty titles went to Justin Ashley, Prock, Aaron Stanfield and Gaige Herrera.
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