LIA 17th AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Randy Moss Motorsports Team Chases Handling Throughout E-Z-GO 200

The Randy Moss Motorsports (RMM) team struggled in Saturday’s running of the E-Z-GO 200 as driver Donny Lia fought handling problems on his way to a 17th-place finish on the 1.54-mile track of Atlanta Motor Speedway.  In their fourth start together, Lia and the RMM team were hoping for a solid finish in Saturday’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

“The Randy Moss Motorsports/Nationrides.com Chevy Silverado unloaded really good this weekend,” said Lia.  “As practice went on we tried to make it even better and made quite a few adjustments.  Hindsight being 20/20 we probably went the wrong way on a few things.  We were competitive but of course you always want to be better.”

“We really run good on the short tracks but I feel I still have a lot to learn on the 1.5-mile tracks,” continued Lia.  “So for me, Atlanta was another learning experience.  We will be better this coming week at Texas as we'll take what we learned from Atlanta and apply it there.  As usual all the guys on the RMM crew were awesome, especially on pit road where we gained a lot of ground this week.”

Lia struggled with the handling of his No. 81 RMM Chevrolet Silverado throughout the 200-mile event.  Early in the race on lap 17 the No. 81 RMM Chevrolet broke loose from Lia and went spinning out of turn four to bring out the event’s first caution.  After pitting for fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and adjustments Lia returned to the track for the restart. 

The Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender raced around the top-15 for much of the event as the RMM crew continued to work on the truck with each pit stop.  Lia lost a lap late in the race and finished 19th one lap down to the leaders.

“It was a tough day for us,” commented David Dollar, co-owner of RMM.  “We will just put this race behind us and move on to Texas next week.”

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads back to the Texas Motor Speedway next for round 23 of 25 with the running of the Chevy Silverado 350K on Friday, October 31, 2008.  Green flag coverage will begin at 8:30 p.m. (EDT) on SPEED with coverage from MRN (Motor Racing Network) and Sirius Satellite Radio beginning at 9:00 p.m.

The RMM Team goes to work on the #81 after a slide in the frontstretch grass.

The Nationrides.com #81 at speed.