BY 
Top Alcohol Dragster pilot
taken to hospital in
Gainesville after Saturday incident.
Image: JASON ZINDROSKI
NHRA Top Alcohol Dragster racer Jasmine Salinas was taken to a Gainesville, Fla., hospital Saturday morning for further evaluation after she took a frightening flight over the left guard wall during her third and final qualifying pass at the Amalie Oil Gatornationals.
Amazingly, she sent word from the hospital that she had “a few bruises here and there but feels fine otherwise.”
Track workers reported immediately via radio and the NHRA later confirmed that Salinas, 29, of San Jose, Calif., crawled from her heavily damaged race car on her own power. She was evaluated by emergency medical personnel on site before being transported to nearby UF Health Shands Trauma Center.
Scrappers Racing team public relations representative Melanie Johnson said in a prepared statement that Salinas “shook the tires early in the run, let the car calm down, and attempted to pedal (feather the throttle, trying to regain traction). As she got back on the throttle, the front wheels lifted and surpassed the strength of the wheelie bar. The car went completely airborne and settled on the embankment outside of the guard wall on the left side of the track.
“Moments later,” Johnson said, “Salinas exited the car under her own power and spoke to the NHRA Safety Safari members that were first to the scene.”
Salinas sent word to her team: “I will be out of here as soon as possible. I have a few bruises here and there but feel fine otherwise.”
The clocking system, as expected, gave Jasmine Salinas no time for her ill-fated pass but listed her as No. 2 in the order with a 5.177-second elapsed time at 279.50 mph from Friday.
Jasmine Salinas is the subject of the award-winning video documentary “Five Foot 280.” Through that, she has been a global ambassador for drag racing – and a strong advocate for women in every walk of life.
Source: autoweek.com