After RoC Win There Last Month, Donny Has Been On Fire
No one will argue that Donny Lia is on fire in the Modified world right now. With two wins, two seconds and a fifth in his last five races, his stats just back the fact that Lia is the man right now. But despite a win in the last Mod Tour race at Riverhead Raceway (NY) on August 7th, along with a win at Thompson International Speedway last month during a Race of Champions event, Donny may still come into Thursday's Mod Tour race at Thompson (CT) as one to watch for, but still the underdog.
“I think at Thompson, we are still a little under the radar compared to some of the other guys,” said Lia. “At Thompson and Stafford (Motor Speedway, CT), you have guys like TC (Teddy Christopher), Todd Szegedy, Jerry Marquis and Tony Hirschman that have to be the favorites. They have been around for a while and they know those tracks. Me; I'm still pretty fresh at them.
“One of our goals is to win a race in Connecticut this year. The Mod Tour runs eight races a year just between Thompson and Stafford (CT). You have to be on your
game at those two tracks or you won't win the championship.”
Be on the game is something that Donny and the #18 team have been lately. After struggling the first part of the season, everything, including Donny's confidence, turned around after winning at Thompson during the RoC race.
“It did a lot of things for me, but I'd say it just boosted my confidence more than anything because there were some good cars and drivers in that race that we beat,” said Lia. “Mentally, I'm not concerned with lots of little things as much lately as I have been before. I'm confident we are going to unload with a really good race car. I've had no worries, equipment wise, and I have all the confidence in the world in my guys and (crew chief) Kevin (Crowley) that we are going to have a real fast piece.
Donny's win at Thompson in the RoC race was the turning point of his season.
“Running that (Thompson RoC) race was perfect, too, because it gave us a way to get a good handle on the car. We ran it like it was a big test session so we were better prepared when we came back there for the Mod Tour and we ended up winning the thing. We race at that track four times a year, so it only made sense to go there.”
In the first Mod Tour race of the year at Thompson, Donny finished 18th after losing the handle on his car after getting
involved in a late-race scuffle. So winning at Thompson in the RoC race has Donny looking forward to going back to the tough track with the Mod Tour.
“Years ago, I wrecked there hard and that gave me a really bad taste for the place. So this is an important race for me. This is a place that I want to do well at because I know we can. It just all has to fall into place for one night, but I think that could very well happen.
Donny Lia and his Lia Motorsports Inc. team are competing for the 2004 Championship in the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series this season. For more information on the team, please contact Matthew Dillner at (704) 231–7613 and stay tuned for the redesign of DonnyLia.com.
Donny races with the #76 of Tom Bolles at Thompson earlier this year. (Howie Hodge Photo)
