Drag Illustrated Issue 136, September 2018 | Page 80

PAT MUSI
80 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
HISTORIC RIVALRY: Pat Musi rolls
alongside Tony Christian before another
epic NMCA Pro Street battle at Memphis
International Raceway in the late 1990s.
PRO STREET DOMINANCE
Musi didn’t slowly ease into the world of NMCA
Pro Street. Instead, he grabbed the megaphone,
announced his presence and quickly called out
the biggest name in the class at the time. That,
of course, was Tony Christian, and Musi wasted
little time in getting down to business, boldly
proclaiming Christian didn’t stand a chance.
It was the start of a heated rivalry that lasted
for years, but all of this didn’t build up over
time. Musi went full bore right out of the gate
at the NMCA race in St. Louis in 1997, his first
appearance in Pro Street.
“I saw Tony and he said, ‘You’re going to ruin
this deal,’ and I said, ‘For who? You?’ It was the
first race I went to,” Musi recalls. “I studied the
rules and said he’s dead.”
Musi was right. His Camaro was a dominant
force in those Pro Street days, as he totaled
eight NMCA/NSCA world championships be-
tween 1997-2005. He raised the bar in the class,
turning in one unbelievable performance after
another. The rivalry with Christian did wonders
for the class, with Musi earning significant rec-
ognition along the way.
“Everyone saw it and they all threw their
hitters at us,” Musi says. “It made me, Reher,
Fulton all compete with each other. But they
ALL-STARS: Vic Edelbrock, Pat Musi, and Dan Jesel
at Musi’s shop in Carteret, NJ.
could never get around us and that was good.”
Musi believed he could be successful in the
class on a smaller budget, and helping his
business along the way. Meanwhile, his perfor-
mances on the track reached legendary sta-
tus, running a record-setting pass of 6.352 at
224 mph in 2007. By then, Musi had nearly a
decade working with electronic fuel injection
(EFI), and he remained several steps ahead of
the competition.
Running that quick also set the stage for
Musi’s successful transition into Pro Mod, but
none of it would have been possible if not for
an incredible trend-setting track record in Pro
Street.
“I could do it on a limited budget and still
be pretty powerful because I did my own en-
gines,” Musi points out. “I stuck with the EFI
deal once we got on it in ’98 and never looked
back. It gave me a leg up and forced everybody
to run EFI.
“Pro Street evolved to a 737 (cubic-inch en-
gine) and we knew what we should run and we
did. We were running close to Pro Mod times
and that’s what made me jump.”
- JOSH HACHAT
Issue 136
in a guy, I’m good. You’re not going to get that
100 percent. But I’ve been lucky to get some
really good, talented people. They all have to
jell as a team. I feel like we have the best crew
we’ve had in a long time.”
Along with Viccaro, Musi’s crew includes
Dan Dysart, Rob Guzzi and Bryce Moretz. X275
star Dean Marinis also lends a hand whenev-
er he can find a break in his work and racing
schedules. Marinis and Viccaro tag along with
Musi for most NHRA Pro Mod events when he’s
handling the crew chief duties on Green’s car.
Another group of specialists handles business
back at the engine shop, where Musi builds
engines for customers in classes ranging from
Top Sportsman and Top Dragster to Pro Mod.
“We have a whole crew at the shop that fo-
cuses on the engines,” Musi says. “We have a
great cylinder head guy and Robert Hallberg,
a great assembler who has been with me for
decades. We have a whole deal going on at the
shop constantly, on the dyno developing stuff.
My wife, Liz, runs the office with my brother,
Ralph. It takes a lot.”
Beyond the dyno room, Musi takes his R&D
program to the track, using every reasonable
opportunity to test the house car. He keeps an
open line of communication with his engine
customers, too, working with them to get the
most out of their engine, but also to further
fine-tune the combination to the benefit of
everyone involved.
“We’re fortunate enough to have good racers
around us, like Tommy Franklin,” Musi says.
“We have all these good guys around us and we
can share a little information. We give every-
one the best stuff we can and see how it runs.
Look at what Rickie (Smith) has done for our
company. He’s been with us for six years and
he’s won four championships (three in NHRA,
one in PDRA) in that time.”
Musi adds that his relationship with Smith
has helped with the engine business, but also
with Musi’s new gig with Green. He says that he
wasn’t exactly flying blind when he tuned Green
to an impressive debut at Gainesville, but by
no means was he using a Rickie Smith tune-up.
“Obviously, I had a head start since I do Rick-
ie’s engines and I know what he’s got,” Musi says,
“but I don’t know his tune-up. Rickie does his
own tune-up. We always keep it that way. He’ll
help me if he can and I’ll help him if I can.”
Musi and Smith are cut from the same cloth.
Both in their mid-60s, the two raced Pro Stock
together in the ‘80s and followed similar paths
since then. Smith’s path may have started sev-
eral hours south of Musi’s in rural King, North
Carolina, but they’re more similar than they are
different. They used a strong work ethic and in-
satiable hunger for winning to rise from humble
beginnings and become two of the most iconic
names in doorslammer racing. They’ve been
described as “intimidating” and “stubborn”, but
Musi and Smith bring their own strengths and
weaknesses together to help each other succeed.