Jasmine Salinas
Jasmine Monique Salinas (born January 4, 1992) is an NHRA drag racer, currently driving a Top Alcohol dragster for Scrappers Racing.
Jasmine Salinas | |
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![]() Salinas poses in her fire suit | |
Nationality | American |
Born | San Jose, California | January 4, 1992
Lucas Oil Series career | |
Top Alcohol | |
Years active | 2019 - Present |
Teams | Scrappers Racing |
Car number | 3 (2023) |
Wins | 5 in 10 final rounds |
Fastest laps | 5.177 (ET) 284 (MPH) |
Racing career
Jasmine Salinas started racing at the age of 15 in the NHRA Junior Drag Racing Series. In 2018, she became licensed in both Super Comp and Top Alcohol Dragster. Salinas made her National debut in Top Alcohol Dragster in 2019[1] at the 50th Anniversary of the Gatornationals in Gainnesville, Floriday, alongside her sister, Jianna Salinas.
In 2019 she finished her rookie season 15th in points with one final round appearance.[2] She appeared on the cover of Drag Illustrated's 'Women of Power' issue with her sister, Jianna.[3]
In 2021 during the AMALIE Motor Oil NHRA Nationals in Gainesville, Florida, Salinas experienced a blowover crash during the final round of qualifying.[4] The car went airborne as she passed the 1/8 mile and flew across the track, over the guardrail, and flipped several times until eventually coming to a stop in the outside embankment. 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. She finished the 2021 season 6th in National Standings and 2nd in Regional Standings.
In 2022, Jasmine scored her first National Event win right back at Gainesville Raceway, exactly 1 year after surviving a harrowing over-the-wall crash at the very same track.[5] She
would go on to win 3 more races that season, including tying for 2nd place on the National level 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. [6]
In 2023, Jasmine has competed part-time in Top Alcohol Dragster to focus her efforts on her transition into Top Fuel Dragster. In March, she begun the licensing process for Top Fuel and made her first launches in a Top Fuel Dragster at Wildhorse Motorsport Pass, in Phoenix, AZ. She continued to test and officially earned her licensed in Top Fuel Dragster in August.
She has announced plans to compete full-time in 2024 for her family's race team where they will field a 2 car team.
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[7] and the sister of Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Jianna Salinas.[8]
She attended The University of San Francisco where she studied Mandarin Chinese and received a degree in Global Studies.[9]
In 2019, she was the subject of a documentary, Five Foot 280 which was accepted into several film festivals.[9]
Salinas currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana for her racing career.
References
- "Sister Act: Jasmine and Jianna Salinas Make Gator Nats Debut". Competition Plus. 15 March 2019.
- "NHRA 2019 National Standings". NHRA.
- "Second-Generation Drag Racers Get Their Turn". Drag Illustrated.
- "Jasmine Salinas walks away from wild ride". YouTube.
- "Jasmine Salinas Snags First TAD Win For Scrappers Racing in Gainesville". Drag Illustrated. 15 March 2022.
- "Drag Illustrated 30 under 30". Drag Illustrated.
- "NHRA Drivers - Mike Salinas". NHRA.
- "NHRA Driver - Jianna Salinas". NHRA.
- "JASMINE SALINAS FILM 'FIVE FOOT 280' SPREADS GOSPEL OF DRAG RACING, OVERCOMING FEARS | Competition Plus". www.competitionplus.com. 2020-12-04. Retrieved 2022-04-30.