The NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series’ annual Western Swing is beginning with an ending, as the tour will kick off the three-race tour with its final stop at Bandimere Speedway.
After 43 years on the schedule, the Morrison, Colo., drag strip will conclude its lengthy history with NHRA during the upcoming Mile-High Nationals on July 14-16. The Bandimere family will complete the sale of the property this fall.
This leaves the Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle stars with one last shot at visiting the 6,000-foot-high winner’s circle.
Mountain Magic For Leah Pruett
Last year, Top Fuel driver Leah Pruett brought Tony Stewart Racing its first NHRA national event victory during the Mile-High Nationals.
It was also her second win at Thunder Mountain, with her first coming in 2018.
In light of her recent triumph at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio, Pruett is trekking to Colorado with hopes of tapping into her mountain magic and picking up back-to-back wins at the facility.
But more than that, the California native is preparing for a heartfelt goodbye to her favorite track on the NHRA circuit.
“It’s on the mountain, it’s a mile high and I have so many incredible memories there including winning my very first NHRA Wally trophy at eight years old,” Pruett said. “Then I chased another Wally for decades at Bandimere before winning my first Top Fuel race in 2018, and again last year. That mountain is special to me.”
Pruett will pilot the Rush Truck Services/Dodge SRT dragster as she chases her 12th career win and third in the Rockies.
Capps On The Cusp Of 75th National Event Win
Defending Funny Car champion Ron Capps has been a quiet force so far this season.
He collected his first Wally of the year on June 11 at Bristol (Tenn.) Dragway after finishing runner-up three times in the opening seven races.
Ron Capps powered to the provisional No. 1 qualifier in Funny Car at the Norwalk NHRA Nationals. (NHRA photo)
Capps will be one of many Funny Car drivers hunting down the final Bandimere trophy, but with the potential to make it his 75th national event victory, a trip to the mile-high winner’s circle would be especially sweet.
“For the racers, winning at Denver is the most gratifying win you can have. The conditions up there will put any team under duress. If you can leave there with the trophy, you’ve done everything you can,” Capps said.
The 58-year-old also has his eye on the remaining two races on the Western Swing, which includes the Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle, Wash., and the DENSO NHRA Sonoma Nationals in Sonoma, Calif.
As a nine-time winner on the Western Swing — with one victory at Bandimere, four in Seattle and four in Sonoma — Capps is optimistic that he can make up his four-point deficit to points leader Matt Hagan.
“We’re looking forward to starting this West Coast Swing off strong and hopefully that’ll result in a trophy this Sunday,” Capps said.
Record Holders & Past Winners
The drivers who took a Wally home from Colorado last year were Pruett (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), Matt Hartford (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle).
John Force is the winningest Funny Car driver at Bandimere, with eight national event wins (1994, ’95, ’96, 2001, ’03, ’11, ’16, ’18). He was also the first in his category to record a run faster than 300 mph and make a three-second pass.
Tony Schumacher has the most elimination round wins (41) of any Top Fuel driver at Bandimere.
Lori Johns, who ran a 4.991-second lap at the drag strip in 1991, was the first driver to make a four-second pass in a Top Fuel dragster on Thunder Mountain.
Keyword: NHRA Notes: Western Swing Begins With An End