The sport of drag racing has seen a handful of long-standing performance benchmarks recorded over the decades, their lore growing each passing year as they stand the test of time while drivers and tuners step up to the plate and swing for the fences each season. And perhaps none in the more than 60-year history of the sport has garnered more fame than Don “The Snake” Prudhomme’s 5.63 at the 1982 U.S. Nationals, a mark that stood for some six years.

But in more recent memory, another performance mark was set that not only stood longer than Prudhomme’s, but will likely never be displaced.

During the final session of qualifying just before sunset at the 1999 running of the Mopar Parts Mile High Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway near Denver, Colo., Joe Amato blasted his Dynomax-backed dragster, tuned by none other than Jimmy Prock, to a track record of 4.584 seconds at 318.54, which was more than .06 quicker than #2 qualifier Doug Kalitta’s 4.647 and more than a tenth quicker than Blaine Johnson’s 4.70 track record set in 1996.

http://youtu.be/F3jFgKUr-dw
Shortened version of ESPN2’s coverage of the 1999 Mopar Parts Mile High Nationals

The 5,800 foot elevation of the Bandimere family’s impressive facility, combined with the traditional blazing mid-summer heat, typically makes this event one of the trickiest on the tour. And year after year, the Top Fuel contingent took shots at Amato’s record. And as each year passed, anticipation grew among fans who had kept track of this seemingly untouchable mark. It wasn’t until 2005 that another driver even eclipsed the 4.60 mark, as Brandon Bernstein knocked out a 4.596 during qualifying that year.

Amato’s track record was at least temporarily retired in 2008 with the coming of the 1000′ era, but it still remains as one of the longest-running track records in drag racing history.