Jon and Melanie Salemi [left] and Jim SalemiDrag racing and hard rock should go hand in hand, if only for the decibel connection.

For longtime drag racing crewman Jon Salemi, they are the peanut butter and jelly of his world.

Jon and Melanie Salemi [left] and Jim SalemiDrag racing and hard rock should go hand in hand, if only for the decibel connection.

For longtime drag racing crewman Jon Salemi, they are the peanut butter and jelly of his world.

Salemi, a Pro Modified tuner-for-hire and owner of Resolution Racing Services, splits his time between working in fast doorslammer racing and working the strings on a bass guitar in the band SNAPCASE.

Salemi's older brother Jim is a Pro Modified chassis builder and owner of G-Force Race Cars, and was largely responsible for getting his sibling into the sport.

“Jim was one of the heavy hitters at our local track (Lancaster Dragway, now Elegant Builders Raceway Park); running quick eight," said Salemi. "Back then a Friday night at Lancaster was as good as any national event, if not better. Jim would run guys like Jim Oddy, Mike Janis, Fred Hahn, Mike Stawicki and a ton of other local guys who could hold their own anywhere at the time. My brother would work his butt off running those guys. I just fell in love with the excitement around it and the mind power that went into it. I know those days really influenced me in both my music and my racing,”

Jon jams with Papa Roach.Salemi proudly admits drag racing inspired SNAPCASE.

Thus far SNAPCASE has released five albums, toured Europe, Japan and the United States before taking a vacation in 2005. They have since reunited and recently played before an audience of 4,500 screaming metal heads. Salemi's musical talents also earned him status as a special guest of Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach at their 2012 Buffalo, NY, tour stop. Shaddix called Salemi on stage to perform with the band for a few songs and stated how large of an inspiration SNAPCASE has been to Papa Roach.

For now, Salemi relishes his role as a tuner-for-hire and racing with his wife Melanie Simmons and their blown, alcohol Top Dragster. Together they already have multiple wins on the Can-Am drag racing circuits.

“My life to date has been very remarkable, to say the least. When I sit back and look at the things I have been able to do I sometimes can’t believe it has all happened to me. I’m just Evan and Akyra’s dad,” said Salemi.

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