PHOTOS: MARTY JOHNSON, GREG BURROW, MUSI FAMILY ARCHIVES pass down the quarter-mile strip. There is only a small tool box and a tire pressure gauge. A few sponsor decals are emblazoned across the red, white and blue paint job on the Camaro, which also bears Musi’ s name on the door panel. This scene – simple and straightforward – was the norm for Musi as he was coming up and racing with names like Johnson, Glidden and Shepherd.
“ In the old days, we drove the crew cab, we put the car together – we did it all,” Musi says.“ I come from the Warren Johnson / Bob Glidden days. We did it all ourselves – everything. And yes, you worked. Now the game is so hard. It takes a lot of people.”
Today, Musi keeps a low-key presence compared to some of the mega-haulers that fill the pits at PDRA and NHRA events, but it’ s also a far cry from the bare-bones set-up he used to bring to the track. Musi’ s trailer is a mobile version of his engine shop, stocked with anything and everything he’ ll need over the course of any given race weekend. He’ s joined by a complete team of crew members, each with a specific duty on the car.
“ Running one of these cars takes a lot of people,” Musi asserts.“ I have a crew that I’ ve developed. They all really work hard. Like Ronnie( Viccaro) – no way I could replace Ronnie. Everybody has their place. I can do it all if I have to, but it’ s nice to have a team with dedicated roles. You have to start giving some jobs out. It’ s hard to do it all yourself.”
Viccaro joined the Musi team after Musi Racing Engines relocated from New Jersey to Mooresville, North Carolina, home to just about every team that competes under the NASCAR umbrella. Viccaro enjoyed an illustrious career in the circle track world, including building engines for the late NASCAR Winston Cup champion Alan Kulwicki, before switching to the straight-line sport with Musi.
“ Ronnie walked in the door one day and hasn’ t left since,” Musi recalls.“ He’ s been great. He’ s really a good guy. He can go through the motor and maintain the motor. He’ s learning more and more every day. In NASCAR, of course, the cars are completely different, but a lot of what they do over there applies here.”
Moving to NASCAR country, which also happens to be a hotbed for racing in general, has been a game-changing move for Musi. He’ s within reasonable driving distance of every stop on the PDRA tour – no more than four hours from tracks like GALOT Motorsports Park, Virginia Motorsports Park, and Darlington Dragway – and just across town from zMAX Dragway, host of two NHRA Pro Mod events. Mooresville is also a great place to be if you’ re in need of a skilled employee to work in your engine shop or help you campaign a top-flight Pro Modified. This location has conveniently allowed Musi to assemble an all-star team.
“ I know if a guy is good the first week out,” Musi says of his hiring process.“ I always look at it as if I can get 75 percent of what I want
PRO STOCK DAYS
Pat Musi graduated high school in 1970. Less than five years later he was racing Pro Stock, competing against the likes of Bob Glidden, Lee Shepherd, Ronnie Sox and Bill“ Grumpy” Jenkins. He didn’ t quietly step his foot into the waters, either. In typical Musi fashion, he came to crash the party and prove he belonged.
“ In the‘ 70s, we used to do a lot of match racing and all the hitters were there,” Musi says.
Musi raced Pro Stock in both IHRA and NHRA, making a noticeable impression in both places. He finished as runner-up to Glidden at his first IHRA race in 1976, having immediate success right away in the NHRA as well.
There weren’ t any event wins in the NHRA, but Musi always ran near the front with his small-block engine, giving the likes of Glidden and Shepherd a run for their money throughout the late 1970s and early‘ 80s. More importantly, it was where Musi learned his craft, developing an expertise and work ethic that has been hard to match the past four decades.
“ Back then, it wasn’ t a millionaire’ s club in those days,” Musi says.“ You could take one guy and he could do everything. You couldn’ t just go buy an engine. It was all your own deal, just working hard at it. We ran pretty good, but we just had to work hard at it.”
Musi’ s NHRA Pro Stock debut came in 1981, bringing a big reputation from his IHRA success. Anyone thinking he would be humbled against the NHRA stars was quickly
Musi in the NHRA Pro Stock staging lanes with his wife, Elizabeth, in the late 1980s.
FAMILY BUSINESS: For Pat Musi, racing has always been about family. Here he’ s flanked by his father on the right and his brother, Ralph, on the left early in his Pro Stock career.
mistaken, as he advanced to the finals at his first appearance in Pomona, going to a second final round at the next race in Gainesville.
Musi proved his worth that year, finishing fourth in points in a loaded class, but his days in Pro Stock were numbered. Big money and big sponsors were coming to the class, and that was never the way Musi operated.
He ran the 500 cubic-inch engine for three races in 1982, but Musi soon realized that Pro Stock wasn’ t going to be the place for him. Still, he left the class with a number of fond memories, laying the groundwork for future success elsewhere.
“ I was reading about those guys in high school and then I ended up racing them,” Musi remembers.“ It was pretty good and it taught me a lot about work ethic. But when the money came around, that changed it.”
- JOSH HACHAT
September 2018 DragIllustrated. com | Drag Illustrated | 79