Postcards from NHRA West Coast Swing: Mike Salinas Blogs from the Road

I’m having fun with the motorcycle ride. I haven’t talked to the business in three weeks, and it’s been pretty amazing. They keep calling, but I’m not answering.

Us guys that work every day and we come in and race on the weekends, it’s harder to drive these cars and focus because if we like it or not, we have business on our mind and how many things we have going on. And when you can just get a little break and learn how to turn it off, it helps a lot.

Basically, what we did was exactly what Steve Torrence did last year, we just didn’t share it with anybody,” said Salinas, following his final qualifying round. “We just fell on our face and tried all kinds of different things. All the stuff we did learn, we’re just applying it now and the car seems to be responding exactly like we wanted it to. Our 60 foots were amazing for the heat and the track temperature. I think we’re in a good place.

You saw it—I earned the No. 1 qualifying position at Seattle and had a bye run in the first round of eliminations Sunday. And guaranteed, we knew we were going to throw down. We have to. Every run means something for the Countdown. It helps morale, and it helps with three guys in there calling the shots. I told them, ‘It’s time to open up a can and let’s go and see what we can do. I’ve let you do everything you want and now it’s time to run.’ There is no tomorrow, because if we don’t start now and get our momentum going, we’re not going to do too well.

So we made it to the second round. We went up there with the thought of running a smooth, clean, fast run. We had the bottom end of the track real good, and we were trying to ease into the top part. And the track just wouldn’t hold what we were trying to give it, that’s all. I got Shawn Langdon on the light and had him to a certain spot. We were ahead of him and the car started breaking loose, so I had to lift, and he went by.”

But we still have Sonoma coming up right away. And we’ll roll into Sonoma on our motorcycles.

I think we’ve done 2,700 miles on the bikes, and my wife and I said five words to each other on the ride so it was kind of awesome. She probably appreciated it! And how often do we get to turn everything off and see America, the true America? We’ve met some really great people along the way, and it’s been pretty nice, really enjoyable.

We went through Montana, and there was about a 10-mile stretch. I haven’t smelled air that fresh, and it was noticeable. We were on the bikes and riding and it was like a wall. It was just amazing. Whatever that area was, I want to buy right there. It was just amazing. But it’s been fun, because the family is together.

My wife, Monica, just joined us, and she rides on the back of my bike. And our daughter, Jianna, has been with my brother Carl and me. And we’ve had a great time. We’re actually riding along the coast on the way home. Steve Torrence came to meet reporters when I was No. 1 qualifier and he had just won the Mission Foods #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, and I said, ‘I’ve got an extra bike for Steve Torrence if he wants to come with us.’”

Jianna raced at Seattle for the first time. The Pro Stock Motorcycle class went to Pacific Raceways for the first time. She qualified eighth and raced Chase Van Sant in the first round. The announcers called it one of the ‘Marquee Match-ups.’ She posted her fastest time of the weekend, it wasn’t enough to go on to the second round. Poor Jianna. That happened after the hotel fire alarm went off one night on our way from Denver to Seattle. Here – let Jianna tell it in her words...

[Jianna] “Of course, there was the hotel fire alarm – tried to take a nice, hot shower after a long day of riding. And, apparently, I had the room with the sensitive smoke detector, which decided to set off the hotel fire alarm. After having my room inspected by the fire department, I had to enjoy a lukewarm shower rather than the hot one I was hoping for. Life on the road means there’s never a dull moment.”

Editor's Note: The San Jose, Calif.-based Scrappers Racing team is tackling on two wheels the NHRA’s grueling Western Swing—three events in consecutive weeks in crazily different racing conditions and a route that covers more than 2,000 miles.

Top Fuel driver and patriarch Mike Salinas is the ringleader for Pro Stock Motorcycle-racing daughter Jianna Evaristo, Mike's wife Monica Salinas, and Mike's brother, Carl Salinas, as they take the scenic route and stop at various points on the way to Denver, Seattle, and Sonoma in Northern California’s Wine Country to enjoy the beauty of the American West.