2/1/2007
DONNY LIA: A COMPETITOR ON ANY SCALE
Modified Driver Earned Two Titles In 2007
Whether he is gripping the steering wheel of a 600-horsepower ride
on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, or a remote at his RC race
track, Donny Lia enjoys racing on any scale.
In his fifth full season on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
in 2007, Lia collected six victories en route to becoming the 60th
champion in the Modified division’s long and storied history with
NASCAR. But before he was ever a NASCAR champion, the Jericho, N.Y.,
resident had already piloted his RC (remote-controlled) car to a
national title.
Just prior to the 2007 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season,
Lia secured the 1/12-scale stock ROAR National Championship for RC
cars at CEFX Raceway in Westland, Mich. That title was the pinnacle
of a life-long hobby that Lia has taken to the next level. And just
like with the full-scale racers, Lia has turned a hobby into a
booming business.
In November 2007, Lia and his good friend and business
partner Sal Amato opened 360 Speedway & Hobbies in West Babylon,
N.Y. The new business venture includes a 90-foot long by 40-foot
wide RC race track and adjoining hobby shop. Lia’s
hobby-turned-business has quickly become the go-to spot for RC
racers in the region.
“We have people that come from all over the tri-state area,
and even further from places as far north as Maine and
Massachusetts, and as far south as Virginia,” Lia said.
The track holds races on Wednesday and Friday nights as well
as Sunday afternoons. According to Lia, the Sunday races average
between 50 and 60 racers, and the first championship event had 115
entries. But bringing in the masses is not what motivates the owners
of 360 Speedway & Hobbies.
“It’s great that we attract the racers, but my partner and I
really built the track to attract new racers to try to grow the
hobby,” Lia said. “Our main goal was to build a place that attracted
the ‘newbies’ and help them out by training them on how to build and
drive the cars.”
With that goal in mind, Lia and Amato designed their facility
to cater to nearly every need a driver might have. There are four
50-inch LCD TVs around the perimeter of the race track that provide
race information and lap information to the racers, a full-service
kitchen for food and snacks, and a hobby shop that carries anything
an RC racer might need.
“We really try to service the racer,” Lia said. “Anything
that we can do to make the racing experience better, we try to do
there at 360. We try to provide the best advice and technical
support to all of the racers who have problems with the cars or need
help building a car.”
LIA A COMPETITOR ON ANY SCALE
In addition to the amenities offered to patrons, Lia made
sure that their new business venture was more than your typical RC
track in terms of the layout.
“We’re the only track in the country that races on two
different surfaces,” Lia said. “It is an asphalt track, but we
designed our own system to lay carpet down over the track for racing
in the winter. It’s kind of the best of both worlds. Our building
has two overhead doors on either side of the track, so in the summer
the doors go up and it’s basically like racing on an outdoor asphalt
track without the worries of getting rained out.”
Although mixing business and pleasure at 360 Speedway & Hobbies has
exceeded expectations, Lia’s career as a full-scale driver may be on
the rise even more than business at the RC track. The 27-year-old
had five victories in 79 starts on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
before the 2007 season when he took the checkered flag six times in
16 races to earn his first NASCAR title.
“In 2007, the performance was on our side, but the luck was
on our side, too, and it just never let up,” Lia said. “What we had
was a dream season; there’s really no other way to describe it.”
Lia’s success on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour earned him
more than a seat at the head table at the postseason awards banquet.
The racing world took note of his talents and he found a seat in a
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ride for races at New Hampshire Motor
Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway last year.
With the 2008 season on the horizon, Lia has yet to finalize
plans on whether he will be driving in the NASCAR Craftsman Trucks
Series or on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, or both. One thing is
for sure, however, he will be behind the wheel chasing another
title.
“At this point in the season you really need to know what
you’re doing, and I don’t right now,” Lia said. “But I’m not ruling
out defending the [NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour] championship in the
Mystic Missile.”
THE END
Source: Jason
Cunningham / NASCAR WMT PR
Posted:
February 1, 2007 |