Bandimere Speedway (Morrison)

John Bandimere Sr. bought land on the west side of Denver in 1958, up against the Hogback at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. He and his family built a small, efficient drag strip to support their auto parts business and to give young people a safe place to learn about cars and race them off the streets, which had long been his dream. It ran as an unsanctioned independent track, first called Safety Proving Grounds of America, until NHRA sanctioned it in 1968. NHRA’s Mile-High Nationals started in 1978, later run as the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals. In 1988 the family sat out a year of the national event schedule for a $4 million rebuild that added seating, better pits, parking and access, and better sponsor signage, and grandstand capacity grew from about 8,000 to more than 23,500. Almost every original building was replaced over the years, including the timing tower built to look like a spark plug, and the event schedule grew to nearly ten times its original size. In 2008 the track was repaved entirely in concrete, with a cooling system under the launch pad. Encroaching homes and lack of room ended racing after the 2023 season, and the track closed for good in October 2024, and the old buildings were demolished in mid-2026. The owners bought land in Hudson, Colorado, planning to rebuild.