| Mike Salinas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality | American |
| Born | April 27, 1961 San Jose, California |
| Related to | Jasmine Salinas (daughter), Jianna Evaristo (daughter) |
| NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series career | |
| Debut season | 2011 |
| Current team | Scrappers Racing |
| Wins | 9 |
| Fastest laps | 3.647 seconds / 338.26 mph |
Michael George Salinas (born April 27, 1961) is an American NHRA drag racer. He is the father of drag racers Jasmine Salinas and Jianna Evaristo.
Salinas was introduced to racing by his dad who raced during the 60’s and 70’s at Fremont Drag Strip and Little Bonneville in California. From 2001 to 2009, Mike began competing in the Nostalgia Eliminator 1 and 7.0 Pro Class at his home tracks in Bakersfield and Sacramento. In 2009, he decided to pursue his professional license and received his NHRA license in Top Fuel at the Texas Motorplex.
In 2011, Mike made his professional debut in NHRA Top Fuel on a part-time schedule. I wouldn't be until 2018 where he would begin racing on a full-time schedule.
In 2021, he made his Professional debut in a second category, Pro Mod, competing in the NHRA E3 Spark Plugs Series while simultaneously competing in Top Fuel.
Throughout his professional career he has secured 9 event wins, reset multiple speed and track records, and became the first person in Motorsports History to reach 300 mph in the 1/8th mile.
2017
2018
2019
2021
2022
2023
Salinas is of Mexican-Commanche-Spanish descent. His family resides in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. He is the father of NHRA Top Fuel driver Jasmine Salinas and Pro Stock Motorcycle rider Jianna Evaristo.
When he's not racing, Mike and his wife, Monica, along with his daughters, have been running their family-owned business, Valley Services, since 1986.
Drag racing is a type of motor racing in which automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a short, straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly 1⁄4 mi, with a shorter, 1,000 ft distance becoming increasingly popular, as it has become the standard for Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars, where some major bracket races and other sanctioning bodies have adopted it as the standard. The 1⁄8 mi is also popular in some circles. Electronic timing and speed sensing systems have been used to record race results since the 1960s.
Donald Glenn Garlits is an American race car driver and automotive engineer. Considered the father of drag racing, he is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. A pioneer in the field of drag racing, he perfected the rear-engine Top Fuel dragster, an innovation motivated by the loss of part of his foot in a dragster accident. This design was notably safer since it put most of the fuel processing and rotating parts of the dragster behind the driver. The driver was placed in front of nearly all the mechanical components, thus protecting him and allowing him to activate a variety of safety equipment in the event of catastrophic mechanical failure or a fire. Garlits was an early promoter of the full-body, fire-resistant Nomex driving suit, complete with socks, gloves, and balaclava.
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