LLIOTT LOE knew from an early age that he had a deep interest in mechanical matters . He envisioned a career where he could use the engine building and mechanical skills he developed through a high school automotive program , Pierce County Skills Center , and later NASCAR Technical Institute ( NTI ) in Mooresville , North Carolina . The employment office at NTI knew he was a top talent and connected him with locally based engine builder Pat Musi , who quickly hired Loe to join Pat Musi Racing Engines and the Musi Racing team in 2019 . Today , Loe is one of Musi ’ s most trusted employees , soaking up knowledge from Musi ’ s 50-plus years of experience while helping Musi take his business into the future .

“ When I started off , I just cleaned parts at the shop , then when we ’ d go racing , I ’ d wipe down the car and help load and unload the trailer ,” Loe remembers . “ From there I guess I proved myself enough to Pat that he was like , ‘ I ’ m going to just dump you on everything .’ So now I ’ ll do anything from assemble motors to plumb the intake manifolds . That ’ s the thing I really pride myself on during a normal day .”

Loe also worked with chassis builder Robert Hayes in the construction of the two “ Bonnie ” ’ 69 Camaros that the late Lizzy Musi raced in Street Outlaws : No Prep Kings competition . He also handles any welding in the shop and generally will jump in to do anything that he ’ s capable of doing .

Along with working in the shop , Loe was one of the key crew members on the Musi Racing team before Lizzy ’ s passing this summer . He joined the team towards the end of their time in PDRA Pro Nitrous and was there for a handful of Street Outlaws seasons in both No Prep Kings and on the street .

“ That is a crazy existence ,” laughs Loe , who grew up in Washington State . “ I come from an average family , so you roll in with the Musis and it ’ s a different lifestyle . Once we started doing No Prep Kings , it was crazy workloads , all sorts of hours , all times of the day . Nonstop street racing . It was a wild time for sure .”

Lizzy ’ s passing in June was obviously a devastating loss for the Musi group , including Loe . He spoke at her funeral and adopted her dogs , Jax and Abel .

Loe values the opportunity to learn from and

work with a legendary engine builder like Musi , who has high expectations for his staff .

“ It ’ s super valuable , and the nice thing about Pat is he ’ ll say what ’ s on his mind ,” Loe says . “ It ’ s not for everybody , working for Pat . I ’ ve seen plenty of people come through that shop , but me and him just click together pretty well , I think . Especially when it comes to getting stuff done .”

Though he stays plenty busy at the Musi shop , Loe also sharpens his skills through some hobby projects , including a turbocharged , Subaru-powered Porsche 914 Time Attack build that he hopes

to take to the SEMA Show in 2025 . He also built a lawnmower that he feels will become the world ’ s fastest lawnmower , eyeing quarter-mile passes in the low eights at 160 MPH . Finally , he ’ s part of a team that fields a ’ 68 Dodge Dart in 24 Hours of Lemons races , which are 14-plus-hour endurance races on road courses .

“ I ’ ve got all these stupid little ideas of different projects and stuff like that that I work on all the time ,” Loe says . “ It ’ s nonstop , busy kind of stuff .”

One of Loe ’ s most recent projects is training with Rottler Manufacturing representatives to run the Rottler H85 CNC machine that hones blocks for Musi ’ s legendary 959-plus-cubic-inch nitrous engines .

“ All of our 5.3 engines that come out of the shop , I ’ m now honing ,” Loe says . “ I ’ m actually doing a presentation with them on Thursday at the PRI Show . I can operate the machines pretty well , and if people were to have any questions , I can answer those .”

Loe plans to continue working with Musi as the company moves to a new , expanded facility . He ’ s also eager to further pursue his own personal racing endeavors . Wherever Loe ends up , he ’ ll be building on to a very impressive and stable foundation . – NATE VAN WAGNEN DI

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