Bandimere revs up next chapter in Hudson

HUDSON — The Bandimere family’s next chapter is about to begin. The family, who spent 65 years running Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, has gained approval from the Town of Hudson to bring their historic speedway and massive racer following to town.

The Hudson Town Board on April 1 – no fooling – unanimously approved the zoning and annexation of 1,100 acres of land to town to build the new entertainment venue on a site near Interstate 76 and Colorado Highway 52 that will not only house a new quarter-mile race-track but possibly a go-kart track, a midget-car race track, garages and industrial buildings — and for the first time in 65 years — fixed bathrooms with running water. The Bandimere family also plans to build a chapel and continue its many youth programs such as Race to Read, which ran for 27 years and reached more than 30,000 kids a year.

The Bandimere family has been working for the last couple of years to move their 65-year-old business out of Morrison and its famed “Thunder Mountain” race track. The family opted to close the speedway Oct. 18, 2024, when residential growth had finally encroached on the track, and they outgrew their space. They set their sights on the acreage in Hudson to start a new chapter in their legacy.

“We don’t need to be building another race track,” John Bandimere Jr. said in an interview with BizWest. “Family-wise, financially, we could just move on, but the issue  is why? Because of the people and the platform that the Lord has allowed us to have in basically what we do.

“When you think about it at the end of the day, it’s the relationships you have, whether it’s with the chicken farm or the racers. That’s what brings people to a facility, when they’re welcomed and feel at home,” Bandimere said.

During a public hearing in front of the Hudson Planning Commission in February, residents from throughout Colorado and local business owners packed town hall, and parked online to urge their support of the project, citing the Bandimere’s mission and the family atmosphere they have fostered with their race track for decades.

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One wrinkle in Bandimere’s plans came from a nearby egg production facility, Opal Foods LLC. The company hired a Denver law firm to deliver a letter of their concerns about noise and pollution potentially harming their chickens. Town board members in March interpreted that letter as a litigation threat, and they delayed the meeting to vote on the annexation and zoning until April 1.

The Bandimeres then sat down with representatives of Opal and addressed all of their concerns, Bandimere said.

“We preferred to do it that way,” Bandimere said. “We met with them, had a good conversation, and ended up proving to them that we’re not going to be a problem to them. They wrote us a letter of agreement, and we all signed it, and they testified they had no problem.”

The main concern was how the noise could upset the chickens, which could increase their death rates. Bandimere said they showed Opal Foods that the race track’s noise levels wouldn’t make a dent in the existing noise inside the facility. He said the race track, 4,000 feet away from the egg facility, will be at the lowest point in the property, and berms will be built around the track to buffer the noise. The east berm, which is closest to the chicken facility, will be built much larger to allow motorhomes to park at a point where people can see the races from above.

“They will act like a building, and that really cuts the sound down, because it’s like a buffer,” Bandimere said. They also amicably settled other Opal Foods’ concerns, such as dust concerns and traffic interfering with facility operations. Bandimere said they already are working with the Colorado Department of Transportation to ensure the road into the track doesn’t bottleneck. Dust also is a concern at the racetrack, as it can mix with materials placed on the track to keep the surface sticky during races.

“We proved to them that they’re dustier than we are,” Bandimere said. “The thing is, we want to be a good neighbor.”

With annexation and zoning approval, next steps include submitting a site development plan to the town. When the day comes to put shovels to dirt, the town, its Chamber of Commerce and the Bandimere family will launch it in a big ground-breaking ceremony.“It is a big deal, and we’ll have the golden shovels,” Town Manager Bryce Lange said in an interview. “There’s just a lot of opportunity and I know their group is really excited to get things started. The focus is on the track, but very quickly we’ll see a lot of interest in other aspects of this development will start to unfold.”

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