What Donny and the LMI crew needed in the Service Electric 100 at Nazareth Speedway was a good finish. They had shown flashes of brilliance in the first three races of the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series season, but the results were not there and they were losing ground in the championship battle. It was a trend that needed to be changed quickly if they were to remain in the title hunt.
After the wreck at Waterford the previous week, the team unloaded a different car on Saturday morning. The change proved to be a positive one as Donny was consistently at the top of the lap chart all through morning practice. He backed that up with a solid qualifying effort, turning the sixth fastest lap. The focus then immediately shifted to Sunday’s race.
Donny was consistently among the leaders all day in the Mobile Management Chevy, running well up in the top-ten all day. While never challenging for the lead, he quietly stayed in contention right up to the checkered flag. For a team in desperate need of some encouraging results, the seventh place finish was exactly what the doctor ordered.
“We had a good racecar from the time we got here,” explained Donny. “We practiced fast, qualified fast and ran fast in the race. This is a tough track to pass on and we could never quite get up to run with the leaders, but we kept them in sight the whole time. I’m never completely happy when we don’t contend for the win, but the way things have gone for us this year this was a good day and it gives us something we can build on. For once we’re not taking a wrecked racecar back home to fix and we can concentrate on making it better for Stafford next Friday night. That’s a huge step in the right direction.”
