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~ NHRA Mile-High Nationals ~
Bandimere Speedway - Denver Colorado

These Galleries are Best Viewed at 1024 x 768 Screen Resolution

[Top Fuel Dragster]    [Funny Car]    [Pro Stock]    [Pro Stock Bike]    [Comp, Gas, Misc.]

[Other Scenes]    [Marie's Photos]    [Photo Credits]

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AA Top Fuel Dragster After Burnout
 

 

The Mopar NHRA Mile-High Nationals were held at Bandimere Speedway in Denver July 16 - 18, 2004.  Bandimere is located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, just on the other side (east) of the "Hog Back" ridge from Red Rocks Park.  If you view the photo gallery of Red Rocks Park, you will see a ridge of hills in the photo, row 2 - picture #5,  that looks like a hog's back - just to the east of that ridge is where Bandimere is located. 

The first day of qualifying was rained out, and all  qualifying was done on Saturday the 17th.  Many of the nitro-burning top fuel cars (first two categories below) ran in excess of 300 miles per hour!  The haziness you see in many photos is not from bad photography - it is from the smoke and haze from burning rubber and nitro.

Some drag racing tid-bits:

• Top fuel dragsters and funny cars have engines that produce over 8,000 horse power and take the cars up to speeds greater than 300 miles per hour.

• Top fuel dragsters and funny cars don't use gasoline - they are fueled by a mix of nitro methane and methanol.

• Drag racing engines are completely taken apart and rebuilt after every race.

• New rules went into effect starting this weekend after the fatal Darrel Russell crash: a titanium roll cage shield on top fuel dragsters, new rear tire model for top fuel dragsters and funny cars, and minimum rear tire pressures for dragsters and funny cars.

• The cars do a burnout to heat the tires and seat the clutch.

• Angelle Savoie (Pro Stock Bike), pictured in the first row, made her NHRA debut at Bandimere in 1996.

• When you see the funny cars with their bodies pivoted up - that is how the driver gets in and out.  You will also see the crew lifting up the body just after the burnout - to remove the throttle stop and make final adjustments.

• The truck pulling the thing that looks like a jet engine (Other Scenes At Bandimer below) is in fact pulling a mini-jet engine.  That is how they dried the track after it got a little wet from some light rain that fell earlier.

 

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Photos:

Click on a postcard to see the full-sized image.

 

Top Fuel Dragster:

Top Fuel Funny Car:

                       

                       

                       

                       

                       

                       

                       

                       

                       

           

 

Pro Stock Car:

                       

                       

                       

           

 

Pro Stock Bike:

                       

                       

                       

                 

 

Comps, Modifieds, Others:

                       

                       

                       

                   

                       

                       

                       

                       

                       

                       

 

Other Scenes At Bandimere:

                       

                       

                       

           

 

Photos By Marie:

                      

                       

                       

                 

         

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all photographs on this page taken by:

W. P. Flinn and M. C. Flinn

(c) 2004