Donny Lia

Donny Lia (born November 8, 1980 in Jericho , Long Island , New York ) is an American racing driver. He currently drives a number 71 Chevrolet Silverado for The Racer's Group in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series . In 2007 he won the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour .

Racing career

Donny Lia in Michigan , 2008

Before Donny Lia became a racing driver, he measured himself against other players around the world in racing games on the computer. He himself says that playing computer games stimulated his interest in motorsport and that it also improved his reflexes and hand-eye coordination.

In 1999 Lia began what is known as Legends car racing , an automobile sport that uses replicas of American road vehicles from the 1930s and 1940s. He drove his first race on the Wall Township Speedway in Wall ( New Jersey ). He won several races on the site, including the prestigious "Turkey Derby". He successfully started driving Legend Cars throughout the eastern United States in 2000 .

At Riverhead Raceway in Riverhead , New York , he drove his first NASCAR Modified Division race in 2001 . In the same season he won the title “Rookie of the Year” for the best young driver. He also gained his first experience in the Whelen Modified Tour in 2001. In the 2002 season, he earned a place as a full-time driver for the upcoming NASCAR Modified Tour season .

In the then NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series , he placed in the top 10 in 2003 and won the next "Rookie of the Year" title. In 2004 he achieved five pole positions - more than any other driver - and with it the "Bud Pole Award". He also took part in the Race of Champions Modified Tour and won the second North-South Shootout in Concord . In the Whelen Modified Tour 2005 season, he won two races and finished sixth in the championship.

In 2006 Lia drove his first stock car race in the ARCA series, which took place on the Nashville Superspeedway . In the same season he won a race in the Modified Tour and started twice from pole position. He also won three other events not sanctioned by NASCAR.

During the 2007 season, he won six modified races in Martinsville , Stafford (two), Thompson , New Hampshire and Riverhead . In the penultimate race of the season, he secured the championship. On September 15, 2007 he drove for the first time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series . He had driven a Toyota Tundra with the number 36 for Bill Davis Racing . Towards the end of 2007 he drove the number 59 for HT Motorsports . Due to a favorable sponsorship situation, he drove the 2008 season in the number 71 Chevrolet Silverado for The Racer's Group . Because of insufficient driving experience, Lia was not allowed to start in Daytona and so drove his first race of the season in Fontana . His first top 10 result came in ninth on the Martinsville Speedway . He won his first race on May 24, 2008 with the Ohio 250 . He was the first driver after Carl Edwards in 2003 to win a Craftsman Truck Series race as a rookie .

Web links

• Driver statistics on racing-reference.info