Fans were treated to some of the best side-by-side racing in Bandimere Speedway history during final eliminations at the 29th running of the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals in Denver. The all-concrete racing surface was as big a story as the event winners. The track's first-of-its-kind cooling system -- which uses cooling coils underneath the racing surface to chill the track temperature in an area in each lane that is 20 feet wide and extends from 40 feet before the staging beams to 120 feet after it -- was lauded by racers for helping them put big numbers on the scoreboard in conditions that have created tricky racetracks in the past.

The lack of unwelcome racing-surface issues set the stage for a welcome abundance of drama on the racetrack. Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel) and Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car) scored hard-earned wins at the first event where nitro racing was contested to 1,000 feet. Greg Anderson and Allen Johnson engaged in an exciting Pro Stock final that concluded with Anderson's third straight victory, and Matt Smith defended his Pro Stock Motorcycle crown.

Tony Schumacher

The rivalry between Don Schumacher Racing and David Powers Motorsports raged on in the Top Fuel final as combatants and former U.S. Army teammates Schumacher and Antron Brown faced off. Brown's Matco Tools/iLocate dragster wisped the tires, and Schumacher's Alan Johnson-tuned U.S. Army dragster made its fourth 4.0-second run of eliminations with a 4.007 at 304.05 mph to notch the team's sixth victory of the season.

"The key to this race was getting the car to leave hard over the water so we had momentum when we got to the hot part of the track," said Schumacher, whose 47 career wins put him within five of Amato's class-record 52. "That's what Alan Johnson said, and what are you going to do, second-guess him? The car was absolutely flawless all day.

"Antron is a great dude. He and I are buddies, and he makes me sit up high in the seat and drive hard. If it's us battling it out for the championship, I'd be proud to have him as my adversary. Now that's a rivalry."

Schumacher had the most consistent machine on the premises heading into the final. He made runs of 4.03, 4.04, and 4.03 in victories against Steve Chrisman, Doug Herbert, and Larry Dixon, respectively. "The Sarge" has made a remarkable eight final-round appearances this season, bringing his total to 78 finals.

Brown began eliminations by running an outstanding 3.995, 298.21 beside teammate Rod Fuller. He had to pedal in his second-round match with Bob Vandergriff Jr. and scored a close win, 4.25 to 4.28. In the semifinals, Brown notched his third holeshot win of the season against No. 1 qualifier and Schumacher teammate Cory McClenathan, who was handed his third such loss and second at the hands of Brown. Brown reached his fourth final of the season at a venue where he had reached the final round three times as a Pro Stock Motorcycle rider (no wins).

Tim Wilkerson

A new spec chassis, new Goodyear tires, and a new racing surface did little to deter the outstanding season of Funny Car champ Wilkerson. Wilkerson, who was joined at the race by longtime supporter Dick Levi, spun the tires some in the final round against defending event champion Jack Beckman but pulled off his fourth win of the season, 4.39 to 4.66.

"We had a good car all weekend and went down the track every run," said Wilkerson, who has won four of the last nine events. "I thought, 'If I could get the thing to have all eight holes, it'll be fast.' On the last run, what's it do? It doesn't drop a hole, so it smokes the tires. I'm pretty proud of my guys, and there is obviously nothing wrong with my brand-new Murf McKinney chassis.

"The track guys really did a great job and really need to be commended. [The track] had traction out the wazoo. I don't know what everybody thinks about the 1,000-foot deal, but it worked out pretty good from where I'm sitting. There was good, tight racing all weekend, and I want to applaud NHRA for that."

Wilkerson did what he has been doing all season by wearing out his opponents with a fast, consistent race car. This time, the points leader single-handedly took out three-fourths of the John Force Racing contingent. The driver of the Levi, Ray & Shoup Chevy Impala SS defeated Ashley Force, Mike Neff, and Robert Hight. John Force was beaten by teammate Neff in the opening stanza.

