Lia Storms To Victory At Bristol
Second Win Of 2009 Comes In Combo Race
Bristol, TN — Donny Lia overcame a late-race miscue to capture the inaugural UNOH Perfect Storm 150 at Bristol Motor Speedway Wednesday night.
Lia led 40 of the final 43 laps en route to his second NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour win of the season. He jumped a restart on lap 138 and briefly lost the lead to Ted Christopher when race officials ordered him to give his advantage back. However, Lia drove back by Christopher three laps later to take the lead for good.
Lia, who won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June, beat Christopher to the line by 3.126 seconds in the first event for the NASCAR Whelen Modified and Whelen Southern Modified Tours at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile.”
Ryan Preece finished third while George Brunnhoelzl III was the top finishing NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour driver in the combination race. Woody Pitkat rounded out the top five.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour proved once again to be strong in the combination race format, which sees both Tours compete for one purse, but receive points based on their finish against other drivers on their tour. Including Lia and Christopher, eight of the top 10 cars across the line were from the Whelen Modified Tour.
Brunnhoelzl will be credited with first-place points and a win for the Whelen Southern Modified Tour standings.
The rest of the top 10 consisted of Todd Szegedy, Rowan Pennink, Ed Flemke Jr., Burt Myers and Erick Rudolph.
It appeared to be Christopher’s race to win the majority of the race. Fastest in the first two practice sessions, the defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion led the first 107 circuits.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman finished 28th and 37th, respectively. Newman was caught in an accident on the second lap of the race and Kahne retired on Lap 100 with engine failure.
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will next race Saturday, Aug, 29 at Chemung (N.Y.) Speedrome. The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified will also return to the track Saturday, Aug. 29 at Caraway Speedway in Asheboro, N.C.
Sources: Jason Christley/NASCAR PR
NASCAR Whelen Modified/NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Combination Events-UNOH Perfect Storm 150 Unofficial Results
Wednesday
At Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol, Tenn.
Lap length: 0.533 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (7) Donny Lia, Jericho, N.Y., Dodge, 150 laps, 75.782 mph, $9,500.
2. (1) Ted Christopher, Plainville, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $5,100.
3. (5) Ryan Preece, Berlin, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $3,500.
4. (2) George Brunnhoelzl, III, West Babylon, N.Y., Ford, 150, $2,500.
5. (13) Woody Pitkat, Stafford, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $3,000.
6. (3) Todd Szegedy, Ridgefield, Conn., Ford, 150, $2,500.
7. (9) Rowan Pennink, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Chevrolet, 150, $2,250.
8. (17) Ed Flemke, Jr, Southington, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $2,000.
9. (12) Burt Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Ford, 150, $1,650.
10. (21) Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $1,664.
11. (4) Andy Seuss, Hampstead, N.H., Dodge, 150, $1,000.
12. (30) Eric Goodale, Riverhead, N.Y., Chevrolet, 150, $1,400.
13. (10) L W Miller, Dushore, Pa., Pontiac, 150, $975.
14. (15) Eric Beers, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 150, $1,750.
15. (31) Bobby Grigas, III, Marshfield, Mass., Chevrolet, 150, $1,875.
16. (23) Chris Pasteryak, Lisbon, Conn., Chevrolet, 150, $1,300.
17. (22) Jamie Tomaino, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 148, $1,275.
18. (28) Bobby Hutchens, Jr, Winston-Salem, N.C., Chevrolet, 147, $850.
19. (6) Brian Loftin, Lexington, N.C., Chevrolet, 147, $825.
20. (37) Richard Savary, Canton, Mass., Chevrolet, 147, $1,950.
21. (8) Frank Fleming, Mount Airy, N.C., Ford, 146, $800.
22. (36) Johnny Bush, Huntington Station, N.Y., Chevrolet, 146, $1,200.
23. (18) John Smith, Mount Airy, N.C., Chevrolet, 146, $800.
24. (24) Rich Kuiken, Jr, Staffordsville, N.J., Chevrolet, 145, $800.
25. (19) Michael Stefanik, Coventry, R.I., Pontiac, 123, engine, $1,300.
26. (32) Ken Heagy, Calverton, N.Y., Chevrolet, 108, clutch, $1,200.
27. (14) Jason Myers, Walnut Cove, N.C., Ford, 103, engine, $800.
28. (39) Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, Wash., Chevrolet, 100, engine, $800.
29. (16) Gene Pack, Walkertown, N.C., Chevrolet, 88, accident, $800.
30. (26) Bryan Dauzat, Midland, N.C., Chevrolet, 85, accident, $800.
31. (11) Jimmy Blewett, Howell, N.J., Chevrolet, 74, vibration, $1,250.
32. (27) Glen Reen, Wilbraham, Mass., Chevrolet, 73, accident, $1,650.
33. (25) Ronnie Silk, Norwalk, Conn., Pontiac, 39, engine, $1,150.
34. (33) Wade Cole, Riverton, Conn., Chevrolet, 37, overheating, $1,150.
35. (29) Glenn Tyler, Hampton Bays, N.Y., Chevrolet, 24, engine, $1,150.
36. (35) Jake Marosz, Middletown, Conn., Chevrolet, 20, engine, $1,150.
37. (38) Ryan Newman, South Bend, Ind., Chevrolet, 1, accident, $1,150.
38. (20) Buddy Emory, Petersburg, Va., Chevrolet, 1, accident, $750.
39. (34) Matt Hirschman, Northampton, Pa., Chevrolet, 1, accident, $1,150.
40. (40) James Civali, Meriden, Conn., Pontiac, 1, accident, $750.
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 3 minutes 18 seconds
Margin of Victory: 3.126 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: Qualifying Rained Out; Field Set Per Rule Book
Caution Flags: 4 for 34 laps.
Lead Changes: 3 among 2 drivers.
Lap Leaders: T. Christopher 1-107; D. Lia 108-139; T. Christopher 140-142; D. Lia
RESULTS
LAP-BY-LAP RECAP
NWMT STANDINGS
NWSMT STANDINGS
DONNY LIA POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE AUDIO
TED CHRISTOPHER RYAN PREECE GEORGE BRUNNHOELZL III POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE AUDIO