There wasn't time for a long and drawn-out planning process. Mike Salinas needed an answer quickly. The plans he'd made long ago, where his daughters were to take over the family's business and racing endeavors, were about to get quickly pushed into reality. 

Doctors had contacted Salinas regarding an undisclosed health matter, and he needed to know where his daughter Jasmine's thought process was. He was going to be out of the seat of his Scrappers Racing Top Fuel dragster, and his next major decision was to either park the car or keep it going. 

Salinas's two daughters were secure in the sport. Jianna was aboard a bike at Matt Smith Racing, and Jasmine was marking her mark in the Top Alcohol Dragster division. Both were being prepared for the rigors of championship drag racing. 

Then, one day, Jasmine was on the receiving end of a serious question from her dad.

"So I asked her, "Is this something you want to do?," [race Top Fuel] and she said, 'Yes, I want to do it."

"She said, 'I can do it." 

What was initially slated for months in preparation ended up being a three-day notice. 

"She was going to be all these things in the blink of an eye when I got called to the hospital, but I gave her the option of sitting out or going in there," Salinas said. "She had her license, and she had all the credentials to go do it."

When opportunity knocked, Jasmine greeted it with a smile. 

She qualified No. 11 in her NHRA Winternationals debut in Pomona, Ca., but lost in the first round when her dragster broke on the burnout. She's getting on-the-job training as she goes along, and the process impresses Salinas.  

"We're on the fly," Salinas said. We'll learn as we go along, and that's what she's doing. I'm really impressed with how she's driving. Yeah, I mean, she drives so much better than me."

"It's cool to watch her, and she's learning. She's getting really comfortable. I think she's going to be a really new big star in the sport. She's really sweet. She's not really out in the camera eye. And she's not out there for that; she's out there to race, be a good driver, and have a great time with it."

Jasmine's win-loss record isn't the highest it could be now, but Salinas adds that the way she analyzes each run and critiques every loss is enough confirmation to him that wins are on the horizon. 

In eliminations against Billy Torrence at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, Jasmine got the starting line advantage and made her best run of the weekend and the second-best of her career, going 3.702 seconds at 331.94. However, it was not enough to hold off Torrence, who ran 3.662 at 335.40. 

"[Jasmine] was upset that she lost that race; she knew she could have been better," Salinas said. "So when you see her passion, you know she's got these people who better watch out because she's coming. She's just methodical, and she's going to win. If she does not win this year, I will be really, really surprised."

Salinas said Jasmine has benefitted from tutelage from her crew chief, Rob Flynn. Brittany Force, Blake Alexander, and Austin Prock have also been involved. 

"The circle she's in is really good people, good drivers, and they're doing really good," Salinas added. 

 

 

While Jasmine has received most of her schooling from her father's so-called drag racing neighborhood, Jianna has been on a fast track of learning with Matt Smith Racing. 

Jianna has been a speed merchant in the most recent events in Seattle and Sonoma, leaving the NHRA Sonoma Nationals as the fastest female rider in Pro Stock Motorcycle. She left her home track with a 204.54 best. 

Salinas said he is not surprised with Jianna's progress because of her hands-on training from the multi-time championship-winning team. 

"When we got to Matt Smith, that's when he really started taking her under his wing, him and Angie, and teaching her the craft of riding a [motorcycle]," Salinas explained. "They just told her, 'Listen, we're going to work on one thing at a time, and as we're working on one thing at a time, you're going to get better. So take your time, pay attention."

Salinas said his daughters must understand the intricacies of their racing endeavors as they do their real-life work away from the strip. He said he learned life coming up the tough side of the mountain, the importance of work ethic, and the rewards accompanying it. 

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Salinas has revealed his upbringing of the tough love his father, Mike Sr., delivered to him, has been instilled in his daughters along their pathway to adulthood. 

Salinas admitted he didn't cut them any slack along the way. 