After a hot start to the 2008 season -- he was second in points after four events -- "Fast Jack" had fallen out of the top 10 with only one round-win since his Phoenix triumph. In fact, he had racked up three DNQs and no round-wins since his second-round finish in Gainesville. The defending event champ's Johnny West- and Tommy DeLago-tuned hot rod was consistent throughout the event, and the drag racing school instructor even earned a win for his Valvoline/MTS team by defeating second-round opponent Gary Densham on a holeshot.

Greg Anderson

Intuitive racing fans could have sensed the development of a Anderson-Johnson Pro Stock final throughout the event. A.J. was the quickest driver on both qualifying runs Friday, and Anderson answered back Saturday. Johnson was hungry after being shut out of final rounds all year despite having a strong car, and Anderson was eager to avenge his final-round holeshot loss to Johnson at the K&N Horsepower Challenge two weeks earlier in Norwalk. Anderson got a slight jump on the starting line and held on for a wire-to-wire victory. Both drivers ran 7.02s, and Anderson improved the track speed record to 196.39 mph.

"This is the most challenging race of the year for us because it's so much different from everywhere we go," said Anderson, who collected his 56th title and second in Denver. "We learned more this year than we have any other year. Normally, we want to get off the mountain after we lose early in the day on Sunday and get back to sea level. We tamed it today, and now I don't want to get off the mountain.

"I can't possibly say enough about the job the Bandimere family has done to this racetrack. It's absolutely the wave of the future with the cooling system on the starting line and the all-concrete surface. It's absolutely a supertrack. It was a great day for racing, and I had tough opponents all day long."

After winning the Englishtown and Norwalk events, Anderson dominated Saturday qualifying to start from the No. 1 spot. The driver of the Summit Racing Pontiac GXP defeated local favorite V. Gaines in the first round and Jeg Coughlin in the second before engaging in a great semifinal race with off-track friend/on-track rival Kurt Johnson. K.J. left first in the ACDelco Chevy Cobalt, but Anderson reeled him in after the 1,000-foot mark to win by .003-second and extend his points lead.

Defending event champ Johnson has a knack for the high altitude. His Mark Ingersoll-tuned, Roy Johnson-powered Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T ran well throughout his sponsor's title event; A.J. plowed through eliminations with wins against Warren Johnson, Larry Morgan, and Ron Krisher.

Matt Smith

Defending NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Motorcycle world champ Smith accomplished something he had yet to do in his young but successful career by winning at the same event twice. The defending event champ rode his Nitro Fish Wear S&S Buell V-Twin to the winner's circle for the eighth time by cutting a superb .005 light and halting veteran Steve Johnson in the final, 7.326, 180.74 to 7.340, 180.81.

"We performed and had a good bike," said Smith, who also won earlier this season in Houston. "I'm just glad to come out of here with a win again. I've been creeping up on my lights, and I didn't want to push the Tree too hard in the final because I know I've got a fast bike. Steve's one of these guys who likes to stage first, so I tried to beat him in.

"We had the fastest run going in the third qualifying round, and the bike wouldn't go into high gear. We came back in Q4 and were fast, and we were fast all day. We brought the same tune-up we had last year, and it worked - again."

Smith didn't make a run that he was satisfied with until the final qualifying session, but once he did, he locked in on the 7.3-second zone. He was challenged by Norwalk titlist Hector Arana in the opening round, and he followed that win by putting Rocklin Motorsports/Mohegan Sun teammates Matt Guidera and Peggy Llewellyn on the trailer.

Johnson's weekend was a turbulent one, though his Snap-on/WyoTech Suzuki never lacked in performance. His laptop was stolen prior to the beginning of the event, he took the provisional pole Friday, he got bumped to fifth Saturday, and he advanced to his 12th final round Sunday with wins over Junior Pippin and the Vance & Hines/Screamin' Eagle Harley-Davidsons ridden by Andrew Hines and Eddie Krawiec.

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