It is a proverb that is ingrained in our minds from the very moment that we first learn to walk - if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

But my how difficult it can be to live life by those nine little words.

After all, life is messy. And we mere humans are prone to lapses in judgement and mistakes all in the pursuit of the unachievable. To be perfect. To be better. Or just to live up to the reputation of your famous father. That last one is an especially tough pill to swallow.

For 25-year-old racing sensation Lizzy Musi, life up to this point has been all about the pursuit of something that we all seek, but struggle to obtain. Respect. Approval. To show that you belong. And it hasn’t been easy. And that is why 2016 is such an important year for the daughter of one of the most innovative and legendary doorslammer racers and engine builders to ever play the game.

This is Lizzy’s year.

“It’s simple, I’m not trying to be someone that I’m not. This is in my blood. I’ve been around this my whole life. This is what I was born into and there’s no changing it because it’s just in me,” Muzi said.

To the uninitiated, Musi is the daughter of doorslammer legend Pat Musi. Her career has mirrored many a great racer, starting out in the junior dragster ranks, moving up through Top Sportsman and landing smack-dab in the seat of a championship-contending Pro Nitrous car that she pilots full-time with the Professional Drag Racing Association (PDRA).

But unlike other racing stories, Musi’s rise through the ranks has met a few roadblocks along the way. The perception that she is “just a pretty face.” The shadow of her famous father. And the crashes. Oh those nasty crashes.

Two particularly scary incidents in 2013 and again in 2015 reignited talks that perhaps she doesn’t belong. That maybe, just maybe, she doesn’t actually have what it takes. Two thoughts that are of particular motivation behind the recent success she has found out on the racetrack.

“I do believe that those incidents helped me get a little more of a thick skin to be honest with you. It pushed me to be more determined and prove to myself that this is what I want to do and this is my passion,” Musi said. “I’ve been around it my whole life and I want to show people that I can drive this car. It sucks because I did go through some wrecks. And to make it worse it had little to do with me and it sucks because it made me look like maybe I can’t drive the car. It definitely had me down in the dumps.

“At the Bristol race the car kind of got out of the groove and I should have gotten out of it earlier. That was when I first started driving and the car was a little wishy-washy, but I definitely learned from it. In the new car I had problems seeing and I told them from the beginning. We just didn’t make the changes and it bit me.

“Everything happens for a reason and we are working hard toward making this happen. I think we have a great car behind us. Everything just kind of formed its own path, I guess you could say. I think everything is just starting to fall into place.”

But not everything about being a Musi has been a hindrance for the young driver. Her determination and will to prove everyone wrong is something that she says is straight from her hard-nosed father.

“As much as I try not to be, it just comes out,” Musi said with a laugh. “I see that stubbornness and that temperament. Yeah, I would say that I get that from him.”

Since those two headline-grabbing incidents, things have taken a turn for the better. Behind the wheel of her very own Jerry Bickel-built 2015 Dodge Dart owned by Frank Brandao, Musi ended 2015 on a high note with a win at the season-ending PDRA race at Virginia Motorsports Park, while setting a new class speed record in the process.

And all it took was some much-needed seat time and a thick skin to finally prove that she belonged.

“My dad and I were just talking about this. He said that it would all come in time. After more and more runs in the car, you start to get that feeling. And the more runs I made, the more everything started to slow down and I could feel a lot more and I was aware of a lot more,” Musi said. “When it makes a little move here or there and it’s just not going straight, get out of it and save it for another run. I just keep that in my head and play it by ear.

“Like I say, you can always come back for another round. That is the most important thing to keep in your mind.”

So they all lived happily ever after, right? Not so fast.

As we have already established, this is life and life is full of surprises.

Fresh off of her huge season-ending victory, Musi entered 2016 ready to contend for the Pro Nitrous championship in her famous King Kong 6 Dodge Dart. But when her father was admitted to a local hospital during the off-season for chest pains, those plans quickly took a backseat.

With several major blockages in his arteries, Pat Musi underwent heart-bypass surgery in early March, forcing his daughter to miss the season-opening PDRA race in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It wasn’t exactly how Musi had hoped to get her 2016 campaign underway, but it was very important to her that she be with her family during the procedure.

“I was pretty bummed out. As a racer, if you miss a race it kind of gets to you, but family comes first,” Musi said. “I had my dad on my mind so I think it all happened for the better and it was better for me to stay home and be with him. If I had gone on my own, we had some people that would have helped us out, but I think it just wouldn’t have been the same without him being there.

“We all decided to sit this one out and continue with the next race. I think he will be in better shape for Rockingham and we’re looking forward to that race.”

For now, Musi has another battle on her hands - perhaps one even steeper than battling a 200 mile-per-hour racecar - helping nurse her stubborn father back to health.

“As you know, I’m always going to the gym. I come in, work, and go to the gym - that’s my daily routine. He knows that I constantly go to the gym and is always saying ‘yeah, I’ve got to get on that.’ So now I’m going to push him,” Musi said. “I’m going to make sure that he eats right, drinks a lot of fluid, takes his vitamins and gets a little active in his life.

“I don’t want to say that it’s undoable, but it’s going to take some push to get him going. The vitamins that I got him are kind of huge and he was like ‘what are these things, why do they have to be so big?’ I told him that they’re for men, so he needs to be a man and take them.”

From playing with Hot Wheels with her sister in her daddy’s race trailer, to sitting behind the wheel of a record-setting Pro Modified machine, Musi’s path has not been an easy one, but it has been a path all her own. And now it is her time to shine, no matter where life takes her.

“I have so many childhood memories of me running around the racetrack with my sister, just having a good time. I knew what I wanted to do for sure right after I graduated high school,” Musi said. “I just wanted to work around the shop so I started sweeping floors and cleaning parts to start. It was fun. I like the hands-on stuff the most. But I mostly loved watching my dad race.

“He inspired me the most. He taught me to work for what you want. He taught me how to work. And he taught me that you can’t just get things handed to you. That’s the main thing he taught me in life, and now it’s just in my blood.”

So is this the high-point in her career? Are you kidding? This is Lizzy Musi we are talking about, and as she has proven before, she isn’t letting anything stand in the way of her dreams.

“I would really love to be in a fuel car one day. That’s my main goal,” Musi said. “I’m really going to focus on this year and try to go after that championship, which is the main goal for this year. We’ll see what happens after that. I’m just going to keep working towards my goals and see where it goes from there.”