Jasmine Salinas (Top Fuel) and Jianna Evaristo (Pro Stock Motorcycle) are ready to face some of the toughest competition in all of drag racing at this week’s Toyota NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. Known as “The Big Go,” this is the final event of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series regular season. Series competitors will earn points and a half for their performances at the U.S. Nationals making the stakes incredibly high as they pull out all of the stops to make it into the Countdown to the Championship, NHRA’s version of the playoffs.
After making some positive changes in testing, Top Fuel newcomer Jasmine Salinas is eager to take to the track in her 11,000-horsepower Valley Services Scrappers Racing machine. The talented 2024 NHRA Rookie of the Year candidate is learning to embrace the pressure that comes with piloting one of the fastest-accelerating cars on the planet. Her talented crew led by Rob Flynn and Arron Cave have been hard at work and everyone in the Scrappers Racing camp feels good about their progress.
“This is one I’ve been excited about all year,” said Jasmine. “Racing in pro competition at the U.S. Nationals is something I’ve dreamed about for a long time. Since I live in the Indianapolis area, I’ve had the opportunity to represent our series sponsor, Mission Foods, this week at a local autograph session. I love getting to work with sponsors in our sport so it was a fun way to kick things off!”
Jianna Evaristo became the fastest woman in Pro Stock Motorcycle when she achieved a new personal best speed last month in Sonoma, where she also set a new personal best elapsed time. She’s feeling more confident than ever aboard her Valley Services Scrappers Racing Buell and is determined to go rounds in Indy. Thanks to her standout performance in Sonoma, the talented racer will have the opportunity to compete in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty challenge, a specialty race-within-a-race that features the semi-finalists from the previous event.
“I’m excited to get back on my bike for the BIG GO! Indy is always interesting and intense,” said Jianna. “We are competing in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty challenge so there are multiple wins on the line this weekend. Coming off of such a great performance in Sonoma has definitely boosted our confidence.”
Professional competition in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series will begin with one qualifying round on Friday, August 30 at 6:45 p.m., followed by two qualifying sessions on Saturday, August 31 at 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Two additional qualifying opportunities will take place on Sunday, September 1 at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Eliminations are scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, September 2.
This story was originally published on August 29, 2024. 
