Pro Stock Motorcycle standout Jianna Evaristo raced to a remarkable semifinal finish today at the NHRA Carolina Nationals at zMAX Dragway, advancing her in the points standings as she pursues her first world championship. Jianna and her sister, Top Fuel newcomer Jasmine Salinas, both qualified in the top half of their respective fields this weekend, giving the dynamic duo a much-needed boost of confidence at a critical point in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.
Jianna Evaristo was after redemption this weekend at zMAX Dragway after experiencing a few mishaps in Reading, Pennsylvania earlier this month. She put on a fantastic performance in qualifying with four solid passes. On Friday evening, she made a powerful statement as her ferocious lick of 6.850 seconds at 198.20 mph rocketed her to the No. 5 spot on the ladder.
In the opening round of eliminations, Jianna rolled up against Pro Stock Motorcycle mainstay Steve Johnson. Jianna leaped off the starting line first and held on to the lead as she charged her Valley Services Scrappers Racing Buell to the finish line for the win.
In the quarterfinals, Jianna lined up against the most recent event winner Hector Arana Jr. As the lights came down, Jianna left with an extraordinary reaction time of 0.010 seconds. In the other lane, Arana dropped the clutch and didn’t go anywhere. Jianna turned on her second win light of the day running a steady 6.996 at 194.83.
In the semifinals, Jianna faced off with her teammate and crew chief, Matt Smith. Jianna got the starting line advantage over her mentor, cutting a stunning 0.017-second light. But Smith’s bike outpaced her to the finish line.
“I feel like we finally have my bike back,” said Jianna. “We definitely struggled with the heat this weekend and didn’t run to our full potential on race day. But I feel like I’m way more comfortable on the starting line and I think we can see that in my reaction times. Now it’s time to put it all together. We gained some ground that we needed so I’m feeling good about the rest of the Countdown.”
Jasmine made consistently strong passes throughout qualifying in her Valley Services Scrappers Racing Top Fuel dragster. In the first round of qualifying on Friday, Jasmine powered to the third-fastest pass of the session, an impressive run of 3.748 seconds at 326.71 mph. However, it was her scorching lap of 3.734 at 331.20 on Friday evening that landed her in the No. 8 qualifying position. Qualifying on Saturday was a bit of a mixed bag for the talented Rookie of the Year candidate as she started out with another solid run of 3.829 at 325.22 but a broken throttle cable thwarted her final qualifying attempt.
In eliminations on Sunday, Jasmine lined up against fan-favorite driver Clay Millican. The veteran driver Millican got a slight starting line advantage over Jasmine, holding onto it for a Round One holeshot win. He beat her pass of 3.798 at 329.42 with a 3.814 at 326.87, a margin of victory of only .0063 seconds (or about three feet).
The Scrappers Sisters will continue pursuing their drag racing dreams as they travel to St. Louis for the NHRA Midwest Nationals next weekend at World Wide Technology Raceway. They will be joined by Top Alcohol Dragster world champion Julie Nataas, who will be making her Top Fuel debut as a part of the Scrappers Racing team.
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