It was a banner weekend full of milestone moments for the Scrappers Racing teams at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals in Norwalk, Ohio. Not only did Top Fuel rookie Jasmine Salinas achieve a new personal best speed in her Scrappers Racing dragster, but her sister, Pro Stock Motorcycle standout Jianna Evaristo, gained significant momentum aboard her Scrappers Racing Buell as she secured a new personal best elapsed time and a new personal best speed over the course of the event. Jianna also won the iconic NHRA Ice Cream Eating Contest, unique to Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, for the second consecutive year, defending her title with vigor.
Jianna Evaristo started qualifying on a high note when she made the second fastest pass of the first qualifying session, 6.802 seconds at 200.62 mph earning a couple of valuable bonus points along the way. On Friday evening, the talented pilot laid down the fastest speed of her career, going 201.13 mph in 6.811 seconds. She made similarly consistent passes on Saturday, but it was the elapsed time of her first qualifying session that put her in the No. 4 qualifier position on the eliminations ladder.
In what was deemed the “Marquee Matchup” of race day, Jianna faced Chris Bostick in the first round of eliminations. Bostick shut off early and Jianna reached a new personal best elapsed time on her way to turning on the Round One win light when she ran 6.754 at 200.53. In the quarterfinals, Richard Gadson got the starting line advantage against Jianna and held onto the lead to advance to the semifinals.
“There’s something about winning that ice cream contest that just set us on a positive path for the weekend,” joked Jianna. “Things are coming together for us as I gain more confidence on this Buell. Matt and Angie Smith have been so instrumental in guiding me every step of the way and it feels good to be making progress. This track is so cool and the fans are just unbelievable. I’m glad to have set some new personal records in front of such a great fanbase.”
Top Fuel rookie Jasmine Salinas is certainly picking up steam in her first season of NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series competition. After making consistently impressive runs throughout qualifying, the talented driver achieved a new personal best speed in the final qualifying session on Saturday when she made it down the track in 3.762 seconds at 332.02 mph.
Entering eliminations from the No. 12 qualifier position, Jasmine faced Tony Stewart, one of the most accomplished figures in motorsports history, in the first round. In a stunning upset, Jasmine defeated Stewart with a pass of 3.750 at 329.34 to advance to the second round for the second time in her inaugural professional season.
In the quarterfinals, Jasmine faced four-time Top Fuel world champion Steve Torrence. She got the starting line advantage with a respectable reaction time of .065 seconds, but moments after launching, her Scrappers Racing dragster lost power and Torrence got the win.
“It was really good for all of us to get another round win under our belts,” said Jasmine. “We are gaining consistency and right now, everything is an opportunity for learning and improvement. Unfortunately, we had a parts failure when I hit the gas in E2, causing our day to come to an end. Overall, it was a motivating weekend. We will just keep building off of these milestones and hopefully more round wins are in our future.”
The Scrappers Sisters will make their next stop on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour at the NHRA Northwest Nationals, July 19-21 at Pacific Raceways, just outside of Seattle.
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