Jasmine Salinas, pilot of the Valley Services Scrappers Racing Top Fuel dragster, raced her way to a monumental finish yesterday at the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The talented sophomore drag racer reached the final round for the first time in her professional career in the fan-favorite four-wide format, advancing her points position in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.
“The momentum and progress that we are making as a team is very exciting,” said Jasmine. “Even though we didn’t get the win, this weekend was such an affirming feeling that all the hardships we went through in 2024 were worth it. Last year was one of the hardest years of my life. Between struggling with the car all season to questioning if I even had what it took, the thought of making it to a final round started to feel like a dream that might never come true.”
After a few hiccups early in qualifying, the Scrappers Racing team demonstrated the meaning behind their name when they rallied in the final qualifying session of the event. Jasmine made a blistering pass of 3.840 seconds at 321.73 mph to land in the No. 6 qualifying position. The team has been working to change their collective mindset after minor setbacks, using obstacles as an opportunity to strengthen their resolve.
“We’ve continued to build upon our momentum at each race and it’s really given our team a lot of confidence in what we’re capable of achieving together,” remarked Jasmine. “I think our biggest change as a team has been our mindset. Losing and struggling can take a toll on you and can wear a team down fast. That’s a feeling that kind of haunts us all in a way. But at the same time, we’ve also learned to celebrate the small wins and focus on the positives from each weekend. This is a continuous journey towards improvement, but we’re doing it together as one team.”
The first round of race day kicked off with Jasmine facing current Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown, Shawn Langdon and Scott Palmer as she raced in the four-wide format for just the third time in her Top Fuel career. Jasmine was out of the gate first gaining the starting line advantage of the quad with an impressive reaction time of .040 seconds. She held onto her lead behind the wheel of her 12,000-horsepower dragster to cross the finish line first with a holeshot win. Brown got to the stripe second to advance as well.
In Round Two of eliminations, Jasmine and Brown lined up against Shawn Reed and Josh Hart. Once again, Jasmine had the fastest reaction time of the four Top Fuel entries, only four thousandths quicker than Brown, who reached the finish line first. Jasmine ran an impressive 3.994 at 307.23 to advance to the final quad of the day where she and Brown would face Tony Stewart and Justin Ashley.
The final round of Top Fuel was packed with heavy hitters and fans were eager to see who would emerge victorious. Jasmine lost traction early in the run and shut off, ceding the win to Stewart. Brown scored the runner-up by reaching the stripe second.
“When I was sitting in the water box right before the final round, I had the biggest smile on my face,” Jasmine said. “No nerves or fears. Just absolute gratitude for the moment and excitement to line up against three of the best racers in NHRA.
“This weekend really showed me what I’m capable of achieving out here. I hope it also sent a message to those who haven’t been shy about highlighting my struggles as a driver. Consistency is the goal so we’ve still got a long way to go. Regardless of what happens next, I’m going to hold onto this feeling for a while.”
Currently sitting fifth in points after her four-wide performance, Jasmine and the Scrappers Racing team have won at least one round at each of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series events contested thus far this season. The team is actively working to secure sponsor partnerships so they can continue in their pursuit of drag racing excellence.
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