Bandimere Speedway brought quite a few racers to tears on Sunday. As the speedway hosted its last race this week, every racer wanted a win to etch their name in its closing moments. 7x Top Fuel National Event winner Leah Pruett was no different. While Tony Stewart’s wife failed to bag a victory, her emotions were not allayed to any extent. The closing of the speedway where she started her career seems to have left her quite bereft. 

Now, what are sportspersons without their fans? Be it a racer’s high or low, dejection or jubilance, fans are there. They celebrate their favorite team’s victory, perhaps even more strongly than the racers themselves. All in all, fans are the biggest critics as well as sympathizers. The latter was proved right as Pruett received heartfelt support from fans as she expressed her regrets for not winning the race she would have remembered forever. 

The love affair that is Bandimere Speedway and Leah Pruett

For the last few weeks, the celebrated drag racer had been actively expressing her emotions regarding the closing of her favorite race track. In one such recent post, Pruett reminisced the moments she spent in Bandimere Speedway and lamented the fact that she couldn’t bag a win here unlike the last season. 

Bandimere Speedway has been an active part of the 11-time NHRA event winner’s career. Ever since Leah was 8 years old, she has been racing at the Bandimere Speedway. Pruett had won the Bandimere Speedway race in the last season and had hoped to repeat history this year.

Her connection with Thunder Mountain runs deep to the extent that she had made it a ritual to jog on and see the sunset at Thunder Mountain before every single race. While she admitted that Banidmere is the toughest race she has had to face, she does it time and time again out of her love and passion for the tough track. And now, all of that comes to an end as Bandimere closes down with a final grand race.

With the race track’s last race being over, Pruett took to Instagram to write a heartfelt goodbye post. Along with pictures of her moments on the race track, she also congratulated teammate Matt Hagan on winning the Mile High Nationals.  

This facility has quite a fascinating history. 63 years ago, John Bandimere Sr. had bought a small strip of land in the rough terrains of the Rocky Mountains in Denver. He took his family’s help to build a small and safe drag strip that would take forth their auto parts business venture. Not just that, he also wanted to ensure that this strip helped young individuals learn more about auto parts and motor parts in a safe and controlled environment.

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Thus, the Badimere Speedway was born. For 63 years, this track has undergone a plethora of changes and seen the start of many a driver’s career. But, all good things must come to an end. Unfortunately, the track and the entire land itself have been sold by the family as they are moving out. But the track will forever live on in the hearts of racers like Pruett who share such a meaningful connection with the place.

Racers may come and go, but Bandimere lives forever

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It is safe to say that fans will ensure that Leah’s sadness is short-lived. Her personal connection with the track brought forth a flurry of emotions among fans. In response to her Instagram post, fans have provided nothing but motivation and optimistic thoughts for the NHRA racer.

Comments like “Great effort…just came up a bit short..proud of the whole organization..made us Mopar enthusiast proud and our great representation by yourself and the Hagan bunch.. great job” came as responses.

The official account of the track made its way to the comment section. They wrote, “Thank you so much for all your love and support. [Heat emoji] Always a pleasure having you visit the Mountain.”

“Don’t ever forget the mountain…..always a champ”

A mother commented on precious moments her daughter got to share with her idol. She wrote, “You made my daughters dream come true on Saturday, by getting an autograph, a picture taken with you and gifting you a picture that she drew of your car. You are her idol, thank you so much @leah.pruett ! 🏁💜”

“Keep your head up Leah. The run you made would have won 99 out of 100 times” flooded her post.

Fans can only hope that their cheers lead their favorite racer to liven up their weekend with a banging performance at the upcoming races at Pacific Raceways and Sonoma. Tony Stewart Racing has been doing quite well this season. Here’s hoping that they maintain this performance. 

Read More: Tony Stewart’s Wife Leah Completes Her Racing Tradition One Last Time Before Historic Thunder Mountain’s Final Showdown