Sunday, July 12th at Spencer Speedway (NY) went anything but smoothly for Donny Lia and his #4 Mystic Missile Racing Modified in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour event.  Starting the race in seventh place, Lia ran into problems from the get-go with a soft, right front tire.  Although the tire never went completely flat, it was impossible for Lia to gain any momentum among the 25-car field and he retreated to the pits.  Returning to the track, problems continued to plague Lia as he ran in the 131 lap feature, but he managed a sixth-place finish.

“We struggled all day during the race and had multiple problems,” pointed out Lia.   “We had a right front flat and we pitted four times for adjustments.  By the time we got that [the right front tire] off the car, we got into like three or four wrecks.  Eventually, we got the car up there in track position and when some guys pitted we gained even more positions.   Finally, we had gotten that car halfway decent where I could just hang in there and pretty much run with anybody; I couldn’t really pass anybody, but I could run with everybody, so at that point when others were coming down pit row I stayed out there and gained a bunch of track position.”

While it originally seemed that Lia had no chance for redemption, at the end of the day, he walked away feeling good about the outcome.

“We just had so much trouble, so sixth place for us was pretty much like a win,” said Lia.   “We actually came out of there gaining a few points on Teddy [Christopher, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour points leader] and almost with a top five.  For what was pretty much a disaster of a race, we came out of there looking pretty good.”

Fortunately, Lia’s next race will allow him to revisit familiar turf at Riverhead Raceway (NY), where he already predicts a satisfying result.

“I like Riverhead a lot.  I started racing there, so it’s just a place I’m familiar with.   We’re just looking forward to coming out of there with a win.   If there’s any place we can win, that’s the place.”

Returning to his roots, Lia’s next NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race will be Saturday, August 1st at Riverhead Raceway.

For more information on Donny Lia, please contact Matthew Dillner at (704) 788-2134 and be sure to keep checking for news and results at www.DonnyLia.com.

NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour

Spencer Speedway

July 12th, 2009

Donny Lia – No. 4

Mystic Missile Racing

Car Owner: Bob Garbarino

Hutter Racing Engines

Sixth-Place Finish for Lia at Spencer Speedway “Feels like First”

Donny Lia Race Recap

Jim Dupont Photo