Mike Salinas has had a solid season.

The Top Fuel owner/driver has one win at the season-opening race in Gainesville, Fla., and he has an elimination-round record of 11-9.

Salinas arrived at the Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals at Pacific Raceway in Seattle this weekend seventh in the points standings.

Salinas did turn some heads Saturday when he grabbed the No. 1 qualifying spot with his 3.743-second elapsed time at 329.02 mph in Q2.

This is Salinas’ 13th career Top Fuel No. 1 qualifying spot and his second this season; the other coming in Chicago.

“Basically, what we did is we did exactly what Steve Torrence did last year,” Salinas said. “We just didn't share it with anybody. We just fell on our face, tried all kinds of different things. All the stuff we did learn, we're just applying it now, and the car seems to be responding exactly the way we want it to. Our 60-foots were amazing for the heat and the track temp, so I think we're in a good place.”

Salinas received a bye in round one and will face the winner of Antron Brown vs. Shawn Langdon in the second round.

“We were actually trying to run a little bit better,” Salinas said about his Q2 run. “We were trying a little bit better, but I think it mowed through the clutch a little bit. We were trying to actually run the same run, a little bit hotter because that's what it's going to be tomorrow. First round, everybody's going to throw down and it should be pretty impressive.

“Do I have a bye run? Ooh, ooh, ooh, yeah, I'm good. Yeah, we are going to throw down. We have to, because every run, it means something for the Countdown.”

Salinas also recognizes doing well in Seattle would be a great jolt for his team as the six-race Countdown to the Championships looms.

“Well, it helps for morale, it helps for ... I mean, we got three guys in there calling the shots, and I told them yesterday, I said, ‘Okay, guys, it's time to open up a can and let's go. Let's see what we can do. We've been trying. I've let you do everything you want. Now it's time to run.’ And there is no tomorrow, because if we don't start now and get our momentum going, we're not going to do too well,” Salinas said.

Salinas took a moment to talk about the cross-country journey he’s been traveling.

“I think we ran 20-something hundred miles on a bike, and my wife and I said five words to each other on the ride,” Salinas said. “So, it was kind of awesome, and she probably appreciated that. And how often do we turn everything off and get to see America? The true America. We've met some really great people along the way, and it was pretty nice, just really enjoyable.

“Actually, we went through Montana and there was about a 10-mile stretch that I've never smelled fresh air that good. And it was noticeable. It was just like, we were on the bikes, and we were riding and it's like a wall. It was just amazing. I mean, whatever that area was, I want to buy right there. It was just amazing. But it's been fun because the family's together and we're having a great time, and we're going to actually ride along the coast on the way home. And I got an extra bike for Steve Torrence if he wants to come with us.”

Salinas’ focus Sunday is to try and get in the winner’s circle.

“Look, there's some great cars here and a lot of people have been testing and everybody's ready for this stuff, because when you have guys that won four championships and you watch what they do and you go study all the runs they've done and you watch all these different things from Steve Torrence to Alan Johnson and how they've won races,” Salinas said. “Strategically we're in a good place and everybody's going to try for the same thing, and it's probably the best racing we're going to see. I say that every year, but you need to be good at this. You need to be good at this to run with these guys, so it's impressive.”