HUNTINGTON, NY – Donny Lia hopes that the guys on his
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour team can enjoy themselves a little bit
when they head to Florida for Speedweeks. Yet, the chances of his
#18 team even spending a second treating their trip to The World
Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing at New Smyrna Speedway as
anything resembling a vacation is, well, pretty slim.
“These guys all have the same outlook on racing,” said Lia. “They
would sleep in a tent in the snow just to go to the track. They’d
roll around in the mud and do whatever it takes to win. I have no
doubts.”
Even sleeping has been a chore for Lia and his team this
off-season.
“I’ve never felt as good about going racing as I do right now,”
said Lia. “I was telling my guys that I can’t sleep because I want
to go racing again so bad and they all told me that they are the
same way.”
Last year, Lia did a little bit of post-season racing and had
some big finishes. He won the North vs. South Shootout at Concord
Motorsport Park (NC) and finished a strong second in the Turkey
Derby at Wall Township Raceway (NJ). He hopes this streak will carry
over for the team during Speedweeks.
“That momentum from last year has really built up in the
off-season,” said Lia. “We’re ready to take out our frustrations of
not racing all winter at New Smyrna. You don’t know what to expect
going down there and you don’t know what the guys you race against
are going to pull out, but I have a really good feeling about this
Florida trip. We are good enough to dominate. I know that we can win
a lot of races and poles. We’d like to have eight wins and eight
poles during the weeks. It’s not really possible, but you’ve got to
shoot for it.”
The team has been meeting at their Long Island Lia Motorsports
Inc. shop and practicing their pit stops all winter long. They are
ready for their trip.
“Everyone is pumped up and ready to go,” said Lia. “We’ve moved a
couple of guys around on the pit crew and it’s had remarkable
results. Plus, all of our over-the-wall crew is within an hour of
the shop, so we get to practice a lot. If the tires fall off any,
we’ll probably pit in the 50-lap races just to have some fun.”
But it’s not just about the pit crew, Lia is happy to go to New
Smyrna as a driver as well.
“I love this track,” Lia said. “It’s a big track. It’s the size
of Thompson, but with tighter turns and more banking. You can really
come off the corners and get going here. The cars are just the right
speed for running at New Smyrna. They go just fast enough to have
some good racing and have some fun while driving them.”
The World Series at New Smyrna will start on Friday, February
11th and continue through February 19th.
In 2005, Lia and the LMI team will return to action on the NASCAR
Whelen Modified Tour. For more information on Donny and the team,
please contact Matthew Dillner at (704) 231-7613 and be sure to
visit DonnyLia.com.
