Denver-Mall.Com  
Press Release : Article : Denver Colorado

        The Magazine

Thunder on the Plains?

Filed by: Bev Saidel for The Denver Mall  
February 2000 Denver, Colorado

I don’t know about you, but I thought that the free enterprise system and competition for my entertainment dollar was alive and well in the good old USA.  Apparently, I am mistaken.  In the February 6 article of the Denver Post, Mike Chambers confirmed my deepest fears about what is going on in this country.  My choices are being taken away - one by one.

            The latest in the fiasco that began with mega bank and telecom mergers has now extended itself into the motor sports world.  Because the line between free enterprise and politics has become so muddy, it is apparent that business owners may not have as many options as they once thought regarding how and where they do business.

The best recent example was the ballot issue that was introduced in Aurora, Colorado in November 1999.  The ballot item was written in such a murky fashion that even proponents admit that a “yes” vote meant “no” and a “no” vote meant “yes”.  It doesn’t take a genius to get the idea, just baffle the voter so they don’t know which way to vote.  That aside, the same ploy, so successfully used by a certain group in Colorado Springs, was used by a group called CRASH (Concerned Residents Against Speedway Havoc) and the owners of the Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR) who sponsored a ballot issue that prevented motor sports from finding a home in that city.  Simply stated, Penske Motorsports Inc.’s dream of building a speedway in the Aurora/Montbello area crumbled with the election, based upon a ballot initiative that was financially supported by a rival entity.

            Mike Chambers’ article stated that Rob Johnson, PPIR President, confirmed the relationship between CRASH and PPIR and doesn’t find it to be unethical.  And why should Mr. Johnson feel that it is?  His monetary support of ballot issues that prevent the growth of motor sports in the Denver metro area simply means greater potential dollars in his pocket.  And considering many of us no longer want to spend 3 to 4 hours sitting in our cars on the parking lot known as I-25 after a PPIR event, he should be worried.  I would suggest to Mr. Johnson that he would be better served spending $400,000.00 purchasing bus or train transportation to and from PPIR for people interested in attending his events.

             It is my contention that good citizens to the community and the state such as John Bandimere Jr. and his enterprise should not have to deal with the political intrigues of an entity that has a less than stellar track record.  Perhaps it is time for the community that supports wholesome family entertainment to take a stand and say, “We’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it anymore.”  (with apologies to the writers of the movie Network).

            Just as the Penske Motorsports Group has the right to build a new motorsports park in the metro area, the Bandimere family has the right to continue their tradition of quarter mile track racing in our community.  They have the right to re-build a facility that will most assuredly be an asset to Denver and the surrounding communities.  They have the right to continue their “top drawer” presentation of the love of motor sports.   And don’t the citizens of this fine state have the right to choose?  Shouldn’t we have the opportunity to say what we do and do not want to support without having to contend with the consequences of politics that intentionally confuses the public - yes is no, no is yes?

            As a die-hard motorhead, I know that the community in which I live would be a sad one if there were no Bandimere Speedway.  Even though the sport is loud and sometimes very explosive in nature, I would miss inserting my earplugs and inhaling nitro fumes and seeing the happy faces of the people who get a rush out of vehicles of varying kinds, traveling down the quarter mile track at speeds upwards of 300 mph. (thanks Joe Amato for 318 mph).