Lia Grabs Modified Victory at Thompson
2-Time Champion Rebounds From Problem In Pits To Win
THOMPSON, Conn. – Donny Lia darted into the lead with 21 laps to go and pulled away to win the Budweiser King of Beers 150 at Thompson International Speedway on Thursday night.
It marked the 16th career win and third Thompson victory for the two-time tour champion from Jericho, N.Y.
Lia, who started ninth on the grid in the No. 4 Mystic Missile Racing Dodge, initially challenged pole-sitter Mike Stefanik for the lead on Lap 59. Stefanik battled back, however, to regain the lead and stay out front to the midway point of the race.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Lia, meanwhile, lost a lap to the leaders due to a problem with a lug nut during a pit stop. He gained the lap back as the beneficiary during a caution on Lap 83. Lia steadily worked his way forward from there. He was up to sixth by Lap 95 and moved by Todd Szegedy for second on Lap 108. Lia moved by Ron Silk for the lead on Lap 129 and set sail for the finish.
Silk held off Doug Coby for second. Ted Christopher, who was penalized for aggressive driving and sent to the back of the pack on Lap 84, rebounded to finish fourth. Stefanik was fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Rowan Pennink, Jimmy Blewett, Bobby Santos, Ron Yuhas Jr. and Szegedy.
With his podium finish, Coby extended his streak of consecutive podium finishes to seven and maintained his lead in the championship standings.
For Lia, his two previous wins at Thompson came in 2007 and 2009, his title seasons. With this win, he secured a locked-in starting position for the inaugural UNOH Battle at the Beach during 2013 Speedweeks on a temporary short track at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
The Budweiser King of Beers 150 marked the first race in the second half of the tour schedule. It was the second of four tour events at Thompson this season and the 118th visit by the tour there. The tour returns to Thompson for the Town Fair Tire Northern 75/UNOH Showdown on Sept. 9 and for the season finale on Oct. 14. In the meantime, the next event on the tour schedule is the UNOH Perfect Storm 150 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 22.
RESULTS | LAP-BY-LAP RECAP | AUDIO: POST-RACE DONNY LIA | AUDIO: POST-RACE DOUG COBY
NWMT Thompson 8/9/12 Unofficial Results
Whelen Modified Tour
Race: NWMT Thompson 8/9/12
PRINT VERSION (PDF)
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Status
1 9 4 Donny Lia Mystic Missile Racing Dodge 150 47 4 Running
2 4 6 Ron Silk Calverton Tree Farm/T.S. Haulers Chevrolet 150 43 1 Running
3 14 52 Doug Coby Reynolds Auto Wrkg/Furnace & Duct Chevrolet 150 41 Running
4 3 3 Ted Christopher Cape Cod Copper/Silver Dollar Const. Chevrolet 150 40 Running
5 1 66 Mike Stefanik Barnyard Racing/Sunoco Racing Fuel Ford 150 41 2 Running
6 7 93 Rowan Pennink Monk Mechanics Hand Cleaner Chevrolet 150 38 Running
7 8 76 Jimmy Blewett John Blewett Inc./Ling Trucking Chevrolet 150 37 Running
8 2 44 Bobby Santos Imperial Cars/Tinio Corp. Chevrolet 150 36 Running
9 12 64 Ron Yuhas, Jr. DreamRide.org/Complete Construction Chevrolet 150 35 Running
10 6 2 Todd Szegedy Dunleavy Repair/A&J Romano Const. Ford 150 35 1 Running
11 11 45 Eric Beers Horwith Freightliner/John Blewett Inc Ford 150 33 Running
12 17 07 Patrick Emerling Emerling Chevrolet Dealership Chevrolet 150 32 Running
13 18 99 Jamie Tomaino Supreme Manufacturing Chevrolet 150 31 Running
14 25 79 Jon McKennedy Hill Enterprises/Coors Light Pontiac 150 30 Running
15 5 71 Rob Fuller Draco Spring Ford 149 29 Running
16 22 18 Ken Heagy Buoy One Seafood/MacLad Drywall Ford 149 28 Running
17 21 16 Ryan Preece East West Marine Ford 147 27 Running
18 24 38 Johnny Bush Perf Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan's Chevrolet 145 26 Running
19 13 46 Eric Berndt Cape Cod Agts/North End Auto Parts Chevrolet 100 25 Mechanical
20 19 28 Ed Flemke, Jr. Ron Bouchard's Autos/Raceworks TV Chevrolet 93 24 Running
21 16 88 Bryon Chew Buzz Chew Chevrolet/Elbow East Chevrolet 91 23 Mechanical
22 20 11 Woody Pitkat Spectro Oils of America Ford 87 22 Accident
23 23 33 Wade Cole Perf Engines/Kendall Oil/Ryan's Chevrolet 61 21 Running
24 10 58 Eric Goodale Riverhead Building Supply Chevrolet 16 20 Mechanical
25 15 51 Justin Bonsignore M3 Technology Chevrolet 15 19 Accident
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Mike Stefanik, Time: 18.538 Seconds, Speed: 121.372 mph
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 9 mins, 50 secs
Average Speed: 80.549 mph
Margin of Victory: 2.120 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 16-21 (Cars #51 & 07 accident Turn 2); 24-27 (Cars #71 &46 accident Turn 4 <07>); 45-48 (Car #79 spin frontstretch <46>); 63-66 (Car #76 spin Turn 4 <07>); 69-72 (Car #93 spin Turn 2 <07>); 83-86 (Car #44 spin Turn 2 <4>); 88-91 (Cars #11 & 28 accident backstretch [Red Flag 2 mins.] <07>); 118-121 (Car #16 spin Turn 2 <07>). 8 for 34 laps.
Lap Leaders: Mike Stefanik 1-74, Todd Szegedy 75-94, Ron Silk 95-128, Donny Lia 129-150.
Total Laps Led: Mike Stefanik 74, Ron Silk 34, Donny Lia 22, Todd Szegedy 20. 3 changes involving 4 drivers.
Standings: 1. D. Coby, 350; 2. R. Silk, 309; 3. R. Preece, 295; 4. J. Blewett, 283; 5. D. Lia, 282; 6. T. Szegedy, 270; 7. M. Stefanik, 266; 8. T. Christopher, 263; 9. E. Beers, 261; 10. J. Bonsignore, 254.
Sources: Kevin W. Green/NASCAR WMT PR