Jasmine Salinas

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Jasmine Salinas
NationalityAmerican
Born (1992-01-04) January 4, 1992 (age 32)
San Jose, California
Related toMike Salinas (father)
NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series career
Debut season2024
Current teamScrappers Racing
Fastest laps3.79 seconds / 318 mph
Previous series
2019–2023Lucas Oil Drag Racing
Championship titles
2022North Central Regional Champion

Jasmine Monique Salinas (born January 4, 1992) is an American NHRA drag racer. She is the daughter of drag racer Mike Salinas and the sister of fellow racer Jianna Evaristo-Salinas.

Racing career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Salinas started racing at the age of 15 in the NHRA Junior Drag Racing Series alongside her 3 sisters. [citation needed]

NHRA Lucas Oil Series[edit]

In 2019, Salinas made her debut in Top Alcohol Dragster and finished her rookie season 15th in points.[1] She appeared on the cover of Drag Illustrated's 'Women of Power' issue with her sister, Jianna.[2]

In 2021, Salinas experienced a blow over crash during the final round of qualifying at Gainesville Raceway.[3] Despite a carsh at the start of the season, she finished 6th in National Standings and 2nd in Regional Standings with 1 Regional Event win.

In 2022, Jasmine scored her 1st National Event win right back at Gainesville Raceway, exactly 1 year after surviving a harrowing over-the-wall crash at the very same track.[4] She would go on to win 3 more races that season, including tying for 2nd in the World and securing the North Central Regional Championship. She was selected to be part of Drag Illustrated's '30 Under 30' and appeared on the magazine's cover for that issue as well.[5]

In 2023, Jasmine competed part-time in Top Alcohol Dragster to focus her efforts on her professional transition into Top Fuel Dragster. In August, she earned her licensed in Top Fuel Dragster, thus making her one of the fastest Women of Color on the planet.

NHRA Mission Foods Series[edit]

She will make her professional debut in 2024 for Scrappers Racing, where they will field a 2 car team. Both she and her father will make history as the first Father-Daughter duo in NHRA Top Fuel Dragster.[6]

Gainesville Crash[edit]

In 2021 during the AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Nationals in Gainesville, Florida, Salinas experienced a blow over crash during the final round of qualifying.[7] The car went airborne as she passed the 1/8 mile and flew across the track, over the left guardrail, and flipped several times until eventually coming to a stop in the outside embankment.

The NHRA issued a statement that said Salinas’ “dragster stood up and blew over before coming to a stop” in the class’ final pairing of the session. She was able to crawl out of the car under her own power and was later transported to a local hospital for evaluation. She suffered bruising but no major injuries.[8]

Personal life[edit]

Salinas is of Dutch-Indonesian and Mexican-Commanche-Spanish descent. Her family resides in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. She is the oldest of four girls. She is the daughter of NHRA Top Fuel driver Mike Salinas and the sister of Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Jianna Evaristo.

She attended The University of San Francisco where she studied Mandarin Chinese and received a degree in Global Studies.

In 2019, she was the subject of a documentary, 'Five Foot 280' which was accepted into several film festivals.[9] The documentary short follows Salinas through her adrenaline-filled world of driving a 3,500 horsepower car while describing the challenges of being a female in a male-dominated sport.

Salinas currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana for her racing career.[citation needed]

Motorsports career results[edit]

Lucas Oil Series[edit]

Season Class Races Wins Finals Points Position Ref
2019 Top Alcohol Dragster 13 0 1 324 15th [10]
2021 Top Alcohol Dragster 18 1 3 518 6th [11]
2022 Top Alcohol Dragster 16 4 2 659 3rd [12]
2023 Top Alcohol Dragster 10 0 0 316 14th

Mission Foods Series[edit]

Season Class Races Wins Finals Points Position Ref
2024 Top Fuel

References[edit]

  1. ^ "NHRA 2019 National Standings". NHRA.
  2. ^ "Second-Generation Drag Racers Get Their Turn". Drag Illustrated.
  3. ^ https://www.autoweek.com/racing/nhra/a35828655/jasmine-salinas-righteninl-flight-nhra-gatornationals/
  4. ^ "Jasmine Salinas Snags First TAD Win For Scrappers Racing in Gainesville". Drag Illustrated. 15 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Drag Illustrated 30 under 30". Drag Illustrated.
  6. ^ "Jasmine Salinas set to launch NHRA Top Fuel program for 2024". autos.yahoo.com. 2023-08-30. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  7. ^ "Jasmine Salinas Takes Frightening Over-The-Wall Flight At NHRA Gatornationals".
  8. ^ "Jasmine Salinas Takes Frightening Over-The-Wall Flight at NHRA Gatornationals". autos.yahoo.com. 2021-03-13. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  9. ^ "JASMINE SALINAS FILM 'FIVE FOOT 280' SPREADS GOSPEL OF DRAG RACING, OVERCOMING FEARS | Competition Plus". www.competitionplus.com. 2020-12-04. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  10. ^ "Standings".
  11. ^ "Standings".
  12. ^ "Standings".

External links[edit]