They are two of the quickest, fastest and baddest race machines on the planet.

A Top Fuel dragster, the fastest accelerating race machine on earth reaching speeds in excess of 330 mph, vs. a Pro Modified, a wild, unpredictable car that is known as much for its carnage as it is for its highlight-reel passes.

While the two race machines are very different disciplines typically wrestled by very distinct drivers, this weekend one man is trying to tackle both classes at once. Mike Salinas.

Salinas drives both the Scrappers Top Fuel dragster alongside a ProCharger-equipped Camaro in the Pro Mod class and says he enjoys the two different disciplines so much so that he simply can’t pick a favorite.

“That is an unfair question for one simple reason. Top Fuel is the baddest thing on the planet. You can’t take that away from the car. It is awesome,” Salinas said. “But in Pro Mod, it is another amazing animal that requires so much more work behind the wheel. I am just lucky I get to do them both.”

So which one comes out on top?

“I’ve got them even,” Salinas said with a laugh. “There is not one better than the other. Pro Mod is the modern day Fuel Altered and it is a handful and keeps you on your toes. Then you get to come and drive the dragster, it feels different and is crazy fast. I love them both the same.”

Of course, the biggest challenge associated with pulling double duty during a race weekend is quickly jumping from one machine to the other with only a few moments between runs. That, Salinas admits, is probably the most challenging part, though he has been working hard to get better at compartmentalizing the two.

“They are two different animals, but it is not as hard as it seems,” Salinas said. “You are not doing the same sequences. There is more to do in the Pro Mod than the dragster, but everything you do is different. Thankfully, I’ve got some great people teaching me some really good things on how to keep them separate and it is working.”

While Pro Mod is more of a hobby, Top Fuel is where Salinas’ true passion lies.

And after one missed race and three first-round exits, Salinas finally started to turn a corner last weekend in Epping with a No. 2 spot on the ladder and a run to the final where he lost to Billy Torrence. This weekend, Salinas placed the Scrappers machine in fifth place on the ladder with a 3.776 at 314.17 mph, and drove to a quarter-final finish. 

So what has changed from those early-round exits to now?

They found “it.”

“We have been missing it by something small. We know what it is and we have fixed it,” Salinas said. “Epping was a great test session for us. We know our car is back now and now all we have to do is do what we know and we will be fine.”