{"id":94391,"date":"2024-06-28T13:18:23","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T13:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/di-tribute-lizzy-musi\/"},"modified":"2024-06-28T13:18:23","modified_gmt":"2024-06-28T13:18:23","slug":"di-tribute-lizzy-musi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/di-tribute-lizzy-musi\/","title":{"rendered":"DI Tribute: Lizzy Musi"},"content":{"rendered":"

On June 27, 2024, the racing world lost one of its brightest stars, Lizzy Musi, after a year-long courageous battle with breast cancer.\u00a0According to a statement made by her dad, renowned engine builder Pat Musi, Lizzy was surrounded by family in her own home when she passed.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lizzy Musi was more than just a racer; she was a trailblazer and an inspiration. From a young age, she was drawn to drag racing, following in the footsteps of her legendary father. Lizzy carved out her own legacy in the racing world, becoming a fierce competitor and a beloved figure in the community.<\/em><\/p>\n

Her accomplishments on the track were numerous and impressive. From her early days in the ADRL and to the PDRA, Lizzy most recently found success in the Discovery show\u00a0Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings. She has also been featured numerous times in\u00a0Drag Illustrated\u00a0for her accomplishments and was the cover star of DI #84, the Hottest issue, in February 2014. But beyond the accolades, Lizzy was known for her unwavering determination, infectious enthusiasm, and genuine love for the sport and its people.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Lizzy was also known for her incredible strength and courage off the track. In April 2023, she was\u00a0diagnosed<\/a>\u00a0with triple-negative stage 4 breast cancer, which had spread to her lymph nodes and liver.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Despite this challenging diagnosis, Lizzy remained open about her journey, sharing her story with honesty and bravery. She underwent various treatments in the United States and, most recently, announced that her final-round NPK appearance at Empire Dragway would be her last for at least the next few events as she\u00a0traveled<\/a>\u00a0to Germany for a special cancer treatment.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lizzy\u2019s impact extended far beyond her racing achievements. Her kindness, humility, and generosity of spirit made her a cherished friend to many in the racing community and beyond.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lizzy, you will be greatly missed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Born and raised in New Jersey, 23-year-old Lizzy Musi moved south late in 2012, as her father, doorslammer legend Pat Musi, relocated his family-owned-and-operated horsepower factory to Mooresville, North Carolina. Though not quite ready to declare herself a newly minted southern belle, the second-generation racer says she\u2019s happy with the change in scenery.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe weather is definitely nicer, especially in the winter, and I like the southern-type attitude, a lot of people are very friendly,\u201d Musi says. \u201cBut what\u2019s really cool is there\u2019s so much racing going on down here; it\u2019s incredible. We\u2019ve got Mooresville Dragway about 12 miles from us and if I walk out of my house sometimes they\u2019ll be racing or testing there and I can hear the burnouts. Or sometimes I\u2019ll be standing outside the shop and hear the other race shops near us running their dynos. I just think that is so cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

With her dad stepping away from front office duties to concentrate on building horsepower out back, Musi has largely taken over day-to-day operations at Pat Musi Racing Engines (PMRE), which counts among its clients Pro Nitrous veterans John Hall, Tommy Franklin and Robert Patrick, as well as 2013 ADRL Dragstock winner Jason Harris and defending NHRA Pro Mod World Champion Rickie Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really a family effort, a family team here,\u201d Musi explains. \u201cI handle mostly the parts and part orders and invoicing and e-mails and all that; my sister and my mom do the paperwork stuff and my dad gives me the orders. So it\u2019s basically like a big teamwork deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s busy and it\u2019s crazy, especially when my dad is gone helping customers. He goes all over the world and it\u2019s a lot of work when he\u2019s gone. A lot is going on at once. Sometimes we need more people, but most of the time we can handle it. We\u2019ve just got to get the work done. Phones are ringing, you\u2019ve got to get this down to shipping, you\u2019ve got to order this, you\u2019ve got to do that, you\u2019ve got to get this. But I can\u2019t complain, because we\u2019re busy and that\u2019s a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Business-wise, the move couldn\u2019t have worked out better and Musi is dedicated to maintaining the momentum while juggling the demands of her PMRE duties with a rapidly developing driving career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think overall through last year, we had a great year. We had a lot of people running good and a lot of great customers, a lot of new customers, so it was a phenomenal year. We\u2019re running fast and I think we\u2019re on our game, so we can\u2019t stop now,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s really what I learned from my dad. He works day and night. If it\u2019s Christmas Day, he\u2019ll be working, plumbing a manifold or doing something on the motors; he\u2019s 24\/7. That\u2019s what inspires me the most about him; he really has heart in what he does and he gives heart to all his customers. Anything they need, he\u2019ll be there for them. That\u2019s what means a lot to me and it\u2019s what I want to bring to the business, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the last couple of years, Musi has been bringing that same sense of dedication to the track. Five years removed from making her last competitive drive down a drag strip\u2014at 16 in a Jr. Dragster, no less\u2014Musi made her Top Sportsman debut at the 2012 ADRL season opener in Houston, where she proved to be a quick learner, qualifying team owner John Lee\u2019s 1969 Camaro fifth and even winning her first round of eliminations before suffering a surprising spinout at the end of her burnout that disqualified her from round two.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m mad, but I\u2019m also embarrassed,\u201d a visibly upset Musi admitted at the time. \u201cSomething happened with the chip that\u2019s supposed to control the RPMs for the burnout. I don\u2019t know if it wasn\u2019t turned on or something went wrong with it, but I heard and felt the engine just keep going up and I tried to ease out of the throttle, but it just got away from me. I was mad because I wanted to go a lot farther.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then came the incident that for a brief time made Musi one of the most famous drag racers on the planet. While qualifying for just her second Top Sportsman race at Tennessee\u2019s historic Bristol Dragway in April 2012, her car crossed over from the right lane and wound up on top of the left guardwall where it made a perfect pirouette before taking out the top-end TV camera as it ended up on the wrong side of the wall. That the camera caught all the action\u2014even after its operator jumped over the wall to safety on the track\u2014made for the perfect viral video.<\/p>\n

