Jasmine Salinas Explained

Jasmine Salinas
Nationality:American
Birth Date:January 4, 1992
Birth Place:San Jose, California
Related To:Mike Salinas (father)
Current Series:NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series
First Year:2024
Current Team:Scrappers Racing
Fastest Laps:3.79 seconds / 318 mph
Prev Series:Lucas Oil Drag Racing
Prev Series Years:2019–2023
Titles:North Central Regional Champion
Title Years:2022

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

Early career

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

NHRA Lucas Oil Series

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

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

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

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.

Motorsports career results

Lucas Oil Series

SeasonClassWinsFinalsPointsRef
2019Top Alcohol Dragster130132415th[10]
2021Top Alcohol Dragster18135186th[11]
2022Top Alcohol Dragster16426593rd[12]
2023Top Alcohol Dragster100031614th

Mission Foods Series

Notes and References

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