Mike Salinas, who recorded his first racing victory at any level Sunday at the NHRA’s Denso Spark Plugs Four-Wide Nationals at Las Vegas, revealed he plans to field three dragsters in the near future.
Daughter Jasmine Salinas is racing in the sportsman-level Top Alcohol Dragster class with the intention of upgrading her license to compete in the Top Fuel class. She reached the semifinal round Sunday at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Her sister Jianna Salinas entered her second Pro Stock Motorcycle event this past weekend, as well. She fell two-hundredths short of cracking into her first starting lineup. But she, too, plans — like three-time Top Fuel champion Antron Brown did in 2008 — to move into a dragster.
“If you put in the work, you’re going to do well,” he said. “My girls put in the work. The next couple years, you guys will see. Everybody is watching what we’re building and what’s growing. The girls are going to be great. Jasmine is going to be an amazing Top Fuel driver. And I believe Jianna is going to jump in a Top Fuel car also. All the girls are going to have an opportunity to do it. I think it’s going to be fun.”
It will be something like the NHRA hasn’t seen in its marquee class. The normally serious Salinas becomes animated when he talks about this aspect of his program, or as he puts it, “what we’ve got coming.”
Salinas said he’s excited that tuner Alan Johnson is planning to take his daughters down the path he is taking him and has taken Gary Scelzi, Tony Schumacher, Larry Dixon, Del Worsham, Shawn Langdon, and Brittany Force for a total of 12 championships.
“The nice part is he’s already looking forward to Jasmine out there. So we’re already working on this stuff. Her car will start being built in probably two months. We’re going to start building her team and get ready and try to ease her in when she’s ready,” Mike Salinas said. “She will get her license this year. She will get her license, but it’s going to be her choice, not mine.”
The NHRA will reconvene this weekend at Houston Raceway Park at Baytown, Texas, for the Mopar Express Lane SpringNationals.
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