Within days, Musi\u2019s name and likeness made the rounds worldwide. The crash video was an instant hit on YouTube.com, quickly racking up multi-million views and leading to coverage from several mainstream television, print and online news outlets, including Fox News, USA Today and The Daily Mail in Great Britain.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest, I\u2019m kind of glad that\u2019s all died down. It was fun at the time doing all those interviews and appearances; it really was a great experience, thankfully because no one got hurt, but I don\u2019t want to only be known as, \u2018that chick that crashed,\u2019\u201d Musi says. \u201cI want to win races and championships and be known for that eventually, instead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Needing a replacement ride for Musi, Lee soon picked up a former Dewayne Silance-owned \u201968 Camaro from Jerry Bickel Race Cars just a few weeks after the Bristol event. At the ADRL race in St. Louis that June, Musi made a then-career-best 4.15-seconds pass in the new car to qualify fourth, then went on to win two rounds on race day. More important to her, though, the weekend\u2019s performance made a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know after what happened in Houston and then the crash in Bristol, some people were wondering if I could drive a car like this, so it felt really good to make some runs like that and get that all behind me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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With a much more stable car to work with, Musi and team then set about building experience and becoming one of the consistently quickest entries in the ADRL Top Sportsman ranks, typically qualifying their bright red, Edelbrock-backed Camaro in the top five and dialing in with 4-teens for race day. As her rookie year came to a close, Musi reached the semi finals for the first time in the season ender at Dallas and finished an impressive eighth in points.<\/p>\n

Then came 2013 and she picked up right where she left off, qualifying a career-high second at Rockingham, North Carolina, to start the season, followed by a third-place start at the next event in Cecil, Georgia, before the race was canceled by rain. Regardless, the tone was set for Musi, who made another second-place start at Cordova, Illinois, followed by her first number-one-qualifier award at Richmond, Virginia, where she again made it to the semis and left the track on top of the Top Sportsman points list.<\/p>\n

The second half of the season began late in June at Martin, Michigan, where Musi once more started from the number-two slot and reached the semi finals, but after ADRL took the month of July off, she came back in August at Memphis with an off weekend that resulted in a first-round exit after qualifying sixth.<\/p>\n

After that came an also disappointing return to Rockingham, where Musi redlighted away her chances in the opening round of the special-event Battle for the Belts before qualifying number four for ADRL\u2019s prestigious Dragstock event, but made another early exit from round one. Regardless, she counts that event as one of her most memorable of the 2013 ADRL tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to say Rockingham is probably my biggest fan base out there. I mean, I had a pretty long line when I sat out there and signed posters,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI really love the fans; no matter how we do (on the track), they just make my whole day, my whole race. I just love talking, being able to talk to them and interact with them. They\u2019re like the most important thing to me. Really, I love them. It\u2019s a joy to be out there and just associate with them and give them attention because without them, you know, where would we be?<\/p>\n

