But he really does care and Johnson could sense that right away.
“Anytime somebody has the desire to race Top Fuel and has the financial ability to fund it on his own, you know that guy’s got some passion,” Johnson said. “We’re trying to reward him, our team, with some wins and a really good run at the championship. When he began driving, he didn’t really have very many runs at all. It’s one thing getting runs in a Top Fuel car, but (that and) getting runs in a Top Fuel car that’s quick enough to win a championship are two different things. They’re a lot harder to drive when they’re really fast. He has done a good job of coming up to speed on that. He’s going to be a great driver.”
Salinas said, “You’re only as good as who you surround yourself with. If you want to be the best, you get the best.”
And you demand the best.
“I’m pretty hard on my girls, I really am,” he said. “I don’t think I would be any different on a boy, but I know my girls. All of us, second isn’t best for us. It’s a rough household to live in when all we’ve done is No. 1 in our whole life. We don’t compete with anybody else in our world. We compete with ourselves, our personal bests.”
And his daughters are more than up for the challenge. They’re overachievers who, dad estimates, each read more than 100 books a year. Jasmine, at 27 the eldest of the four, and Jianna, 22, have made their debuts in drag racing. Jasmine races in the Alcohol Dragster class and Jianna rides a Pro Stock Motorcycle.
Maybe more impressive is what they can do off the track. Together they own the distinction of being the only competitors in the sport who can speak Mandarin Chinese. Jasmine is a University of San Francisco graduate who majored in international and Asian studies, built superchargers for her father’s dragster before embarking on her Top Alcohol Dragster career, and earned licenses in the Super Comp and Top Alcohol classes after a stint in Jr. Dragster. Jianna, who began racing in the junior ranks at age 10, started learning Mandarin this year while taking on a Suzuki that’s about five times her weight.
“You know, it’s been really fun. I’m just really happy for them that they’re out here doing this,” Mike Salinas said. “Most people don’t get to see how hard they worked. The coolest part is both daughters, I made them put the first $50,000 to buy these teams out of their pockets. My kids, they work for everything. It’s really awesome. I told them, they put the first 50 — that means they’re dedicated. Jasmine sold her couch to finish off the $50,000.”
Second-oldest daughter Jacquelin is a San Jose State student majoring in industrial and systems engineering. Her parents named her CFO of all of their companies because, her dad said, “She earned the spot and she’s amazing at it.”
Youngest daughter Janae just returned from her fashion-design studies in Italy at Milan’s Istituto Marangoni. She’s continuing her education back home, planning to launch a clothing line.
When they’re ready, both Jasmine and Jianna say they want to race in the Top Fuel class — although Mike Salinas will be starting to pursue his Pro Stock Motorcycle license next month at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
“I’m going to get my motorcycle license because I want to race with my daughter,” he said. “I’m terrified to get on that bike, but I’ve got to do it because I need to beat her. Yep, I am going to compete in a national event next year.
“I had five sisters, and I have four daughters and one wife, so I’ve been around women all my life. I built strong, confident young women and I want them to live what they want to live and be as strong as they can,” he said. “They’re running companies now, so I know they can do anything. The coolest thing is I got them believing they can do anything.” n