Soft spoken New Jersey native Pat Musi will be racing this weekend at Englishtown at the NHRA SuperNationals. The last time Musi suited up at an NHRA national event he was racing in Pro Stock, now it’ll be in a Pro Mod, which not shockingly, is snorting a metric ton of nitrous. He’s been in the five second range with the car and he’ll need all that and some more to compete with the big thunder in the NHRA Pro Mod field.
Here the full press release on Musi’s return to NHRA competiton:
Longtime engine builder and 8-time Pro Street World Champion, Pat Musi will be returning to professional NHRA competition the weekend of June 10-13, 2010 at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park (Englishtown, New Jersey).
Musi last ran an NHRA professional category at the same event in 1989, some 21 years earlier. Back then he competed in Pro Stock where the cars were powered by naturally aspirated 500ci engines and ran low-7s at 195 mph. Musi’s return to action will be behind the wheel of a nitrous-gulping 2009 Dodge Stratus that is scheduled to run in the Get Screened America Pro Modified category. It all wouldn’t have been possible without the help of car owner Frank Brandao of Curacao.
The performance of the Pro Modified category in 2010 is far quicker than Musi’s previous Pro Stock entry but that doesn’t bother him one bit. The Stratus is up to the task of competing; it carries the distinct honor of being the first nitrous-powered door-slammer in the 5s with EFI. The best performance to date is 5.99 at 236 mph, a mark Musi expects to better with some recent changes under the hood. The powerplant is a massive 865ci that was built in-house at Pat Musi Performance and it features four stages of Edelbrock nitrous oxide and Edelbrock EFI-two products Musi was instrumental in developing. Brandao purchased the Stratus from Jerry Bickel Race Cars and the team has received quite a bit of assistance in the chassis and clutch departments from noted Pro Mod competitor Rickie Smith.
“I am really excited to get back to NHRA drag racing, it’s the premier organization in all of drag racing. And the fact that my return is at Englishtown, my home track, is an even greater thrill,” said Musi.
About Pat Musi
Owner of Pat Musi Performance and Pro Street/Pro Modified racer with eight championship titles credited to his name in the competitive Pro Street ranks. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Pat Musi Performance. He certainly hasn’t slowed down after all these years. Two years ago Pat Musi Performance moved into a brand-new 10,000 square foot facility. The shop builds everything from stock engines for restoration projects to street performance and bracket racing engines, and of course Pro Modified/Pro Street bullets in excess of 900ci. This past spring, he drove Frank Brandao’s King Kong 5 to the door-slammer record in Curacao with a 6.33 at 228 mph as well as eclipsing the 5-second zone with a 5.99 at 236 mph at Bradenton Motorsport Park (Bradenton, Florida). Customers of Pat Musi Performance currently hold both ends of the NMCA Pro Street records-Joe Dunne has run the quickest ET with a 6.253 while Vincent Dimeiri has the highest speed at 229 mph. Dunne has also ran the quickest pass ever with a Powerglide transmission with a 6.13 at 223 mph at the Mountain Motor Nationals at Maryland International Raceway. Musi also contributes to the R&D of many products for several companies, most notable Edelbrock where his name is worn on a line of cylinder heads and crate engines. He also works with the engineers at that company on nitrous oxide systems development and EFI technologies.
About Frank Brandao
A longtime customer of Pat Musi Performance and native Curacao resident, he first built King Kong 1 back in 1980. The Jerry Bickel-built King Kong 5 is a no-holds-barred Pro Modified effort with a double frame rail chassis and the latest nitrous-inhaling monster engine from Musi. The body is a carbon fiber replica of a Dodge Stratus. King Kong 5 continues to have a strong fan following in Curacao, where Musi drove it to the island’s quickest door-slammer pass of all-time-6.33 at 228 mph. Brandao shipped the car back the United States so Musi can enter the NHRA Pro Modified ranks at the Englishtown event.
