The 2018 season has not only been a turning point for NHRA Top Fuel driver Mike Salinas, but also for two of his four daughters who are working their way up towards the NHRA pro divisions.

For Jianna, Pro Stock Motorcycle is the goal, whereas 26-year-old Jasmine aims to soon follow her father’s footsteps into Top Fuel.

“What [Jasmine]’s going to do is work with Arthur Gallant next year [in A/Fuel],” explained Mike, who comes into Charlotte eighth in the NHRA Top Fuel standings. “After that we already have a car in Brownsburg that we’re building for her. We’ll have a brand new Top Fuel car for her. In 2019 and 2020 she’ll come out with a brand new Top Fuel team.”

With Jasmine quickly working her way up the ranks toward Top Fuel and Jianna making her way up toward Pro Stock Motorcycle, Mike has made sure to surround them both with good people. Not only should this help them out, but it will help him focus on his own 2019 NHRA Top Fuel campaign.

“Jianna will go with Karen Stoffer,” explained Mike. “They’re good people, good family. So they’re going to work with Vance & Hines and Karen Stoffer with her program. She’ll come out full time next year in Pro Stock. [Jasmine] will come out in A-Fuel next year. So Art is going to run his deal under our deal so that should be pretty easy because we’re just managing them. Art will take care of that team, Stoffer’s will take care of that team, Alan will take care of this team. It will be a little bit difficult when Jasmine moves into Top Fuel. That’s when it will change.”

“I’m hoping to go full time next year so I’ll try and come out to 16 races,” added Jasmine. “This year I just did a lot of focusing on testing and licensing. Next year I want to go out and actually start winning and being competitive. I don’t want to come out just being the throw away car that everyone is excited to race. I want to be the person that everybody is afraid of racing from day one.”

Jasmine and Jianna will both be testing at zMAX Dragway on Monday. Jasmine will run with Arthur Gallant starting at Las Vegas where Jianna intends to get her Pro Stock Motorcycle license.

As for Mike himself, his partnership with Alan Johnson has helped propel him to multiple strong performances in 2018, and the 57-year-old Scrappers Racing driver has set lofty goals for himself in 2019.

“We’ve signed up with Alan Johnson for another year. We’re just getting ready. This was our test year and now we understand how to go racing. We’re already gearing up for next year.

“[Our goals are to] win every race of course,” Mike added, laughing. “I think it’ll be good. We’ve got to be realistic but I think we have a good team and monkey see, monkey do with Torrence they way they ran, everybody is trying to do what they do. He started with Alan, so we’re pretty much mimicking what they’re doing and they’ve done great. I expect them to win the championship this year at the rate they are going. They don’t make mistakes but it took them 11 years to get here. I need to do it in a quarter of the time.”