6/2/2008
PAVEMENT NOTES: 6/2/08
Donny Lia
by Walt Stubbs
I have finally awoken from my long winter nap. Much has gone on in the
racing world since I last wrote in these pages after the NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour banquet back in December. A lot of it has involved the
defending Modified Tour Champ Donny Lia. After being given the Modified
Trophy and Champion's Ring at the Mohegan Sun, Lia's racing career has
taken as many twists and turns as a road course like Watkins Glen or
Lime Rock offers. The twists and turns actually started months earlier,
when Lia drove for Bill Davis at New Hampshire in the #22 truck. Things
looked good for Lia after his performance at Loudon, but in racing,
nothing is a certainty and sure enough, things didn't work out. Then it
looked like Lia was going to race for James Harris and the 59 Craftsmen
Truck team before those plans were scraped. As Lia recalled before the
start of Friday's Truck race at Dover, "We weren't out hunting for a
truck ride. It's something that kind of came together. When I was over
at Harris' we ran Homestead and then did some testing afterwards to
prepare for this year. We hadn't signed a contract yet so I wasn't
locked in over there but I had gotten friendly with a few of the guys on
the team. When that deal fell apart, one of the guys over there came
over here to TRG, my crew chief Jason. Jason wound up working as the car
chief on the #7 car (teammate Andy Lally). He told me that TRG was
looking to expand to a second team so when the deal didn't work out on
the 59, I came down to TRG and met with owner Kevin Buckler. I found out
that they really wanted to start a second team. They knew that if they
could run a second truck resource wise, we'd get double the tires for
testing and everything else, and in turn it would help Kevin to take TRG
forward and accelerate the program. I don't think they were quite
looking for a rookie since they already had a rookie in Andy. They took
a chance on me and it's worked out."
Worked out might be an understatement. It's not everyday that a rookie
team with a rookie driver wins a race, be it at your local race track or
in one of the premier series in NASCAR, like the Craftsmen Truck Series.
Well, that's what happened a week earlier as Lia and the TRG team won
there first race at Mansfield. When asked if he expected to win a race
this season, Lia was honest, "No, definitely not. I knew going into this
that it would be hard. Like I said, we're a rookie team. We don't even
have a notebook to fall back on. If we're struggling, we don't have
notes to go on to figure out what we have to change and what we have to
work on. If you put everything into perspective; you have a rookie team,
rookie drivers in Andy and I, a first year start up deal, and you add
the fact that in racing everything takes time, and there's no way I
could have ever anticipated winning that soon." The win, though, was not
without controversy. Lia came in contact with leader David Starr on the
last lap, getting underneath Starr and holding off Todd Bodine. Bodine
did not take too kindly to the way Lia won, which surprised Lia. "I had
no plan. My plan wasn't to go in and hit David. It was just to try and
get around him. I drove down into turn one and got a really good run
into the bottom. I heard he had a left front going down afterwards. He
should have won the race, with two laps to go he had three or four truck
lengths on me. He definitely had a problem. I was able to get to him and
I drove underneath him and just pushed up. I went to get back into the
gas pedal , shoved the nose and got into him. I let him save it and do
what he had to do because I got into him pretty good. I let him save it
to the point where he didn't spin out but I also got right back into the
gas pedal to try and race underneath him because there was an
opportunity and I had to take it. Todd got a run underneath me at the
same time so they're yelling three wide down the back straightaway. At
that point, in my mind, it was anybody's race. Todd could have cleaned
us all out and won the race but he didn't. I'm grateful that we won. It
was a special moment for me because you never know if you can get it
done until you get it done. I'm extremely surprised by Todd's comments.
Todd's helped me a little bit, giving me advice and stuff like that. I
don't know if he's frustrated, jealous or what. He has no reason to be
because I'm just a rookie trying to make it. I think he should have been
a little more understanding. I don't know if I would ever have an
opportunity to win a race like that again. It could be months, it could
be today or never. You just don't know, which is the bottom line. I'm
just disappointed because he came from the modifieds like I did. I don't
know if he forgot about that because he called me a hard nosed modified
driver. He was once one of those as well. It's not something I'll ever
forget, I'll tell you that. If I stay in this deal for years to come and
am fortunate to get further, I'll never forget where I came from."
After his win, many of his former modified friends were on the
horn, congratulating Lia on his win. That included Bob Garbarino. "What
really made it special about my win was that the Friday before our win
Bob won at Stafford with Chuck (Hossfeld). I couldn't be happier for
those guys, considering they weren't even sure if they were going to
race at the beginning of the year. Now they put Chuck in the car and
he's doing a great job for them, leading the points and everything."
As for where the win ranks in Lia's career, it wasn't a slam dunk
answer. "I guess the biggest win for my career was the Truck win but the
biggest win for me personally was Martinsville last year in the
modified. That's just something I hold and is special to me and that
will probably always be the case. I don't know what could top that for
me. Obviously as a career booster, unfortunately winning the truck race
is a lot more of a big deal than a modified race in this day and age.
Like I said, that's unfortunate because I truly feel the talent on the
modified series is as good, if not better, than any other Series out
there. I think the Cup owners, as well as the Nationwide and Truck
owners, need to look at the modified drivers. I think they are
overlooked and have been since Steve Park came up. And look who was the
guy who saw Park's talent, Dale Earnhardt. That says a lot right there."
Winning your first race in your Rookie year also says a lot, which bodes
well for Lia as he continues to make a name for himself on the Truck
Series.
At Dover on Friday afternoon, Lia pitted early in the AAA Insurance
200, which caught up with him when Kyle Busch lapped him early on in the
event. Lia was not able to get his lap back, and wound up finishing
17th, not a bad followup to his win at a track he had never raced on
before this weekend.
NOTES: It will be nice to finally catch a Tour race in a few weeks when
the Tour hits Thompson. Scheduling conflicts have managed to keep me
away for the first few races but enough is enough.
Like most from New Jersey, the closing of Wall Township Speedway
was a big blow. For someone who grew up at the track, with his parents
taking me to the track on most Saturday Nights in the summer, the
memories will never be forgotten. You just wish there was a better way.
All views and news can reach me at 2 Constituion Court, Unit 501
Hoboken, N.J. 07030.
Source: Walter
Stubbs / TheChromeHorn.com
Posted:
June 2, 2008 |