Donny Lia Brings Home Third at NHIS to Conclude a Busy Weekend

Lia Scores Strong Finishes in Both Mods and CTS

Donny Lia has been on top of the NASCAR Modified world throughout the 2007 season.  The crowning moment of his stellar season so far was the young racer's first-ever win at New Hampshire International Speedway in June.  Since the, the accolades have kept coming in even faster than the 600-horsepower Modified he pilots.

All of Lia's success this season earned him a shot in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at NHIS on September 15th.  After Lia climbed from the Whelen-sponsored #36 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing with a 20th-place effort in his CTS debut, he climbed back behind the wheel of the Mystic Missile #4 Modified Saturday afternoon.

Donny had a quick #4 again at NHIS.

Even though his third-place finish fell short of his goal of winning back-to-back races at NHIS in the Modified, Lia still is able to come home with positive experiences from NHIS, including the one-mile oval's Track Championship.

"If I had to play Monday Morning Quarterback, if I could’ve bashed my way to the front, then maybe we could’ve won," said Lia of the Mod Tour race.  "My car was so free, so if I could’ve gotten out front, it would’ve been pretty good.  I could’ve driven it in there, slid up and knocked those guys out of the way, but that’s not what I want to do.  I just took what I could to get third and I think we got the Track Championsihp, which is pretty cool."

Lia has been at the Modified racing game for several years now, but on Saturday, the experience was seemingly completely different than it ever had been before. After battling for 200 laps in the boxy Craftsman Truck, Lia's groundpounder seemed completely foreign to him, but it was nothing the Modified ace couldn't handle.

"I got in that thing and as many years as I’ve been in a Modified, it was like I had never been in one before.  It was like driving a spaceship.  The wind was blowing and the windshield was shaking.  Everthing was shaking and the car was glued to the track.  In the truck, you’re all closed off and everything’s quiet.  Then when you get into the Modified and everything’s noisy, you’re like, ‘man, maybe we are pretty crazy.’

In the end, Lia fought an ill-handling #4 machine to score a third-place finish.

"Struggling all day and finishing third at Loudon?  I’ll take that all day long."

Lia will be back in action on Sunday, September 23rd, when the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour visits Thompson International Speedway (CT).