One of the neat things that we get to see each season as part of the NHRAonFox summer race broadcasts is the #MYJourney series. This series of in-depth interviews brings the backstories of the biggest NHRA drag racing stars to life and they are filled with smiles, tears, twists, turns, and coolness.
The most recent subject of this series was Mike Salinas. He sat down with Jamie Howe at his San Jose, California shop to talk about his life and how his family has risen to become one of the most prominent in the sport of drag racing.
Mike’s road was not an easy one. His family struggled mightily when he was a child and from the age of six he was out finding ways to make money and keep the bills paid along with food in the mouths of his siblings. You will hear him talk emotionally about those times, about his ability to start and grow businesses, and his hard-ass nature that had both been the foundation of his success and a struggle to overcome at times in his life.
Mike runs top fuel, his daughter Jiana runs the pro stock motorcycle category, and Jasmine is in an injected nitro burning dragster. His wife Monica is at the track every race as well. These guys are serious and this piece will educate you as to why.
Mike Salinas is living the American dream. One crafted from the pressures of being broke, being motivated, and being harder than granite when necessary.
I have had the pleasure of meeting Mike Salinas a couple of times at social gatherings and what you see is what you get. One of them most humblest down-to-earth persons I’ve ever met. he is one of the few that I still follow on the NHRA circuit and I wish him well.
I never met the man, but I have heard other interviews and stories. I can’t help but to cheer him on.
I guess I’m the only one that watched that and wondered what happened to the blue 70 GTX and the brown 340 Duster that were in the background of some of those pictures.
Apparently his dad was a big Mopar head. Seeing that made me like him a lot more.