Bandimere Speedway was founded by John Bandimere Sr. in 1958 after he purchased property in 1957 along the Colorado Dakota Hogback. The facility opened with a drag strip, an oval track, and garages for automotive instruction, and was promoted partly as a high-altitude testing facility. By 1968, the track had been sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association. The first NHRA national event was held at Bandimere in 1977, and the inaugural Mile-High Nationals followed in 1978, establishing the event's name and elevating the venue's prominence within the sport.
The defining characteristic of the Mile-High Nationals is the thin air of Colorado's Front Range. At over 5,000 feet above sea level, reduced atmospheric density meaningfully limits the aerodynamic downforce a car can generate and dramatically suppresses engine output. A Top Fuel dragster or Funny Car that might approach 330 miles per hour at sea-level tracks may barely clear 320 miles per hour at Bandimere. Runs that would come in under four seconds elsewhere regularly exceed that mark at altitude.
To account for these conditions, the NHRA adjusts performance indices for bracket racing classes held at the event. Super Comp runs to 9.50 seconds, Super Gas to 10.50 seconds, and Super Street to 11.50 seconds — each shifted six tenths of a second slower than their standard dial-ins elsewhere on the tour.
The track also features two physical quirks unique within NHRA competition: a downhill staging area and an uphill shutdown strip. The uphill shutdown provides a meaningful safety advantage, helping slow vehicles more quickly after crossing the finish line.
In 1988, Bandimere Speedway underwent a $4 million renovation that required a one-year hiatus from hosting NHRA events. The upgrades expanded grandstand seating from approximately 8,000 to 23,500 and included improvements to pit areas, parking, and signage. The modernized facility returned to the NHRA national event calendar the following year and continued to host the Mile-High Nationals as a fixture of the summer schedule.
The event became culturally embedded within the Denver-area motorsport community. When the Bandimere family announced the speedway would close at the end of the 2023 season — citing the need for more space to grow — John Force, a multiple-time NHRA champion and longtime competitor at the event, remarked at that final running: "It's going to be an emotional weekend, saying goodbye to this place... it's Mount Rushmore... this is God's gift. This is mythical shit. I love racing, and I love this hill."
In April 2023, the Bandimere family announced the closure of the original Morrison site, ending a run that had lasted from 1958 to 2023. The family cited ambitions to relocate and build a larger, modernized facility. In May 2025, John Bandimere Jr. announced the purchase of 114 acres in Hudson, Colorado in Weld County, with plans to acquire over 1,000 acres for a facility that could include a drag strip, road course, karting circuit, and potentially host events such as the revived IndyCar Grand Prix of Denver.
The future of the NHRA Mile-High Nationals as a named event remains tied to the development of the new Bandimere complex, with the original course now permanently closed.
The Mile-High Nationals earned a reputation as one of the most atmospheric and technically demanding events on the NHRA calendar. The combination of its altitude-driven performance quirks, the steeply contoured layout of the Bandimere property, and the mountain backdrop made it a fan and competitor favorite for more than four decades. The event ran continuously, with only the construction hiatus of 1988–1989 interrupting the schedule, from its 1978 inauguration through the closure of the original site in 2023.