{"id":96502,"date":"2024-10-16T18:18:21","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T18:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/tribute-a-look-at-lizzy-musis-incredible-legacy\/"},"modified":"2024-10-16T18:18:21","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T18:18:21","slug":"tribute-a-look-at-lizzy-musis-incredible-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/tribute-a-look-at-lizzy-musis-incredible-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribute: A Look at Lizzy Musi\u2019s Incredible Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Being the son or daughter of a legendary racer can come with pressure that the average competitor doesn\u2019t face, but Lizzy Musi handled that role with grace and determination. The daughter of iconic Pro Stock, Pro Street, and Pro Modified racer and engine builder Pat Musi, Lizzy forged a path of her own as she became a championship-level driver in PDRA Pro Nitrous and Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings<\/em>. She formed a fan base of her own, inheriting some fans of her father while also connecting with a new generation of drag racing fans. She inspired many young women when she continued to race after receiving a triple-negative stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis in April 2023. Just over a year later, she passed away at age 33.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[Editor\u2019s Note: This story originally appeared in DI #190, the State of Drag Issue, in September\/ October of 2024.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Musi started her drag racing career in Jr. Dragsters before moving up to a Top Sportsman car, which she drove to prepare for an eventual move up to PDRA Pro Nitrous. Driving Frank Brandao\u2019s \u201cKing Kong 5\u201d Dodge Stratus, which her father drove to a historic win in NHRA Pro Mod competition, Musi became the first woman to win in Pro Nitrous when she won at Virginia Motorsports Park in the PDRA\u2019s inaugural season in 2014. She went on to win a total of five races in nine final-round appearances, putting her fifth on the all-time win list. She also ranked third on the all-time low qualifier list in the class. Her class speed record \u2013 209.23 MPH, set in October 2018 \u2013 still stands.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The opportunity to blaze a new trail on the popular Discovery series Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings<\/em> was an alluring one for Musi. With her father providing the horsepower, she made history by becoming the first woman to win in the NPK series. She also became the first driver to win three consecutive events in the series. With 136 round wins, 12 invitational final rounds, and seven invitational wins, Musi remains one of the most accomplished drivers in NPK history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Musi shared the news of her cancer diagnosis<\/a> in an emotional and candid video posted on her YouTube channel in April 2023. The news came as a shock to her fans and fellow racers, and the racing community quickly offered their support.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the fastest and most aggressive breast cancers that you can have. It\u2019s something that I didn\u2019t want to hear,\u201d Musi said in the video. \u201cI felt numb when I got the news. My dad and mom were there with me, and we were in the middle of testing the race car for the upcoming season of Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings<\/em>. It was hard to tell everyone \u2013 what do you do? I couldn\u2019t believe that I actually had to say that I had cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musi started undergoing treatment at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center following the diagnosis. With permission from her doctors, she started the 2023 NPK season at National Trail Raceway in early June.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a couple of keyboard warriors saying she should worry about her health,\u201d said Pat Musi during an interview<\/a> on The Wes Buck Show<\/em>. \u201cWell, the biggest part of this cancer deal is mental health. She needs to keep her head up and know that she\u2019s going to be there tomorrow and the oncoming times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would you want to discourage her from that?\u201d Pat asked rhetorically. \u201cI\u2019m here to tell you that we\u2019re going to do whatever she wants. Her health is a priority, and so is her mental health. She needs to feel a purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musi\u2019s decision to continue racing despite a major cancer battle paid off in August when she drove her brand-new, Robert Hayes-built \u201cBonnie 2.0\u201d \u201969 Camaro to her first NPK win of the season in Tulsa. She jumped up to third in points with a 13-5 round record.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t even begin to explain everything I\u2019ve been going through and dealing with this cancer diagnosis \u2013 a lot of people had their doubts about me,\u201d Lizzy said after the win<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m very thankful and blessed that I can keep doing what I\u2019m doing. It hasn\u2019t put me down. I still have the fire in me. I can still do what I do, and it hasn\u2019t changed. I have such a huge support system that keeps me going. My family has been so supportive. It\u2019s incredible, and I\u2019m so thankful for that.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe and my dad got emotional at the top end, but we both know that we went through hell and back to get to where we\u2019re at. I look up to him so much,\u201d Lizzy added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Musi earned a second consecutive win on the NPK tour, winning the Firebird Raceway final round, which was completed at Bandimere Speedway. She finished the season tied for seventh in the NPK invitational points standings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 2024 season started off promising for Musi as she continued to work with doctors to find treatment options that would address the cancer, which had also spread to her lymph nodes and liver. She won a match race series<\/a> over fellow NPK racer Jeff Lutz at the Drag Illustrated<\/em> World Series of Pro Mod in March, then raced to a final-round finish at Empire Dragway in May. Shortly after, she announced a hiatus<\/a> from the NPK tour so she could travel to Germany for a special cancer treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve kind of tried everything here [in the U.S.], and I\u2019ve researched the doctor and treatment in Germany that can isolate my liver and treat it,\u201d said Lizzy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe medical system in this country just isn\u2019t what it is in Europe,\u201d Pat added. \u201cLizzy did all the research on this doctor and the treatment, and he reassured her that he could help.\u00a0 They\u2019re way advanced from where we are, and they don\u2019t have all these FDA regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Around a month after Musi left for Germany, she passed away<\/a> on June 28th in the comfort of her own home while surrounded by family. The Musi family held a memorial service on July 2nd, which was attended by family, friends, and numerous fellow racers. In the days and weeks following her passing, racers in classes ranging from the NHRA pro classes and NPK to the Jr. Dragster ranks carried memorial messages on their cars. Musi created an indelible legacy in the sport, and she will be missed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This story was originally published on October 16, 2024. <\/p>\n

The post Tribute: A Look at Lizzy Musi\u2019s Incredible Legacy<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Being the son or daughter of a legendary racer can come with pressure that the average competitor doesn\u2019t face, but Lizzy Musi handled that role with grace and determination. The daughter of iconic Pro Stock, Pro Street, and Pro Modified racer and engine builder Pat Musi, Lizzy forged a path of her own as she […]<\/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-96502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96502","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=96502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96502\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}