Setbacks, bad luck, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. No matter how you define it, Donny Lia’s racing season has been plagued with problems. He’s been fast and his #18 Lia Motorsports, Inc. team has worked their hearts out, but one thing after another would set the team back.
    That all changed Sunday evening at Waterford Speedbowl (CT). Lia fought a spirited battle with Eddie Flemke for the victory in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at the tight bullring.
    Afterwards, in victory lane, Lia couldn’t be happier for his team of hard-working crew members.
    “It feels awesome,” said Lia. “It’s just a big relief. We’ve known that we could win races, but we went through quite a period of tough times. We deserved this one. We paid our dues. I’m more happy for my guys than I am myself.
    “I have a great team from top to bottom. I have a great group of guys who have a great time. They work really hard and every week when we had bad luck, it would break my heart. These guys give it their all and they deserve to be winning.”
    Also making the victory enjoyable was the hard-nosed racing with Flemke that Lia had to do to enjoy the privilege of winning.
    “It was an awesome battle,” said Lia. “We battled for 75 laps. It was pretty intense. I’m really proud of the race that we had. We ran each other clean, but we raced really hard. It’s how racing should be. We had a fun battle out there.”
    Lia took the chance in victory lane to also remember fallen Alabama racer Charlie Bradberry, who died in an automobile accident on Saturday at the age of 24.
    “I want to dedicate this to Charlie Bradberry,” said Lia. “I didn’t know him, I might have met him once, I don’t remember. But I can relate to him because he’s a young guy trying to make it in the racing world. He didn’t die on the track, but it hits home a little bit. He’s my age, it’s just sad, sometimes you forget that you got to live every day like it’s the last one, and take every opportunity and try to make the most of it. He’ll never be able to do that so, you know, it just hits home. It’s just a sad deal.”

    For more information on Donny Lia, please contact Mike Twist at 207-590-1786 and be sure to visit DonnyLia.com.