Donny Lia

In only his eighth career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start, Donny Lia scored a victory in today’s Ohio 250 at the half-mile oval of Mansfield Motorsports Park. Lia took the lead in the middle of turns three and four and held off Todd Bodine and David Starr to take his No. 71 NationRides.com/TRG Motorsports Chevrolet to victory lane, marking a milestone for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate and his first-year TRG Motorsports team.

Lia’s victory came on the heels of his engine builder, Pro Motor Engineering, winning the 2008 Engine Builder of the Year award. Lia’s win also marks the third consecutive win for Chevrolet; helping expand their lead in the 2008 Manufacturers’ Championship Standings.

“I really don't have a whole lot to say except this is an unbelievable day and something that I am still trying to believe is really happening,” explained Lia after climbing from his NationRides.com Chevrolet. “This is an awesome race team; we had an awesome Silverado race truck today. We struggled yesterday and after qualifying I don't know if I have ever been that mad in my life. That just drove me all day today and towards the end there we just had an awesome truck and an awesome battle.”

The battle took place on the white flag lap when Lia stuck his nose to the inside of Starr and made his move for the lead. “You know, I got into (David) Starr right there a little bit and hey, that's last lap racing and I'm sure he owes me one now but that's cool,” said Lia. “You know if it’s the last lap and I'm in his position then I'm going to anticipate him hitting me anyway whether I did it today or not. That's just short track racing and you know, I just can't believe we are here right now it’s just really unbelievable.”

Since joining TRG Motorsports in February, Lia has known that it was only a matter of time before he and the crew found their way to victory lane. “I knew we could do it, I wouldn’t be driving this truck if I didn’t think we could do it. But, so soon – no. I can’t believe it. I just want to thank everyone at TRG Motorsports. Chevrolet has been helping us out huge lately and Chevy is number one, what can you say. My Crew Chief, Jason Miller, and everyone on this team did a great job. These guys are awesome and I love each and every one of them. I'm just speechless.”

Lia wasn’t speechless with 25 laps to go because he knew his Chevrolet was good. “With 25 to go, I came over the radio and told the guys I could just feel what was going to happen,” said Lia. “I knew I could get him (David Starr) there at the end. So I told my guys the last few laps were for them.”

The last few laps set up an exciting victory for TRG Motorsports, NationRides.com, and first-year Crew Chief, Jason Miller. “I just used everything I had there at the end and I couldn't have driven it any harder. If we did it all over again, there's nothing I would have changed. We just got them on the restarts and got them where we had to get them. We just did everything right today, my crew......everybody.”

Lia will have his next chance to race for the win at Dover International Speedway on May 30th, 2008. Live radio coverage will be provided by MRN radio at 5 p.m. with the tape-delayed broadcast airing on the SPEED Channel at 7:30 p.m.