Island Insight
By Greg Berkowitz
The No. 15 Modified Returns to
Victory Lane… With Donny Lia
One of Long Island Racing’s
favorite sons returned to Riverhead Raceway last Saturday.
Two-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion and NASCAR Camping
World Truck Series driver Donny Lia took over the wheel of Wayne
Anderson’s No. 15 Eastport Feeds Modified. Saturday night was
Lia’s first start at Riverhead since the Whelen Modified Tour
last visited last summer, and first regular Modified feature
since 2008. However, Lia had no trouble remembering how to drive
the track where he got his start, driving from a 16th starting
position to the win. The victory was not only a great moment for
Lia, but also for car owner Wayne Anderson, who vacated his
signature No. 15 after suffering health issues three weeks ago.
The No. 15 crew showed their strength by preparing a great car
for Lia, which was driven in the last two weeks by George
Brunnhoelzl III and Jimmy Blewett.
For Lia, the opportunity to drive
the Wayne Anderson’s modified was a welcome break from the grind
of racing in the highly competitive Truck Series. Lia, who won
his first modified race at Riverhead nine years ago, is the
latest Riverhead driver to ascend the ranks to one of the top
levels of NASCAR. Lia currently drives part-time in the Trucks
for SS-Green Light Racing. While running the Truck Series can be
very difficult, especially for an underfunded team, Lia embraces
the challenge. Lia earned a memorable Truck Series win at
Mansfield in 2008, but has had a rough go since then. Lia says
the No. 07 truck has run well, with their finishes being mired
by bad luck and not necessarily reflecting the team’s true
performance. Lia plans to continue to run selected Truck Series
events for the remainder of the season. As for any future
appearances at Riverhead, Lia says that all depends on his Truck
Sries schedule and whether the No. 15 seat is still open.
Yellow Fever Solution Seems to Help the Legends
The Legends Cars made a strong
comeback this weekend after a caution-plagued event last week.
The May 29 event saw only four laps of racing before the time
limit was reached and the race was called. However, tonight was
different as the Legend feature saw only one caution flag. This
was perhaps due to a new rule instituted after last weekend’s
debacle. The new rule prohibits any car that pits during a race
from reentering the racetrack. This may have provided extra
incentive to the Legend car drivers to race clean and prevent
cautions. Unfortunately, the Figure 8 cars seem to have caught
the Legend Cars’ Yellow Fever from the prior week. Saturday
Night’s Figure 8 event only completed four laps before
succumbing to the time limit.
Skid Plate Racing Gaining Steam (But Not From Wood)
Skid Plate racing seems to be
catching on at Riverhead Raceway. The second-ever Skid Plate
race saw the field size increase two-fold over the previous
race, from six cars to 12. This time, the wooden skids used by
several drivers previously, including defending race winner
Shawn Wanat, have now been prohibited. The wooden skids, as
opposed to aluminum or steel, were deemed to provide an unfair
advantage. The new rules and larger field size combined to
produce an exciting 10-lap dash. However, some drivers are
seeking to make Skid Plate racing even more challenging - by
lobbying to have the next race to be run on figure 8 course.
Charger Action Heats Up
Tempers flared during the 30-lap,
double-point Charger feature. Part way through the race, Chris
Turbush (81) and Eric Lutz (36) repeatedly bumped into each
other as the two led the field under caution. The contact
continued after the restart and culminated in turn 3, where the
Lutz appeared to get into the right rear of Turbush, hooking his
No. 81 into the wall. Eric Lutz received a black flag for rough
driving while Turbush headed to the pits for repairs. The two
once again restarted next to each other, but the two finished
the race without further incident, with Turbush salvaging a
fourth-place finish and Lutz finishing sixth. After the race,
Turbush remained perplexed as to the cause of the contact
between him and Lutz, which he felt was a blatant act of
aggression. Turbush said there were no prior incidents to incite
such action. Eric Lutz, who was making his first Charger start
since 2007, had a different perspective. Lutz says he tried to
remain off of Turbush going into the corner but was forced into
the right rear of Turbush’s car by contact from behind by a
third car.
Source:
Greg Berkowitz/LongIslandJam.com
Posted: June
5, 2010
