Mike Salinas has always had a plan, and this weekend in Ohio, part of it will finally play out at the opening event of the IHRA Triple Crown Series at Darana Raceway, the facility formerly known as National Trail Raceway.
For the first time in their careers, Salinas and daughter Jasmine Salinas will compete against each other in Top Fuel. The long-awaited father-daughter matchup comes as Mike returns to competition after stepping out of the driver’s seat at the beginning of 2024.
The opportunity has been delayed once already.
Scrappers Racing originally intended to field both Top Fuel entries earlier this season at an IHRA event over Memorial Day weekend, but the postponement pushed the matchup further down the calendar. Now it arrives as part of one of the richest races in drag racing.
The family connection ends the moment both dragsters roll toward the starting line.
“I’ve never been one to let my daughters win,” Salinas said. “And they’ve never let me win either. That’s not how life works, and it’s not how racing works. After being out of commission for almost a year and seeing what Jasmine can do, I know it’s going to take a lot of work to beat her. She stepped up and showed who she is as a driver and a team leader.”
Jasmine has no interest in being part of a family reunion tour.
“Trust me when I say that while I’m excited to have my dad coming back to competition, I’m even more excited to beat him for the first time,” Jasmine said. “In reality, I’m just really glad that he’s returning to the cockpit because I know how much he’s missed it.”
For Jasmine, the weekend represents more than adding another race car to the trailer. It’s the realization of a goal the team has spent months working to make happen.
“I’m excited to compete in the first IHRA Triple Crown race this weekend in Hebron,” Jasmine said. “Having my dad back in the driver’s seat with us and fielding a second Top Fuel car is a big deal for us, and something that we’ve been working tirelessly to make happen.”
“It’s been a long journey since he had to step out of the driver’s seat in 2024 and I’m glad that he’s worked hard to make his way back. We’re both excited to race for big money and look forward to the competition this weekend.”
Those who know the Salinas family understand why neither driver expects any favors.
The competitive culture inside Scrappers Racing existed long before either Mike or Jasmine climbed into a Top Fuel dragster. It was built through family lessons, hard work and an expectation that opportunities are earned rather than given.
Salinas often traces that philosophy back to his father, Mike Salinas Sr., whose military-style discipline shaped the way he approached both life and business.
“We had a dirt driveway and we would use the giant push broom to sweep it,” Salinas recalled. “If the lines were crooked, he would make you do it again. The driveway was long and he wanted those lines, the dirt lines, straight.”
“All the little rocks because we couldn’t afford concrete at the time, all the little rocks on the side, you had to line them up. He wanted everything perfect all the time.”
The lessons stayed with him. Years later, after building successful businesses and launching a family racing operation, Salinas came to appreciate what his father had been teaching all along.
“I started companies and I knew that they were because of him,” Salinas said.
That same approach found its way into the next generation.
“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?” Salinas said. “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.”
And that’s exactly why this matchup is more than a father versus a daughter. It isn’t a father giving his daughter an opportunity. It’s a father racing against a competitor he helped prepare.
Veteran crew chief Todd Okuhara and assistant crew chief Adem Cave will oversee both Valley Services-backed Scrappers Racing Top Fuel dragsters this weekend. The team will bring a two-car effort into a race carrying major money and significant bragging rights.
Before eliminations begin, both drivers will participate in the IHRA Triple Crown Street Party at Buckeye Lake and spend time meeting fans.
Once qualifying starts, however, the family dynamic gives way to competition. The man returning to the cockpit after nearly two years away already knows what he’s up against.
“I’ve never been one to let my daughters win,” Salinas said. “And they’ve never let me win either. That’s not how life works, and it’s not how racing works. After being out of commission for almost a year and seeing what Jasmine can do, I know it’s going to take a lot of work to beat her. She stepped up and showed who she is as a driver and a team leader.”