\u201cThey still bring up the whole blue car thing (from Bristol), but I think this past year kind of made up for that whole deal,\u201d she adds. \u201cSo it\u2019s good to hear that. Now I can hear more about me doing good than that whole incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while it\u2019s always heartening to hear from young girls and women who gain inspiration from her on-track results, Musi admits she also gets plenty of attention from male fans, both trackside and online, but says it can be difficult to deal with at times.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can get a little crazy,\u201d she says. \u201cSome people are like, \u2018Why don\u2019t you write your number on the poster, too?\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018Oh God, no!\u2019<\/p>\n

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\u201cThen on Facebook, I get \u2018Do you want to go on a date?\u2019 and these messages, I can\u2019t even answer them; sometimes my inbox, my Facebook inbox is overwhelmed. So I just let it go right now. Then there are some that are like, \u2018What would it take for a guy like me to go out with a girl like you? Please respond to me.\u2019 I mean, there are some pretty desperate ones. And I don\u2019t want to be mean or anything; I just don\u2019t know what you do about the situation. I mean, I\u2019m really not the kind of girl that wants to strut her stuff or something like that. I\u2019m just me. That\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her personal life, Musi says she\u2019s dated a couple of fellow drivers over the last few years, but nothing serious and nothing lasting, something that\u2019s as much by design as chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s just because there\u2019s a lot going on for me right now. I kind of really need to focus. Even my dad sat me down and said we need to focus on this business, focus on the racing, because right now we are doing really good and we\u2019ve got to keep focusing to keep things going,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot on me. The personal life, I like to go out\u2014or I would like to go out and socialize and stuff\u2014but we want to be successful and be in this racing, so you kind of have to make it a full-fledged deal, give all your attention to it. It\u2019s a little hard on me sometimes, but honestly, if I could be at the track every day I would. It\u2019s just an enjoyable environment to me. I love being there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaving Rockingham, Musi had slipped to third in the season standings, but less than one round\u2019s worth of points out of the lead and essentially left to battle with four other drivers for the championship at the final race of the year in Houston. Unfortunately, disaster struck.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last couple of races we were fighting transmission problems, so it was kind of iffy on what was going to happen. We should have taken that trans out and checked it out, but that\u2019s our mistake and we fought that part of it and we learn from our mistakes,\u201d Musi explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it was a bummer that we fought that problem because we came out there pretty strong at the last race. We actually went testing and we made three passes in it and it went dead straight down the track. I mean 4.06, 4.08 and a 4.09 and I was like dead on the tree. I had a .010 light, a .012 and a .009 light, so I was like, \u2018Wow, this could be the race right here; we\u2019re on top of it!\u2019 And then we go out there for first qualifying round and the car just zinged in high gear. It\u2019s crazy. I don\u2019t know. It was just a shocking thing. It just bounced out of gear and just like that it was all over.\u201d<\/p>\n

