Facing hot-weather racing conditions all weekend long at Dragway 42, the Musi Racing team couldn’t find their footing at the Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA) inaugural Northern Nationals in West Salem, Ohio.
Lizzy Musi suffered a close first-round loss in Pro Nitrous driving the Frank Brandao-owned Edelbrock/Lucas Oil “King Kong 7” 2018 Dodge Dart. Racing Todd Fontana in the opening round, both drivers ran into trouble, but Musi couldn’t quite track him down, running 4.656-seconds at 147.40 mph to Fontana’s 4.561 at 163.22.
It proved to be a frustrating weekend for Musi, who qualified eighth with a run of 3.776 at 202.07. After three straight victories on the Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings circuit, Musi is still searching for her first victory of the 2019 PDRA season through five races. However, the team remains determined to make it happen over the final three events of the 2019 campaign.
“Things definitely didn’t go our way this weekend, but we’re not going to lose any confidence over it,” Pat Musi said. “We know we have a car and a driver capable of winning races, it just hasn’t come together for us yet in the PDRA. But there’s still three races to make something happen, and we’re going to continue to come out swinging.”
The weekend’s biggest bright spot for Pat Musi Racing Engines was Tommy Franklin’s victory in Pro Nitrous. Franklin showcased Musi power in his “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro, qualifying No. 1 with a blast of 3.702 at 205.10 and then putting together a series of stellar passes in eliminations.
Franklin rocketed to a final-round run of 3.69 at 204.36 en route to his first win of the 2019 season. It also marked the second straight victory for Pat Musi Racing Engines customers in Pro Nitrous.
“Our customers continue to have a great year in Pro Nitrous and that is exciting to see,” Musi said. “We’ve faced a lot of difficult conditions on a number of hot tracks this season, but I think the performances prove our engines can win no matter how hot or challenging a track is. Tommy had a really strong weekend in Ohio and I’m looking forward to seeing how everyone finishes the year.”
Lizzy Musi, who remained sixth in Pro Nitrous points, returns to PDRA action on Sept. 5-7 at GALOT Motorsports Park in Benson, N.C. for PDRA Drag Wars VI. Before that, she’ll look to maintain her dominance in the No Prep Kings series, as she’ll pilot the Edelbrock-equipped “Aftershock” at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago on Aug. 9-10, where Musi will try for a fourth straight victory.
“There’s still plenty to race for and a lot of opportunities to get wins, and that’s what we’re after,” Pat Musi said. “Lizzy has handled the challenges of driving two different cars extremely well, and I think we’re going to have a great finish to the season in both cars.”
This story was originally published on July 23, 2019. 
