Jianna Evaristo raced her Valley Services Scrappers Racing Buell to a stellar semifinal finish today after defeating Ron Tornow and Steve Johnson at the Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex. Her sister, Top Fuel rookie Jasmine Salinas, competed with consistency all weekend long but came up short against Shawn Langdon in the first round of NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series eliminations.
Jianna got off to a great start in qualifying, making a speedy pass of 6.838 seconds at 200.40 mph in her first qualifying attempt. On Friday evening, Texas Motorplex pulled out all the stops for their “Battle on the Saddle” which awards the low qualifier on Friday with a special cash bonus. Running a blistering 6.778 at 201.81, Jianna leapt to the No. 1 spot to take her turn on the saddle, but settled in the second position of the evening qualifying extravaganza. Running the second-fastest pass of the session earned her two valuable bonus points. Although she made two more excellent qualifying efforts on Saturday, it was her Friday evening pass that placed her in the No. 4 qualifier spot, marking the ninth time that the up-and-comer has qualified in the top half of the field this year.
In the first round of eliminations, Jianna faced No. 13 qualifier Ron Tornow. Jianna powered off the starting line with an extraordinary reaction time of .004 seconds. She kept up that blistering pace to cross the finish line with a 6.895 at 200.76. In the quarterfinals, Jianna faced Steve Johnson. Once again, she cut a spectacular light of .008 seconds while Johnson left a tick too early, turning on the red light and giving Jianna the round win.
Jianna lined up against current Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion Gaige Herrera in the semifinals. Herrera left first and did not trail for the win.
“This bike is performing so well and I feel like things are really coming together,” said Jianna. “It’s not all positive growth and sometimes I fall below the expectations I have for myself. That’s never easy to deal with, but I’m focusing on the positives. My reaction times were great and I’m getting more consistent as a rider, which makes it easier for Matt (Smith, crew chief) to tune the bike for maximum performance.”
After struggling in qualifying at the past few events, Jasmine Salinas and her team are encouraged after making solidly consistent passes at Texas Motorplex, where Jasmine has won previously in Top Alcohol Dragster. The Top Fuel rookie made four full runs behind the wheel of her Valley Services Scrappers Racing dragster, showing the team that they are moving in the right direction as they work to finish the season out strong. Her pass of 3.780 seconds at 330.30 mph, made in the heat of the day on Saturday, put her in the No. 13 position on the eliminations ladder.
Jasmine faced No. 4 qualifier Shawn Langdon in the first round on Sunday. There was a malfunction with the tree, delaying the lights more than usual. But Jasmine did not let it phase her. The talented Top Fuel rookie held her own against former world champion Langdon, making a gorgeous pass of 3.745 at 326.49, her best-performing run of the weekend. But it was not enough to outpace Langdon’s 3.724 at 332.20. In a post-round interview, Langdon remarked on how impressed he was with Jasmine’s ability to manage an unusually long staging process.
“We got the car down the track each time, which is a good step in the right direction,” said Jasmine. “I’m not giving up. If anything, every time I’m behind the wheel of this dragster, I’m more and more sure that this is what I’m meant to do. If determination and drive have anything to do with it, and I think they do, then it’s just going to get better from here.”
After a short break in the schedule, the Scrappers Sisters will head out west for the final two events of the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series 2024 season. After making a stop in Las Vegas for the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals at Las Vegas Motor Speedway November 1-3, the team will wrap up the season at the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, November 15-17.
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