Musi’s Crash Stops ‘The Shocker’

When Lizzy Musi crashed boyfriend Kye Kelley’s famous “Shocker” Chevrolet Camaro in testing at Northstar Dragway in Denton, Texas on Thursday night, Kelley stated the incident was due to replacement of the Street Outlaw class car’s steering wheel, which moved the location of its transbrake button.

Prepping for this weekend’s season opener for the Street Outlaws: No Prep Kings race at Topeka, Kansas, Musi, a second-generation racer hit the left side retaining wall. As Kelley explained, “Lizzy is fine besides her pride and feelings, which is most important. ‘The Shocker,’ on the other hand, is hurt pretty bad and some way, somehow I’ll find the funds to get it fixed so we can continue to make history as a drag racing couple, doing what we do.

“To make a long story short,” Kelley said, “we replaced the steering wheel yesterday because we noticed a crack in it. With that being said, the transbrake button was in a different location. My reverse lights are wired to come on when the transbrake is engaged. About 1.8 seconds into the run, right before the shift change she accidentally hit the button, locked the transmission up and the car immediately slid left and hit the wall.”

Kelley will compete at the Heartland Motorsports Park competition this weekend in an all-new, late-model, fifth-generation Camaro named “Aftershock.” That race car made its public debt last fall, he said. Although the cost to repair “The Shocker” is extensive, Kelley is hoping to have the car back together in time for the No Prep Kings tour in mid-July at Memphis Motorsports Park. “It’s a sad day for us because that car is a huge part of our life; just tough luck,” Kelley said.

Musi, 27, whose father is a noted engine builder as well as a racer, intends to compete next weekend at Richmond, Virginia, in PDRA’s Firecracker Nationals, where she’ll be behind the wheel of her Pro Nitrous race car, Frank Brandao’s 2015 Dodge Dart. Lizzy Musi became the first woman in PDRA competition to break 200 mph in eighth-mile Pro Mod racing in 2014.

Kye Kelley’s fame has come from his appearance on TV’s Street Outlaws. The Mississippi born-and-bred racer is best known for the third-generation car “The Shocker,” which he built from a hulk purchased on RacingJunk.com, using income earned in an oilfield job. “I got that car and I replaced everything that needed to be replaced, little by little, as I had the money.”

While the car is hurt, at least the driver had zero physical injuries. The cost to repair or replace Kelley’s “The Shocker” is one that drag racers throughout the community face. It can take a racer out of commission for a short period or for a longer amount of time, depending on the builder’s ability to land the finances – and the time involved.