With rain cutting short qualifying in Houston, just two rounds were completed to set the fields and unable to make repairs in time, Musi missed out on eliminations and finished the season a disappointing, but certainly respectable fifth in points.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI had a great team behind me and I want to thank John Lee for giving me that. We did our best. In the racing industry, anything can go wrong motor-wise, car-wise. You know you\u2019ve just got to be on top of everything and I think we did really good overall,\u201d Musi says. \u201cIt was definitely kind of a bummer at the last race when we had some transmission problems that cost us that race, but other than that, I think overall we had a good year.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the 2013 season over, Musi says she and Lee mutually agreed to part ways, primarily because she had the opportunity to step up this year to Pro Nitrous with the newly formed Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA), piloting the same 2009 Dodge Stratus her father last drove in 2011 for car owner Frank Brandao. Still, she knows she\u2019ll miss her Top Sportsman days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat class is a blast. All the people that race in it, it\u2019s like one big family,\u201d Musi states. \u201cThere are a lot of heavy hitters in that class; Ronnie Davis, Aaron Glasser, William Brown, Bruce Thrift, all those guys, they\u2019re great guys. If you need help, they\u2019re there for you. We all help each other out and I think it\u2019s more enjoyable when you know you\u2019re close with the people you race with, that you like racing with them. When you\u2019re on track, you feel more comfortable racing. So it\u2019s almost like a joy. They make it more fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Top Sportsman is a really tough class, too. I mean, you have to be dead on your reaction time and your dial in, so you\u2019ve got to be majorly consistent and it just makes you a better racer. It\u2019s a very competitive class. So I really enjoyed racing in it. I learned a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musi won\u2019t be alone in representing the family business with the PDRA this season, too, as little sister Tricia will make her race driving debut in yet another of their father\u2019s old rides. Twenty-one-year-old Tricia will enter Top Sportsman competition in the 1997 \u201cPopeye\u201d Firebird, now owned by Pennsylvania\u2019s Don Ream.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a pretty busy deal going on. She\u2019ll be running the fuel injection on a Musi 632 engine, almost a similar setup to what I ran and I\u2019m excited for her with that,\u201d Musi says. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be cool to have her out there; we need more girls out there racing.\u201d<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s still a chance Musi\u2019s own Top Sportsman days aren\u2019t quite over, as she reveals she may enter a couple of NHRA Top Sportsman events this season, \u201cjust to get some quarter mile runs under my feet.\u201d For the time being, however, her focus remains on making the transition to Brandao\u2019s Jerry Bickel-built Stratus, outfitted with an EFI Musi-built 903 cubic incher under the hood that\u2019s backed up by a Bruno automatic transmission carrying a Neal Chance torque converter.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy dad is really the one that put that deal all together. He brought it up to Frank (Brandao) about me maybe driving the car and Frank was all gung ho about it, so I\u2019m really grateful that he wants me to drive his car. I\u2019m really thankful for that,\u201d Musi says. \u201cAnd we have a couple of sponsors that stepped up to the plate to help us, too. Edelbrock again wants to help out this year and then we have Lucas Oil that my dad had the previous years when he raced, so I think it\u2019s going to be a really great deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Musi realizes there will again be the naysayers, people questioning whether she\u2019s ready to step up to the quicker, faster Pro Nitrous class, wondering if she\u2019s capable of facing hardcore professional drivers, maybe even whispering behind her back that she only got the ride because of her father. She doesn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what? I\u2019m going to do what I\u2019m going to do, I\u2019m going to listen to what my dad tells me to do, take it step by step, not going to jump into anything. I want to make sure I\u2019m comfortable and ready to go. So we\u2019re actually going to do some testing for a couple of weeks down in Florida when he comes back from Qatar, which is late February.\u201d<\/p>\n

First, though, the Stratus had to be adjusted by Bickel\u2019s shop in Moscow Mills, Missouri, to fit Musi\u2019s much smaller frame than her father\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like a little shrimp in my dad\u2019s car,\u201d she says, still referring to it as \u201chis\u201d car. \u201cI had to send out the gas pedal to Bickel and it looks so funny now because they put an extension on it. They made a whole new pedal for me so I can reach it, and then they have an extension on the steering wheel for me, too. So I feel like a little midget in there, but they did a great job and it\u2019s comfortable for me now.\u201d<\/p>\n

And though recognizing the intimidation factor of racing against the likes of past Pro Nitrous champions and race winners, Musi says she\u2019s found a level of comfort in the seat and looks forward to the challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo question there\u2019s some major heavy hitters in that class; it\u2019s going to be pretty crazy,\u201d she admits. \u201cBut it\u2019s going to be so cool running against those people. I grew up watching them race, so it\u2019s going to be really cool to have a chance to run against them.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd without a doubt I definitely feel more comfortable in the car. It\u2019s like, when you\u2019re at the track, you\u2019re at the track, but when you\u2019re in the car, it\u2019s a totally different ballgame. I don\u2019t know about anyone else, but to me I feel like when I\u2019m in the car nothing else matters; everything is blanked out. It\u2019s just total focus on getting down that track, doing everything that I need to do in the car and being consistent in everything I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Realistically, Musi says she\u2019s mainly looking to gain experience this year, but with a car her dad ran 5.92 at over 241 mph in 2011 at Budds Creek, Maryland, she knows the potential is there to make some noise\u2014and maybe break a few hearts along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeriously, I want to do good runs, make some good passes, get some good reaction times, qualify and maybe go some rounds at a few races. I would love to win, absolutely, but I think overall for this year, it\u2019s just about taking my time because it\u2019s a whole new deal. I have to get used to everything all over again,\u201d she realizes. \u201cI want to make some fast runs. Then let\u2019s see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photographs by Mike Carpenter and Ian Tocher<\/p>\n

This story originally appeared as the cover story<\/a> in Drag Illustrated Issue No. 84, the Hottest Women Issue<\/a>, in February of 2014.<\/em><\/p>\n

This story was originally published on June 28, 2024. <\/p>\n

The post DI Tribute: Lizzy Musi<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On June 27, 2024, the racing world lost one of its brightest stars, Lizzy Musi, after a year-long courageous battle with breast cancer.\u00a0According to a statement made by her dad, renowned engine builder Pat Musi, Lizzy was surrounded by family in her own home when she passed. Lizzy Musi was more than just a racer; […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94391\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}