Mike Salinas started the weekend in the Northwest strong by claiming the number one qualifier position during the second qualifying session early on Saturday afternoon. The Valley Services Top Fuel dragster posted a time of 3.743 seconds at 329.02 mph for the second number one qualifier for Scrappers Racing this season.
As race morning rolled around, Salinas would inherit a bye run in the first round due to his number one qualifier position. He posted another solid pass at 3.786 seconds even losing a cylinder in his nitro-powered motor on the run. That would give him lane choice over Shawn Langdon for round two, but Salinas had to lift down track and would lose to Langdon with a 4.772 to a 3.792.
“We went up there with the thought of running a smooth, clean, fast run,” said Salinas, following round two. “We have the bottom end of the track real good and we’re trying to ease into the top part and the track just wouldn’t hold what we were trying to give it, that’s all. I got him (Langdon) on the light and had him to a certain spot. We were ahead of him and the car started breaking loose so I had to lift and he went by.”
In the first appearance for Pro Stock Motorcycle at the Pacific Raceways, Jianna Evaristo qualified in the number eight position with a time of 6.848 seconds at 197.42 mph. Evaristo would pair up against Chase Van Sant in round one as NHRA’s ‘Marquee Matchup.’ While Evaristo posted her fastest time of the weekend with a 6.822 second pass, it wasn’t enough to advance to round two as Van Sant posted a time of 6.799 seconds.
The NHRA Championship Drag Racing Series will finish out their Western Swing next weekend at Sonoma Raceway in Northern California. The Scrappers Racing Top Fuel car with Salinas and the Pro Stock Motorcycle of Evaristo will begin the weekend with the first round of qualifying on Friday, July 28 at 5:00 PM PT/8:00 PM ET.
This story was originally published on July 23, 2023. 
