The Scrappers Racing team, featuring Top Fuel pilots Jasmine Salinas and Travis Shumake and Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Jianna Evaristo, experienced some positive momentum this weekend at the Ford Performance NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway despite early exits in eliminations.
Jianna made four very consistent runs throughout qualifying. In the second round of qualifying on Friday, she powered her Valley Services Scrappers Racing to a remarkable run going 6.876 seconds at 197.48 mph. To top it off, in the final qualifying session on Saturday, the talented Pro Stock Motorcycle pilot raced to the third-fastest lap of the round, a 6.885 at 197.83.
In eliminations, Jianna came from the No. 6 qualifier position to face No. 11 qualifier Geno Scali in the first round of race day. Scali got the starting line advantage and held on to it for the win.
“We made some good progress this weekend but ultimately were unable to get it done on race day,” said Jianna. “Regardless we are using our early exit as a lesson on what we need to work on and are holding our heads high as we head to Pomona as we aim to finish this year on a strong note.”
After some struggles in qualifying on Friday, Jasmine knew that she needed to improve her position on the ladder if she wanted to stay in the field. In the first qualifying opportunity on Saturday, although she dropped a cylinder early on in the run, Jasmine depended on the experience she’s gained over the past year and stayed in it to lay down a respectable 3.865 second run at 316.45 mph.
In the final qualifying round, Jasmine was sitting in 15th place with Scott Palmer in 16th and eight-time Top Fuel world champion Tony Schumacher on the outside looking in. Just moments before she ran, Schumacher and Palmer improved their positions, bumping Jasmine out of contention, where she would stay unless she could make a pass faster than Palmer’s 3.839 at 307.09. She responded with a fierce lap of 3.791 at 329.34 to get back into the field and land in the No. 15 qualifier position for eliminations.
Jasmine faced No. 2 qualifier Shawn Langdon in the opening round of eliminations on race day. Her Valley Services Scrappers Racing Top Fuel machine has had success at The Strip before, and the team as they prepared to race Langdon. Langdon crossed the finish line first, but Jasmine made her best run of the weekend, a 3.744 at 329.91.
“We’ve got things moving in the right direction now and that feels good as we get ready for the final event of the season,” commented Jasmine. “It was fun to have Travis Shumake out here with us. We learn so much more when we have two dragsters out here competing and I think the camaraderie is good for all of us. There have been times this season that I’ve been frustrated, but when I look back at how far we’ve come, it makes me excited to keep going because I know that the best is yet to come.”
Travis Shumake made incredible progress with his Gillette Labs dragster in Las Vegas. The Top Fuel newbie reached a new personal best elapsed time and speed with a pass of 3.724 at 323.12.
A lengthy track cleanup followed by dropping temperatures delayed the conclusion of eliminations to Monday. The Scrappers Racing team is doing some testing today as well before they head to SEMA to meet NHRA fans and sponsors. They will complete their 2024 season in two weeks when the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series rolls into Pomona, Calif. for the In-N-Out Burger NHRA Finals at In-N-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip, November 14-17.
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