JEFFERSON COUNTY JUDGE TELLS BANDIMERE SPEEDWAY IT MUST COMPLY WITH NEW RULES FOR LARGE GATHERINGS

by Tracy Renck    Tue, 2020-07-21 16:04

 

A new public health order issued in Jefferson County late July 20 made the issue of an injunction against Bandimere Speedway "moot," according to the judge overseeing the hearing.

Bandimere Speedway is in Morrison, Colo., 20 minutes from Denver. Bandimere Speedway has been hosting races for 63 years.

In a hearing Tuesday morning, it was brought up that a new public health order (PHO) went into effect at 5 p.m. (MT) July 20. It requires anyone hosting an event with more than 175 people to have a pre-approved safety plan. A mandate for face coverings also went into effect in Jefferson County after the last hearing regarding Bandimere Speedway took place on July 9.

in a story by 9News in Denver, the judge called the latest PHO "ill-timed" and said she was not sure if she could issue an injunction to force the speedway to do something that's now required under the PHO. To allow time to consider the new orders, Judge Russell called a 20-minute recess.

When she returned, Judge Russell said she did find evidence that the speedway was not in compliance with public health orders. She said the court also found that non-compliance with the health orders would result in a "significant risk of irreparable harm," which is something that the county had to prove in order to have its injunction granted.

She also vacated a temporary restraining order (TRO) that had already been in place since early July, which required the venue in Morrison to comply with all public health orders related to COVID-19. However, Judge Russell cautioned that Bandimere must still comply with all local and state orders even if they're challenging those orders in court.

The judge also rejected a counterclaim by Bandimere Speedway which argued that the state and county health orders are "illegal and unenforceable," because she said it was an issue for another court because her job is not to make laws, but rather enforce them.

“Sometimes the rules that get put on us by this world are tough so we will have to have some conversation about that, thank you,” John Bandimere said outside the courthouse Tuesday following the hearing. 

The NHRA Mello Yello Series national event schedule had the Mile-High Nationals at Bandimere Speedway slated for Aug. 7-9, which is the speedway’s marquee event.

On July 17, the Mile-High Nationals were postponed until further notice for coronavirus pandemic-related reasons.

 

 
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