John Force understudy/son-in-law Robert Hight wins his second career FC title when he powers the Jimmy Prock-tuned Auto Club of California Ford Mustang to victory. Hight “runs the table” by rewriting both ends of the Bandimere Raceway track record during qualifying (at 4.796 secs and 322.58 mph) to take the pole and set low ET and top speed. Hight prevents Phil Burkart Jr from defending his 2004 Mopar Mile-High Nationals FC title in the final round when he records a winning 4.897 secs at 316.60 mph. The victory puts the rookie sensation into first place in NHRA POWERade FC points.

Don Schumacher’s formidable 3-car Dodge FC team looked good entering Sunday’s final eliminations after drivers Whit Bazemore, Ron Capps and Gary Scelzi ran steady during qualifying to grab the the 2 thru 4 slots. But event victory is denied with Scelzi going the furthest in eliminations to the semi-final round only to smoke the tires instantly while racing Robert Hight.

Canada’s Jeff Arend debuts his new corporate sponsor and colors at the event. Jeff qualifies the new look So Good International Pontiac Firebird on the bump with a 5.081 secs but is eliminated by Hight in round one. So Good International is a Hawaii-based food products conglomerate. Just after the event Jeff confirms that his 1+ year association with sponsor CMKX Diamonds had ended.

Tony Schumacher moves back onto the Top Fuel POWERade points podium following his 4th victory of the season driving the U.S. Army dragster. Schumacher records the fastest speed ever at the Mile-High Nationals event at a blistering 4.617 secs 331.45 mph in the final round to again deny Morgan Lucas his first career victory as a Pro driver. Schumacher’s speed is some 13 mph faster then the previous track record coming into the event (318.45 mph set by Joe Amato back in 1999!)

Top Fuel qualifying is paced by Brandon Bernstein who also topped the 330 mph mark high on the mountain. Bernstein paced the field with a 4.596 secs effort driving the Budweiser dragster only to have the car break during it’s burnout in round number one.

Colorado native Melanie Troxel made her TF class return at the event driving the new Skull Gear/Torco Race Fuels-sponsored dragster under the Don Schumacher camp. Melanie managed a decent 4.847 secs to qualify #10 but was eliminated by Doug Herbert’s Snap-On Tools dragster in round one.

Scott Kalitta ran a special Coors-sponsored edition Jesse James/Mac Tools Dragster at the event. Kalitta qualified #8 with the good looking car but was sent packing by his racing stalemate David Grubnic in the first round.

The Pro Stock final round featured a true veteran against a young lion as Warren Johnson faced off against David Connolly. In a truly exciting class conclusion, neither driver wanted to stage first and a burn down ensued which lasted some 110 secs before Connolly went in. The strategy seemed to backfire on Connolly who went .001 red to hand WJ his 95th career victory. Johnson’s winning RT was a slick .011 which he combined with a lap of 7.131 secs at 193.16 mph. The “Professor” had earlier established top speed of the meet at 194.24 mph (track record) driving the powerful GM Performance Parts Pontiac.

Johnson’s final round win was the 812th round win of his career – an ongoing NHRA record. At age 61 – he is also the oldest Professional driver to win a national event title.

Greg Anderson was the talk of the Pro Stock class at Denver when he debuted the first ever Pontiac GTO Pro Stocker. He reaped rewards almost immediately as he lead all qualifiers with a 7.106 secs driving the Summit Racing Equipment-sponsored machine. Anderson was eliminated in round two by David Connolly who strapped a .007 RT on him to win 7.213 secs to 7.188 secs.

Pro Stock class racing included the return of Mike Thomas to class competition. Thomas filled in for the ailing Ken Koretsky driving the Nitro Fish-sponsored Dodge Stratus. Thomas qualified well with a 7.145 secs (8th) but lost out to David Connolly’s Torco Race Fuels Chevy in round one.

Indiana’s Ryan Schnitz upset the Pro Stock Bike field when he rode Rob Muzzy’s ’05 Buell to victory lane. Schnitz spotted his opponent Antron Brown an early lead in the final (.007 to .021 RT) but soon roared by the U.S. Army motorcycle rider to take a convincing 7.513 secs to 7.555 victory. Schnitz, who had also won at Columbus this year, became the first repeat winner in the very competitive Pro Stock Bike category this season.

Schnitz’s event win included top speed of the meet at a new track record 186.54 mph. Defending POWERade World Champion Andrew Hines set low ET during qualifying riding the Vance & Hines Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod to a 7.436 secs (also a track record).

Sportsman racing highlights included a “double up” victory in Stock and Super Stock by Texan Kevin Helms. Helms won in Stock driving his ’69 Camaro A/Stocker defeating the similar Chevy Camaro driven by Aaron Kippien in that final. A few minutes later Helms prevailed driving his SS/CM ’95 Olds Achieva in Super Stock by beating Max Tafoya Jr to the stripe.

Super Stock class racing included the first national event for the immaculate SS/AA ’64 Savoy driven by Jon Percy from Idaho. The machine was the worthy recipient of the event’s overall “Best Engineered” Award.

The Mopar Mile-High Nationals event was preceded by a huge street party presented by Mopar on the streets of downtown Golden Colorado and in the shadows of the Coors factory -- on the Thursday prior to the race. The annual event which featured numerous marquee Mopar drivers, a great car display and a great live band drew the largest crowd by far for event organizers.