Donny Lia
Racks Up Another Mod Tour Victory at Stafford
HUNTINGTON, NY (MAY 28, 2007) –
Donny Lia had to wait for years to win a NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at
Stafford Motor Speedway (CT). He mastered the track by winning there in an
SK Modified, but when it came to “Tour racing,” something would always keep
him from victory lane – bad luck, being in the wrong place at the wrong time
or even losing a wheel within sight of the finish line.
The
wait for victory ended last month in the Spring Sizzler, the track’s first
and biggest event of the season. Lia won that race to score his first
victory for the #4 Mystic Missile team owned by Bob Garbarino. He enjoyed
that winning feeling so much, that he returned to Stafford on Friday night
to win again. This time, it was the Connecticut Classic trophy that Lia was
able to capture.
“Sometimes, when it’s your time, it’s your time,” said Lia. “I don’t know
if I’ve paid my dues here or what, but the track is giving back or
something. Hopefully it continues. But hey, everything works in a cycle –
especially luck. We were always close, but something would always happen
and it’d all be out the window.”
In
fact, it almost all went out the window late in the race this time at
Stafford as well. Lia had to dodge the spinning car of Eric Beers late in
the race, and narrowly avoided getting caught in another bad luck incident
at Stafford.
“I
saw Eric going around and I woah’ed up, cut it to the bottom and I must’ve
missed him by an inch,” said Lia. “I thought he was going to hit me in the
right rear. That’s just luck. If I had entered the corner just a little
bit higher, I probably wouldn’t have gotten underneath him. You just have
to be in the right place at the right time, especially here; it’s so hard to
pass here and it’s a flat racetrack. Being in the right lane in the right
time pays dividends. You can have the fastest car, but if you don’t catch a
couple breaks, it doesn’t matter.”
In
previous years, Lia has been an owner/driver on the NASCAR Whelen Modified
Tour. He has won five Tour races and has several additional open show wins
in that role. This year though, he has switched gears and is strictly a
driver for the Garbarino team. That new situation has really worked to his
advantage with Lia already batting .500, just four races into the 2007 Tour
season.
“I’ve got to thank Bob and Joan Garbarino,” said Lia. “My whole crew is
making it a lot of fun to come to the track this year. It’s less stressful
for me just being a driver. Maybe that’s making a difference. Every piece
of the equation is helping right now.
“I
have a clearer head when I’m in the car this year. I just have less on my
shoulders. Before I was running a race team; this isn’t Nextel cup, but
it’s still a big responsibility. You’ve got a lot of guys and a lot of
equipment and it’s expensive. It’s just a lot on your mind. He’s given me
the opportunity to just focus on being a driver. I can’t thank him enough
for that. I think it’s working out well for both of us. I can tell the guy
what the car needs. I always could, but now I have a better idea of it
all. My head is just in the right place when I get in the car. Plus, it’s
more fun.”
Winning is fun too and Lia hopes to do even more of that as the Tour season
continues.
“We’ve had a good car. As long as the luck stays on our side, we’ll be in
good shape. I know they’re going to give me a good car every week, so it’s
just a matter of me not doing anything stupid out there and not making any
mistakes. It feels great. When you win, you never know when you’re going
to win again, so we won recently and we’ve won again and I have to thank the
guys for that.”
Lia
and the Mystic Missile team will return to action on the NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour on June 18th at Thompson International Speedway
(CT).
For more
information on Donny Lia, please contact
Mike Twist at 207-590-1786
and be sure to visit
DonnyLia.com.
Source: Mike
Twist/Donny Lia PR
Posted:
May 28, 2007
