5.935 at 241.58 mph, a new personal quickest and fastest pass

Carteret, NJ—As they say, there is no place like home and Pat Musi proved that when he brought Frank Brandao’s 2009 Dodge Stratus—nicknamed King Kong 5—into the staging lanes at the NHRA SuperNationals in Englishtown, NJ. The 8-Time Pro Street champion was tackling his latest adventure, attempting to qualify for the Get Screened America Pro Mod series on the NHRA Full Throttle professional drag racing tour. It turned out that just attempting to qualify wasn’t going to be good enough for the engine builder from New Jersey. Musi would leave his home-track buzzing with excitement and with a piece of Pro Modified history by running the first nitrous-assisted 200 mph run in the 1/8-mile.

The first round of qualifying didn’t go as planned as a little tire shake produced less than stellar results. Musi did what he has done so many times before and turn to longtime friend and fellow Pro Mod racer Rickie Smith for advice. “Rickie has been helping us from the firewall on back and we made some changes to get down the track smoothly,” commented Musi. The adjustments worked and Musi cruised to an 8^th qualified spot with a 5.942 at 240.89 mph. Musi was satisfied with the 865ci engine built in-house at Pat Musi Performance and he was even more thrilled with the Edelbrock EFI system. “We make the power and the 240 mph runs prove it. Those who never thought EFI could make it are probably reconsidering that right now.”

Qualifying in the top-half of the field wasn’t the only highlight; the Brandao-owned Stratus would help deliver Musi into the history books of Pro Modified racing. During that qualifying pass the car recorded a 201.58 mph performance in the 1/8-mile. That made it the first-ever Pro Mod Nitrous car to run over 200 mph in the 1/8-mile—including ADRL Pro Nitrous cars who run without minimum weight rules. Musi was at the NHRA legal weight 2,425 pounds, some 150-200 pounds heavier than other competitors who have been vying for the First 200 Mph record. It goes back to Musi’s strong position on the Edelbrock EFI system, “I think we’ve got probably the best EFI program right now. We’ve spent a lot of time on it. You know there have been some guys looking to jump onboard or they’re looking at different EFI companies, I wish them all the luck in the world but they better get drums of pistons, that’s all I can tell them. And if they think they know it, bring it on.”

Musi won his first round of professional NHRA racing by defeating Ed Hoover with a 5.935 at 241.58 mph, a new personal quickest and fastest pass. The team left Englishtown excited, including car owner Frank Brandao who has decided to leave his Jerry Bickel-built chassis in New Jersey so Musi can compete at other events. “We plan on hitting more GSA Pro Mod races and many other events before we have to return the car in October,” said Musi. To say he is grateful for Brandao’s decision to keep the Stratus in the U.S. is an understatement.

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 40^th 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. Musi 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 system development and EFI technologies. His customer, Joe Dunne, currently holds the NMCA Pro Street record with a 6.19 using a Musi 865 engine and Edelbrock EFI and Edelbrock Nitrous.

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. The car will remain in the U.S. for the duration of the 2010 season and Brandao will run King Kong 4 on the island of Curacao.

Copy and image  pulled from www.patmusiperformance.com

Pat Musi Returns

For Immediate Release: (Carteret, NJ)—Local 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). The longtime engine builder last ran a NHRA professional category at the same event in 1989, some 21 years earlier. Back then Musi 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 40^thanniversary 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.

For complelte event information visit NHRA.com

The Camaro SS is owned by legendary racer and engine builder, Pat Musi and will be on display at the Keystone “Big Show” this weekend.

This install was documented by a technical writer documenting an upcoming story in a well known GM enthusiast magazine.

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