It was a father-daughter double-up this weekend for Scrappers Racing as Mike Salinas and his daughter Jasmine both nabbed Wallys today, in two different locations and in two different categories. Regardless of the distance between them, rest assured that the Scrappers Racing team is celebrating their Top Fuel and Top Alcohol Dragster wins as a family.
In Epping, N.H., Top Fuel standout Mike Salinas is officially having the best start of his career this year thanks to landing in the winners circle today at the NHRA New England Nationals. This marks his third win in only eight NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series events so far this year.
Continuous improvement is the name of the game for the Scrappers Racing team as M. Salinas feels they are constantly learning and getting better. He’s thrilled to share the excitement of this win with his daughter, who was competing in Norwalk, Ohio.
“Families that race together, win together,” said M. Salinas. “I’m excited about the momentum we have as a team and as a family. This is a great day for all of us.”
In front of a stellar crowd at New England Dragway, M. Salinas powered his 11,000-horsepower Valley Services/Scrappers Racing dragster to the No. 3 qualifier position earlier in the weekend with a pass of 3.705-seconds at 328.06 MPH. In the first round of competition today the driver and team owner faced the No. 14 qualifier, Joe Morrison. Morrison’s engine blew early and M. Salinas sailed through the finish line with a run of 3.888 at 323.12.
In the second round of eliminations, M. Salinas got the starting line advantage over Leah Pruett and kept the lead as the two sped to the finish line. He then faced Austin Prock in the semifinals where Prock had the starting line advantage but had to shut off early giving M. Salinas the win.
For the first time in a final round, M. Salinas lined up against Justin Ashley. The two had only faced each other once before and Ashley came out on top that time. Today, however, M. Salinas had the starting line advantage and never trailed for the win with an impressive run of 3.729 at 330.80. This is his third victory of the season and the sixth of his Top Fuel career.
In Norwalk, Ohio, Jasmine Salinas was matching her father round for round at the Division 3 regional points meet where she qualified second. She faced serious competition throughout the day before meeting and defeating Jeff Chatterson in the finals with a pass of 5.329 at 275.96.
“We were runner up at the Norwalk regional last year so it feels awesome to be bringing home a Wally this year,” said J. Salinas. “But what makes it even better is that my dad and his Top Fuel team won their race in Epping right before we did. Even though we were at different tracks, we were following each other all weekend on NHRA.tv so we didn’t miss a thing.
“One day we’ll eventually get another father-daughter double up at the same event and be in the winners circle together. Thank you, Pops, Richie, Tex and Chris for all your hard work this weekend. You all have given me a great car to work with and I always have faith in the four of you. I’m looking forward to coming out again in three weeks for the national event.”
NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series action will continue June 17-19 in Bristol, Tenn. at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals.
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