Lia Closes In On NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Title

Daytona Beach, FL — Donny Lia needs to finish ninth or better Sunday at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway’s Carquest Fall Final to be in position to win his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship.

Lia (No. 4 Dodge) enters the second-to-last race with six victories and a 155-point lead over second-place Todd Szegedy (No. 2 Wisk/Snuggle Ford).

“I haven’t even thought about it,” Lia said. “Whatever it is, it is. We’re just going to do our thing. We’re going to go to the race and try to win, no different than what we’ve done all year long. We’re certainly not going to change that going into this weekend.”

The scenario:

· If Lia finishes ninth or better at Stafford, he would wrap up the championship by starting the World Series at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway Oct. 14.

· And if Lia gains 25 points on Szegedy at Stafford, he would clinch the championship there.

Szegedy currently has 2091 points. If he wins the final two races, he would finish with 2451.

Lia has 2246 points. A ninth-place finish at Stafford (138 points) and a last-place at Thompson (67 points) would give him 2451. In the event of the tie, Lia would win the tiebreaker by virtue of more wins, six to four.

With third-place James Civali (No. 28 Ramar-Hall/Liberty Limousine Chevrolet) trailing Lia by 285 points, Szegedy is the only driver with a mathematical chance of overtaking Lia.

Sources: Jason Christley/NASCAR WMT PR.

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