"I was a little tougher," Salinas said. "It was harder because I really wanted them to understand that if I am their father and I'm this tough, what do you think the real world's going to be like? I didn't give them anything. People don't understand. My kids work for everything. I mean, they're at the office; they're working all the time. We're a working family."

Then there's the keyboard crew chiefs, Salinas pointed out, who don't know the truth. 

"We see the internet stuff of spoiled rich kids, blah, blah, blah, and my daughters say, 'These guys have no idea that we just put in 18-hour days for seven days."

Salinas said the hours they put in are related to their family garbage business, scrap metal, and all the other stuff we do, including the rental business and real estate. 

"It's always demanding," Salinas said. "So they laugh because they don't let it get in their heads. 

"Jianna and Jasmine, lately, have been getting a lot of text messages on Instagram or whatever, the internet stuff, spoiled little rich kids, daddy's money, blah, blah, blah. These kids work for everything. I'm telling you, they're my daughters, but I respect them as individuals. And they're just good humans."

Salinas said the situation with the Smiths has taken flight because of the work ethic that was simultaneously instilled in his daughters. 

"They're good people," Salinas said of Matt and Angie Smith. "They're compassionate, they're sweet, they're business. But when they put their helmets on, get the hell out of the way because they're coming. I'm telling you. Look, we have yet to talk, say, or make a big scene or anything about the girls. We've always been quiet. But look, you pay attention. If you really pay attention, they're coming."

Salinas said Jianna is doing everything possible to be one with her bike. 

"Think about how dedicated they are and what they do... Matt and Angie—nobody knows them," Salinas said. "Nobody really knows those people. Jianna goes and lives at their house. We call it bike camp. She goes over there, and she helps. They teach her how to do motors, clutches, and everything on her bike because we don't want some spoiled kids.

"Everybody thinks that she comes and jumps on the bike and all that. They're teaching her how to work on the bikes, do things, ride, and work out. She works out with Angie. Since we've been with Matt Smith Racing, look at it —it's all coming together in these last month here, a month and a half with Jianna."

Salinas is adamant that if he's not going to cut his daughters slack, he doesn't want anyone else doing it either. 

"[Jianna] was racing John Hall, and I told him, 'Do me a favor, kick her butt. Kick her butt and make her look bad. Beat her." 

"He just laughed at me. He goes, 'Really?" 

"And I said, 'Yes, I need you to do it." I told Angie the same thing, 'If you ever race her..." 

"It's the same with Matt. Matt won't give anything away, and we don't want to give them anything."

 

 

Jasmine, Salinas said, is making progress as well in the dragster. 

"Jasmine has been doing very well, and I am proud of her," Salinas added. 

Salinas said he plans to return to racing next season, but in what capacity remains determined.

"I'll be back next year," Salinas said. "I'll be cleared and should be cleared in about three to four months. We have the second [nitro] team in place already. I have a Pro Mod that is three-quarters finished. So we'll bring the Pro Mod back out, and I would really, really like to try the [PSM] bike. We'll decide because we're working on some stuff. 

Because of his medical issues, Salinas, the man who runs through life at breakneck speed, has had to learn to move at a slower pace. In other words, the man whose life has been defined by his work ethic will have to stop and smell the roses. 

The new approach to life provides an excellent transition.

"This thing's going to be theirs," Salinas said of his daughters. "If they earn it, they will do what we need to do. I do like the sport. I like being in it. I like all the aspects of it. NHRA's been really good with us. They've done really well with us, and they're very accommodating. So it's been really, really nice. 

"We're doing everything possible to push the next generation because the sport needs help. And if we don't all pull together, it will hurt the sport and all of us. So, we do our very best to ensure NHRA is a good platform because it's the best thing out there. So we just push it the best we possibly can and see where the cards land and that type of thing. 

"Down the road, the girls will be running everything. Jasmine is the general manager of the race teams, and she's doing pretty well. In my absence, they took over everything. It's been nice, so I didn't have to think twice about anything."

And he's still not giving it a second thought, either.