Jasmine Salinas is the fastest woman of color in motorsports and the first to compete in NHRA Top Fuel, racing alongside her father Mike Salinas as the sport’s first father-daughter duo in the class.

EARLY YEARS

Born January 4, 1992, Jasmine Monique Salinas didn’t choose drag racing—she was born into it. Growing up in a family where the smell of burnt rubber and nitromethane was as common as Sunday dinner, she was surrounded by engines, track thrills, and the relentless pursuit of speed. Her father, Mike Salinas, is a nine-time NHRA Top Fuel winner and owner of Scrappers Racing, so let’s just say racing wasn’t a hobby in the Salinas household—it was the family business.

Jasmine started competing in the NHRA Junior Drag Racing series around age 14 or 15, alongside her three sisters. Yes, three. Her younger sister Jianna Evaristo-Salinas also races professionally, making family gatherings either incredibly fun or wildly competitive depending on who you ask. But Jasmine wasn’t content to just drive. She worked her way up from the ground, literally, serving as an Assistant Supercharger Mechanic and Team Floater on her father’s Top Fuel team. She learned every bolt, every tweak, every adjustment that separates a good pass from a record-breaking one. This wasn’t a girl playing around in Daddy’s garage—this was a racer building her foundation with grease under her fingernails.

She got licensed in Super Comp through Frank Hawley’s Drag Racing School, then progressed to Top Alcohol Dragster, methodically climbing the ladder. The plan was clear: she wasn’t just riding the family name. She was earning it.

OTHER INTERESTS

If Jasmine Salinas has hobbies outside of racing, she’s keeping them to herself. No information exists about side hustles, pottery classes, or secret bookworm tendencies. It appears that when you’re piloting a 11,000-horsepower machine at over 330 mph, you don’t have a ton of time for knitting.

EARLY SUCCESS

Jasmine entered the Lucas Oil Series in Top Alcohol Dragster in 2019, posting a respectable 15th-place finish in her rookie season with one final-round appearance. By 2021, she’d logged her first win and climbed to 6th in the standings. But 2022? That was her breakout year.

Here’s the thing about Gainesville Raceway: in March 2021, Jasmine survived a harrowing over-the-wall crash there that could have ended her career—or worse. Exactly one year later, she returned to the same track and won her first National Event. Poetic? Sure. Badass? Absolutely. She racked up four wins that season, tied for second in the world standings, claimed the North Central Regional Championship, and posted career bests with a 3.700 elapsed time at Charlotte and a blistering 334.90 mph at Brainerd. She also landed on the cover of Drag Illustrated as part of their “30 Under 30” class, because apparently winning races and looking good doing it is a thing.

In August 2023, she earned her Top Fuel license at Indianapolis. Three days before the 2024 Pomona Winternationals, she got a call from her father: he needed emergency surgery, and she was stepping into his Top Fuel dragster. No pressure. She made her debut with 72 hours’ notice and became part of the first father-daughter Top Fuel duo in NHRA history when they both raced full-time in the NHRA Mission Foods Series starting at Gainesville in 2024.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2021: First Top Alcohol Dragster win; 6th in series standings
• 2022: Four wins including first National Event victory at Gainesville Raceway; North Central Regional Championship; tied for 2nd in world standings; career best E.T. of 3.700 at Charlotte and career best speed of 334.90 mph at Brainerd
• 2022: Named to Drag Illustrated “30 Under 30” and featured on magazine cover
• 2023: Earned Top Fuel license at Indianapolis in August
• 2024: Top Fuel debut at Pomona Winternationals (substituting for injured father with three days’ notice); became first father-daughter duo to compete in NHRA Top Fuel; began full-time Top Fuel campaign at Gainesville
• Career: Fastest Woman of Color in Motorsports; first woman of color to compete in NHRA Top Fuel

INSPIRATIONS

Mike Salinas. Full stop. Her father’s influence runs through every aspect of her career, from the team she races for to the mechanics she learned alongside him to the seat she filled when he couldn’t. Racing is the family legacy, and Jasmine’s determined to honor it—while carving out her own piece of history.

REPUTATION

Salinas is regarded as an up-and-coming star and a trailblazer, celebrated for her poise and passion in a sport still very much dominated by men. The media loves her—NHRA features her regularly, Autoweek covers her moves, and she’s become a symbol of what’s possible when talent meets grit. She’s known for being fearless, both on the track and off.

But not everyone’s on board. “Going through the staging lanes, there are always fans walking by who don’t believe I’m the one driving that car,” she said in a 2024 interview. “There are a lot of people throughout my career who have said I shouldn’t be out here racing. When somebody tells me I can’t do something—I love that.”

That confidence isn’t arrogance; it’s earned. She connects with fans through authentic storytelling and by simply showing up, round after round, proving the doubters wrong. She’s become a role model for young girls and women, especially women of color, in a sport that desperately needs more of them. And she’s doing it without apology.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

Jasmine’s focus remains squarely on pushing boundaries in Top Fuel with Scrappers Racing. Her stated mission is to strive for excellence, honor her family’s legacy, inspire the next generation of young girls and women, and keep breaking barriers. “I want to show young girls that they can compete at the highest levels and succeed,” she said. “It’s about breaking barriers and paving the way for future generations.”

Specific plans beyond 2024 aren’t publicly detailed, but if her trajectory says anything, it’s that she’s not slowing down. She’s got the skill, the support, and the sheer stubbornness required to win in Top Fuel. Watch this space.

References:

Scrappers Racing Official Bio
Wikipedia: Jasmine Salinas
NHRA Article (2024, Amanda Busick interview)
NHRA YouTube (July 31, 2024)
Autoweek (pre-2024 season coverage)