Donny Lia Wins Modified Race At Bristol Motor Speedway

BY ALLEN GREGORY
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Bristol is famous for country music and stock cars, but a new kind of sound was heard Wednesday at Bristol Motor Speedway and it had nothing to do with steel guitars and Sprint Cup racing.

An all-star collection of drivers from the Northeast and South competed in the first NASCAR Whelen Modified Series event at BMS. To the delight of the rowdy northeastern fan contingent, a familiar face emerged as the winner of the University of Northwestern Ohio Perfect Storm 150.

Driving an iconic Dodge dubbed the Mystic Missile, Donny Lia of Jericho, N.Y., posted his second win of the season. Lia also won the June 27 New England 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Lia, who finished 12th in last year’s Camping World Truck Series at BMS, admitted that conquering one of NASCAR’s most popular venues carries extra significance.

“To win here at Bristol is amazing,” Lia said. “I want to thank everybody that put this race on for us, because there’s no better racing than the modifieds. Hopefully we showed that today.”

Lia, the 2007 series champion, recorded the fastest overall lap of Wednesday’s three practice sessions with a time of 14.924 seconds at 128.571 mph. Since qualifying was rained out, all 40 cars that entered were allowed to race.

Ted Christopher, the 2008 series champion and current points leader, started from the pole and dominated until the planned intermission at lap 75. Lia’s crew took advantage of the break to add wedge and remove stagger from his car.

Displaying a mix of aggression and guile, Lia executed a clean pass for the lead on lap 107 and then quickly pulled away.  Lia was forced to relinquish the lead to Christopher the lead on lap 137 when he jumped the restart, but he quickly reassumed control.

“It would have been pretty bad if I gave the race away like that,” Lia said. “I got a little nervous there, but was able to get back around.”

Christopher unofficially broke Ryan Newman’s all-time BMS track record during a Feb. 24 modified test at BMS with a lap of 14.479 seconds. Christopher was also fastest car during Tuesday’s night practice session, but he was forced to settle for a second place finish.

“You don’t know what your car is going to do until you race the race,” Christopher said. “It wasn’t a bad day. We just tightened the car up too much. It was real tight up off the turn, and that’s where Donny got by me.”

After the first caution period, Christopher admitted to feeling concerned. Only three more cautions followed, with the second caution unfolding on lap 74 for a single-car incident.

“I thought it was going to be a little ugly after that first wreck, but we only had a few spins after that,” Christopher said. “It was definitely interesting with lapped traffic. For some of the guys… I think their spotters went for a hot dog or something.”

Ryan Preece, southern division points leader George Brunnhoelzl and Woody Pitkat rounded out the top five finishers. Mike Stefanik, the series record holder with 69 victories, settled for 25th.

The field, which included drivers from the northern and southern modified tours, featured a pair of NASCAR Sprint Cup regulars in Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman.

Newman was involved in a five-car crash on the opening lap. It was just the third career modified start for Newman, a former USAC Silver Crown competitor who was driving a car owned by Sprint Cup crew chief Kevin “Bono” Mannion. Newman finished 37th.

Kahne, who nearly lost control of his car twice in Wednesday’s final practice, recorded a 28th-place finish.

To compensate for the unique demands of Bristol, all teams were forced to make adjustments in terms of springs and shocks. Lia said the experiences of last year’s BMS truck race paid few dividends.

“It helps anytime you can run laps at a track, but the trucks and modifieds are just so different,” said Lia, who admitted to being surprised by the G-forces involved in competing at BMS. “It’s pretty much a clean slate here every other truck we run.”

Lia is anxious for another Bristol test after recording his 13th career victory.

“I’ve got to thank all these fans for coming out,” Lia said. “I hope we can come back and put on an even better show next time.”

The modifieds, which feature 650 horsepower engines, are wider and lighter than the full-bodied cars used at the top levels of NASCAR.

NOTES: The modifieds are the oldest division in NASCAR.  A locally based modified series was once held at BMS, with the last race held 1961… A NASCAR Whelen Modified Series race is held each fall at Martinsville Speedway.

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