Pat Musi Racing Engines bolstered its 2013 success with a banner weekend at the ADRL Summer Drags IX on the grounds of US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Michigan.
Musi, the Mooresville, North Carolina-based engine builder, had customers using his cutting-edge electronic fuel injected engines and components in several classes of ADRL competition, including Pro Modified, Pro Nitrous and Top Sportsman.
The most recognizable name on the list of racers utilizing Musi power is that of āTrickyā Rickie Smith. Fresh off a win at the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals in Bristol, TN, Smith dominated the diverse Summer Drags IX Pro Modified field with a wire-to-wire performance, qualifying on the pole with a 3.873 elapsed time and riding a string of low 3.90-second runs to the final round in his Jerry Bickel Race Cars 2013 Camaro. There he defeated Jimmy Keen with a .029 reaction time to Keenās .035 light as both drivers ran identical 3.890 elapsed times.
āWeāve worked really hard on Rickieās engine program and itās showing results with the way heās been running over the last month,ā Musi said. āI couldnāt be happier for Rickie and his whole team.ā
Puerto Ricoās own Raymond Matos had another consistent outing in his āCuda that features a nitrous-assisted Musi EFI setup, qualifying eighth before Rickie Smith ended his weekend in the second round of Pro Modified eliminations. While Musi is well-known for his EFI nitrous engines, he also provides the power for Jeff Lutzās twin-turbo ā69 Camaro. Lutz qualified tenth in Pro Modified and made it to the semi-final round with consistent 3.90s before falling to Keen.
In the tough Pro Nitrous division, Tommy Franklin continued his hot streak with a runner-up finish after qualifying in the tenth position with a career-best 3.887-second pass.
āTommy and his family have fought hard to get where they are now, winning races and setting new career-bests,ā said Musi. āTheyāve got a great team and Iām glad theyāve chosen Musi power to take them to the next level.ā
Franklin wasnāt the only Musi-powered Pro Nitrous entry to turn in a solid performance in Martin. Utilizing the Musi 903 cubic inch EFI powerplant, John Hall qualified third with a stunning 3.806 ET and progressed to the semi-finals before he was stopped by Franklin. Robert Patrick Jr. slotted in fifth with a 3.823 and Jason Harris posted a 3.851, good enough for seventh. Recent ADRL Pro Nitrous winner John Camp ended up ninth after his 3.884-second run. Campās ā68 Camaro has a Sonnyās engine with Musi fuel injection under the hood.
Topping off the hot weekend for Pat Musi Racing Engines was the performance Musiās daughter, Lizzy, strung together in Top Sportsman. She continued her streak of qualifying in the top three at every ADRL race thus far in 2013, starting the Summer Drags from the second spot with a stout 4.068 elapsed time. In Sundayās eliminations she drove the ā68 Camaro labeled the āEdelbrock EFI Test Carā to the semi-final round, where eventual race winner Bruce Thriftās 4.282 on a 4.28 dial-in was too much for Musi despite her stellar .004 reaction time.
āThis weekend turned out to be a great showing for us,ā Lizzy Musi said. āThe car is flying but is also consistent, which is so important in a class like Top Sportsman. We were also able to hold onto our points lead. I couldnāt have done any of it without the support of my family, friends and sponsors, including Edelbrock, Chassis Engineering, and car owner John Lee.ā
Visit the all-new www.patmusi.com for more information about Pat Musi Racing Engines and the top teams that use them.
(Photo by Roger Richards/CompetitionPlus.com)
This story was originally published on July 3, 2013.