Lizzy grew up in the sport and understood that the fans were as important as anything else in drag racing. Lizzy started driving Top Sportsman and moved into Pro Nitrous, where she became the first woman in a nitrous car to break the 200-mph barrier in eighth-mile drag racing. She eventually found her way onto the television show Street Outlaws. Lizzy always had a fan following and when she started appearing on the TV show, it exploded.

Lizzy loved the kids that came to see her. When she announced that she had cancer, the outpouring of blankets, flowers, cards, and homemade gifts was overwhelming.“ My fans are supporting me, sending love, prayers and gifts,” she said at the time.“ It tells me how many people care and just want me to be OK. It gives me motivation.”

This is the story of one little girl that touched Lizzy’ s heart. Rylee Clark was born with Spina Bifida and she has been in a wheelchair most of her life. Her parents, Jerry and Casey Clark, took her to a drag race when she was just a few months old. They met Kye Kelley and his mom, Tammy, who they would come to see whenever they were racing nearby in Ohio. Meeting Kye eventually led them to meeting Lizzy. From the minute they met, Rylee and Lizzy shared a special bond. Rylee always wanted to visit Lizzy and show her the progress of being able to use a walker. That was an emotional highlight for them both.

The Clark family always brought a little electric car to the races so Rylee could

get around the track easier. During a 2021 race in Hebron, Ohio, the family was visiting with Lizzy in the pits when someone said they should take Rylee up to the starting line and let her stage her little car. Lizzy jumped into action and walked alongside Rylee all the way to the starting line, where she helped Rylee do a burnout and stage and take off. Rylee can be heard screaming“ I did it!” in videos of the moments. Rylee’ s dream came true because Lizzy took the time to meet a fan and her family and shared her love of the sport.

Videos of this and many other fan interactions can be found by

searching Lizzy Musi’ s YouTube channel.

Rylee always wanted to see Lizzy and collect her memorabilia, all of which still hangs in her room. When Lizzy announced her cancer diagnosis, Rylee was scared for her friend and wanted to check on her, following Lizzy’ s social media pages for updates. The family happened to be at the track the night Lizzy shaved her head. They all hugged her and told her she would get through this. Lizzy told Rylee they would do it together. Lizzy gave Rylee a ride to the staging lanes in the“ Norma Jean” car, a memory Rylee holds dear to this day. The family told me

that they miss Lizzy dearly, but they know she is no longer dealing with the struggles and pain of cancer.

As for Rylee, she recently had her 28th surgery, a tether cord surgery on her spine. It’ s a lot to deal with in her 10 years of life. She is doing well, and she remembers and speaks of how kind and beautiful Lizzy was, how she never made the family feel like they were not welcome, and how she always made time for Rylee.

When doctors told Lizzy she should not be interacting with the fans – no hugs, no handshakes, and no gifts because they could carry germs and be dangerous to her health – Lizzy would not hear of it. She couldn’ t sign for hours as she had in the past, but she always made the effort to sign for the kids and to accept the gifts. Debera Hayes, wife of Lizzy’ s chassis builder, Robert Hayes, told me,“ I was lucky to have witnessed many fan interactions during the last year of her life, and Lizzy touched everyone she met in some way. I am one of the many whose life she still has an impact on every day. To say I miss her is an understatement.”

Lizzy will always be remembered as the woman who drove a race car and as the woman who had cancer, but to me and so many others, she will always be the girl who had the biggest heart, who just wanted to race, and who always understood that the fans are important.

In the last few months of her life, we texted back and forth, and the last text I received from her was,“ I think this is the happiest I have ever been in my life.” That is the thing I hang onto when I miss her most. I happily remember, in her darkest days, she had found love and happiness.

“ Clothed in strength & dignity & laughs without fear of the future.” Lizzy had this tattooed on her spine and lived her life with strength she did not know she had. Her legend lives on. DI