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Press Release : Denver Colorado

        The Magazine

On the Road at the NHRA / Mopar Federal Mogal / Mile High Nationals
by Bev Saidel

           I like unscientific polls, don’t you?  With scientific polls, I get tired of having to worry about every single fact and figure, documenting my sources, making sure that none of the people who I interview will sue me.  Unscientific polls are more fun.  And I can make up stuff to fill in the holes that may occur in my data.

            Ever the intrepid reporter, I decided to proceed with a project fraught with possibilities.  I would attend the Mile High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado and proceed with an interview that no one else would get.  Joe Amato, you might ask?  Or possibly John Force or how about that attention getting motorcycle rider, Angelle Seeling?  Well sure, I could interview them.  After all I had my bonafide NHRA Media credentials - I could go anywhere, do anything, talk to any manager, make that interview appointment.  But that was not my purpose.  Yes, talking to Joe Amato would be sensational.  After all last year he beat the competition and this year repeated the effort by defeating series champion, Tony Schumacher reaching 300.53 mph in the quarter mile.  And everyone wanted an interview with the No.1 pro stock qualifier in motorcycle - Angelle Seeling.  But I had another purpose.  My purpose was to walk among the people...  you know, the fans.  My purpose was to ask the really hard questions, single out a specific demograph and ask the question that no one else was willing to ask... “Why are you here?”

            The first person I approached was Jean.  She was standing with a lady friend near one of the many places where you can buy t-shirts and gizmos and car models and whatever else might suit your fancy.  It was hot and they were standing in the shade offered by the canopy of the booth.  I stepped forward, took a deep breath, introduced myself and asked if I could ask them a couple of questions.  I received a slightly pained look, but heard the answer I hoped for - “Sure.”

            I looked Jean right in the eye and asked, “Why are you here?”

            Her response was clear and concise, “My husband made me!”

            Suddenly I heard another voice, “Yeah, and she’s enjoying every damn minute!”  I was to learn that this was Jean’s husband, Ron.

            Well, this is getting interesting I thought and asked, “Jean, where do you live?”

            “Torrington, Wyoming.”

            “Are you here just for the day?”

            “Yes.”

            “That’s a long way to come just for the day.  Did your husband offer you any kind of incentive to get you to come all this way for just the day?”

            “Oh yes.  He bought me a new pickup!”

            “And do you get to drive it, Jean?”

            “You bet!” she smiled and they walked off to watch their favorites in the Funny Car division work down the quarter mile track.

            My second interview was with a gal named Jennifer who lives in Denver.  She told me that her boyfriend made her come and that it was her first time at the drag races.  Kevin, her boyfriend, exuberantly told me that the Nationals were almost as good a sex.  Jennifer made a face, but admitted that she’d probably come back ... next year.

            I found Martha in section 5 sitting in the top row with a baby carriage behind her.  I was intrigued that she might be such a fan that she would not even conceive of leaving her infant or toddler at home.  I sidled up next to her, hoping to have a peak at the baby who I imagined would be wearing a huge set of ear muffs to protect his or her sensitive hearing.  As I introduced myself I tried to sneak a peek, but was unsuccessful. I was straining my neck while learning that Martha and her companion had come from a small town just outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Martha quickly caught on.

            “You must think I am a terrible mother,” she stated.  “Actually we use this baby carriage to carry all of our stuff!”

            I was somewhat relieved for the sake of the baby’s hearing, but thought that I had lost the special angle that I was trying to wangle.  I forged ahead.

            “Why are you here?”  I asked.

            “The Mile High Nationals are my ultimate stress reliever.  I have been coming here with my significant other for the past three years and it is just the best.  I don’t have to worry about anything.  I sit here in the sun, enjoy the sounds and the smells - it’s heaven!”

            I asked her if she was a fan.

            “Oh yes.  I love to watch Joe Amato and John Force, but my favorite this year is Tony Pedregon.  I want him to go all the way. You know this is the best kind of racing there is.  To watch these guys speed down the quarter mile track is so exciting.  I want to see if someone will break Amato’s record from last year.  (Amato traveled 318 mph in a quarter mile in the 1999 Nationals.)

            Martha told me that she begins to get “the itch” in early November and starts checking the mail for the brochure first thing.  She buys the tickets and makes sure that their schedules are set so that nothing stands in their way to attending.  I missed the baby angle, but found an amazing fan.

            Julie and Stacie were attending the Nationals as the result of a small bet.  Stacie was visiting from Monrovia, CA.  From what I could gather, the bet went something like this.  If Stacie had to attend the John Elway Invitational Golf Classic at Inverness with Julie, then Julie had to attend the Nationals with Stacie. As it turned out, despite living in Denver, Julie had never before attended the Mile High Nationals.  A self-admitted drag racing virgin, I asked Julie how she liked them.

            “I am having a lot of fun.  The noise and the smells are unbelievable and I never knew anyone could go so fast in such a short distance.”

            Stacie told me, “I have a big love for this.  My sister was going to be a drag racer or a pilot.  She chose pilot, but only after we attended a lot of drag races.”

            I wished them well at both events.  I was pretty sure that they would have fun no matter where their travels took them.

            Lanie admitted that her Dad gave her his tickets from work.  When I asked, “Why are you here?” her first response was, “cause Dad gave me the tickets.”  Being an intrepid reported I quickly discerned the truth... “It’s cause there are lots of cute guys here!”  Lanie also admitted that her favorites were the jet cars (who don’t run in competition at this event) and the motorcycles.  But she was cheering for the guys.  Sorry, Angelle.

            Perhaps my most interesting interview came from a fella.  When I asked why he was at the Nationals he admitted, “My girlfriend made me come!”

            “Well, now that you are here are you having a good time?”

            “I only came as a tag-along.”

            I learned that they had traveled up from Pueblo so I asked, “Did you at least buy your girlfriend breakfast after you picked her up this morning?”

            “No.  She bought us breakfast ... and she drove.” (They had come with two of their friends.)

            “Well, did you at least pitch in, offer to drive her car and throw in some money for gas?”

            “No.  But I told her I’d buy her a t-shirt!”

            “Great!  Will it be in her size?....”

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