Jasmine Salinas Post-Race Recap: Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals

NHRA U.S. Nationals
Event 14 of 20
Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park
Indianapolis, Ind.
September 4 – 7, 2026

Jasmine Salinas Records Career-Best U.S. Nationals Start in Indianapolis

By: ABM Communications

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (Sept. 7, 2026) – Jasmine Salinas made the most of her sixth NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series appearance of the season at the Cornwell Quality Tools NHRA U.S. Nationals. She qualified her Valley Services/Scrappers Racing dragster sixth in a loaded 22-car Top Fuel field before her weekend came to an early end in the opening round of eliminations Monday at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Making her third U.S. Nationals appearance, Salinas arrived at the sport’s biggest event looking to build on her semifinal finish from 2025. 

Salinas opened qualifying Friday with a strong 3.776-second pass at 329.91 mph under the IRP lights to move into the provisional No. 4 position before clocking a 3.923 E.T. on Saturday afternoon, which held up to be the third-quickest run of the round.

After sitting out Saturday’s second round of qualifying, Salinas returned Sunday and powered the Valley Services machine straight down the groove in 3.808 seconds at 332.75 mph in Q4. The final qualifying session saw Salinas’ 12,000-horsepower machine on a good early run before it started dropping cylinders as it approached the finish line. She closed qualifying in the No. 6 position, marking her best starting spot in three U.S. Nationals appearances and placing her in the top half of the largest Top Fuel field of the year.

Salinas drew No. 11 qualifier Tripp Tatum in the opening round of eliminations Monday morning. With the advantage of lane choice and 86 percent of Drag Racing Bracket Bonanza players picking Salinas to win the round, the third-year Top Fuel driver appeared to have the upper hand, but trouble near half-track forced her to lift off the throttle, while Tatum made a clean run in the opposite lane to advance.

“Our goal this weekend was to come out and qualify for the biggest drag race of the year,” said Salinas, a California native, who relocated to the area in 2023 to manage the Brownsburg-based Scrappers Racing program. “Back during eliminations in Seattle, I could feel something was wrong with the motor, but it was race day, so I wasn’t going to not take the tree. We ended up having a catastrophic parts failure on that run, and the team spent the next five weeks rebuilding the entire fuel system and clutch management and rewiring the entire car. So, this race also became a test session for us to fine-tune everything.

“Qualifying sixth out of a 22-car field was a great accomplishment for our team. Unfortunately, something didn’t feel right again during the burnout today. I don’t wear a radio and couldn’t communicate with my team, so it was a call I had to make right in that moment. I was hesitant staging because I was afraid we’d blow everything up again, and I allowed that to affect how I showed up to the tree. We did end up breaking the crankshaft in half, so I knew my gut instinct was right, but luckily, the damage wasn’t as bad.

“As a part-time driver, my opportunities to learn and make mistakes feel so limited, but we’re already making a game plan for the next race and figuring out how we can show up better.”

While the early exit brought Salinas’ U.S. Nationals run to an early close, the weekend continued a strong 2026 campaign for the part-time competitor, who raced to a final-round finish in Sonoma earlier this season. The Scrappers Racing team’s next event is still to be announced, but the team has confirmed it will make appearances during the six-race Countdown to the Championship series of events.

Qualified: No. 6 (3.776 E.T. at 329.91 MPH)

Elimination Round Results:
E1: 4.086 E.T. at 203.12 MPH defeated by Tripp Tatum 3.731 E.T. at 332.02 MPH