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Musi, Franklin Families Come Together to Honor Lizzy Musi with New Mission for ‘Bonnie’ Camaro

Mellie Snedeker photos

In the months since Lizzy Musi passed away following a breast cancer battle, Pat and Liz Musi struggled to decide what to do with “Bonnie,” the Robert Hayes-built ’69 Camaro that Musi raced to numerous wins in Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings competition. After a conversation with longtime Pat Musi Racing Engines customer and family friend Tommy Franklin, the Musis found the perfect solution. “Bonnie” will now race under the Tommy Franklin Motorsports umbrella, with Franklin’s son-in-law, Blake Denton, behind the wheel. Once competitive, they plan to field the car in PDRA Pro Street. 

The mission for both families is to honor and remember Lizzy by continuing to put “Bonnie” in the winner’s circle. Pat insists he and wife Liz are as honored by the Franklin family continuing to race the car as the Franklins are honored by the opportunity to carry on what Lizzy started. 

“We’ve been working with Tommy and his family for at least 10 years now, and it’s more than just a business relationship. We’re like family,” said Pat Musi. “Lizzy always followed Amber [Franklin, Tommy and wife Judy’s oldest daughter] and Amber always followed Lizzy. Our families have become close over the years, and we’re honored that Tommy and his family are going to keep Lizzy’s car out there on the track. I can’t tell you how much it means to all of us.”

Franklin, never one to shy away from a new project, is adding “Bonnie” to an already stacked lineup that includes his “Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro Pro Nitrous car, Amber’s “OG Jungle Rat” ’69 Camaro in Pro 632, Denton’s ’76 Camaro in Super Street, and youngest daughter Ashley’s Pro Jr. Dragster. 

“This is really all about honoring and paying tribute to Lizzy,” said Tommy Franklin, the three-time and defending PDRA Pro Nitrous world champion. “It’s been a privilege to work together with Pat and Liz for years, and our daughters looked up to Lizzy. We all miss her, and we’re going to do everything we can to honor her legacy by putting ‘Bonnie’ in the winner’s circle. We want to carry on the traditions and let Pat and Liz be able to come out here and watch the car turn on win lights.”

It’s a unique new opportunity for Denton, who married Amber last weekend. He drove his Musi-powered ’76 Camaro to the inaugural PDRA Super Street world championship in 2023, building on his experience driving Jr. Dragsters and Musi-powered bracket dragsters. 

“This whole deal is to try to honor Lizzy in the best way we can. She was a one-of-a-kind racer and the best person. I really can’t thank Pat and Liz Musi and Tommy and Judy Franklin enough for the opportunity to drive this car,” said Denton, who also thanked wife Amber, Robert and Debera Hayes, and the TFM team. “When Tommy and Pat first started talking about this, I knew how special this is for all of us.”

Blake got behind the wheel of the “Bonnie” ’69 Camaro during a private test session at Virginia Motorsports Park this week. Cosmetically, the car hasn’t been changed since Musi’s last outing at the NPK race at Empire Dragway in the spring. The team has some changes to make to convert it over from NPK trim to Pro Street trim. Like Tommy’s Pro Nitrous car, Amber’s Pro 632 car, and Blake’s Super Street car, Jeff Pierce will handle the tuning. When the car is capable of running at the front in Pro Street, which regularly sees eighth-mile times in the mid-3.90s to low 4.00s, Franklin says they’ll bring it out in competition. 

“It’s exciting to get involved in a new class,” Franklin said. “There are some tough racers and fast cars in Pro Street. Lizzy won a bunch of No Prep Kings races with this car. Our intention is to do the same in Pro Street. We’re not going to bring it out until it’s ready.”

Musi is looking forward to seeing the car compete in Pro Street. Though PDRA Pro Street isn’t quite the same as NMCA Pro Street, where Musi scored eight world championships, it is a full-circle moment to see the car end up in the class. It’s also a chance for Pat Musi Racing Engines to make its mark on a new class, as boosted combinations have dominated the fairly young category. 

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“It brings back memories of me and Tony Christian running Pro Street,” Musi said. “We’re going to back the nitrous deal as hard as we can. The supercharged cars, the turbo cars, the nitrous cars – they’re all limited by the tire size. I think we can be competitive, even those guys have big power, more than a nitrous engine can make. We feel like we can compete with them. It’s going to be a tuning deal. The tire is a big factor. We’re pretty happy with the early numbers in testing. I’m excited about it.”

Amber Franklin Denton pulls Blake Denton into the beams during testing.

Denton, who won the PDRA season opener and is now third in points, feels his time in Super Street has prepared him for the move up to Pro Street. Both classes are limited by tire size, with Super Street limiting teams to a 28×10.5” non-W bias ply slick. 

“The Super Street car has definitely helped me in a lot of ways,” Denton said. “It’s taught me to feel a car out better and know when to get out of it. They’re definitely different cars, but it feels the same way as my Super Street car does on the 10.5-inch tire.”

Follow the Tommy Franklin Motorsports and Pat Musi Racing Engines Facebook pages to follow along with Lizzy Musi’s “Bonnie” ’69 Camaro as it makes the move to PDRA Pro Street. 

This story was originally published on September 13, 2024. Drag Illustrated

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