It may have been his first time behind the wheel during an ARCA RE/MAX Series race weekend but Donny Lia looked more like a veteran than a rookie in his Hagans Racing #9 Dodge at Nashville Superspeedway Friday afternoon. Lia turned the 13th quickest time around the 1.333-mile tri-oval in Pork Pole Qualifying, leaving the rookie from Long Island, NY all smiles going into Saturday’s PFG Lester 150.
“It was a good run for us,” said Lia. “We’re starting in the top-15 which was a goal of ours. The guys did a great job and they worked really hard today getting this car better than we were when we first went on the track in practice. Matt Hagans (team owner) and (crew chief) Bobby Blount know how to get a car going fast around Nashville, so I’m happy and I think we’ll have an even better car for the race tomorrow.”
Lia’s Eagle Creek Aviation Services-sponsored #9 was stout right off the trailer. The first laps on the track had Lia noticing a tight condition but the Hagans Racing team was determined to make the car better.
Their hard work paid off. After many adjustments, Lia ended Friday’s only ARCA practice session with the 10th fastest speed and high hopes for qualifying later in the day.
Donny was happy after a good qualifying effort.
“The car was really tight all practice long but we got it going well at the end of the session. We made some changes before time trials and the car was a lot better than it was in practice earlier in the day.”
Crew Chief Bobby Blount is also pleased with Lia’s and the Hagans Racing team’s effort Friday.
“My goal was to have a top-10 or top-15 starting spot for Donny and we were able to get it today,” said Blount. “I think Donny learned more today than he’s ever learned in one day behind the wheel of a racecar.
Donny was quick on the tricky concrete at Nashville.
very well to these cars. He’s gotten used to there being less tire on the ground than he’s normally had in the Modifieds. He was fast right off the bat. With the setups and times that we were running I think we could’ve easily qualified in the top-five if we were running the race then. I’m very impressed with how well Donny did in his first laps in this speedway car and at this track.
“The third lap on the racetrack he was dead on with where he needed to be and that’s something that not many young guys are able to do in their first time on the track
Lia will race his Modified in The Icebreaker at Thompson International Speedway (CT) on April 9th before gearing up for the Nashville ARCA race on April 15th. He is looking forward to his return trip and like a typical racer, expects even better things out of himself for the weekend of the PFG-Lester 150.
“I’m excited for the race,” said Lia. “I would’ve liked to have done a little better in the test but I’m really proud of Bobby Blount and the guys have put together a great car for me and they are confident in me as a driver and that means a lot. I know that when we go back there for the race we’ll be a lot better.”
The PFG-Lester 150 will take place on April 15th at 1:30pm ET. The event will be televised live on SPEED Channel.
“In practice the racetrack was tight, the car was tight and we tried to get him loosened up for qualifying but we were a little too loose. We’ll still have a pretty good car for the race, I’m sure of it.”
The PFG Lester 150 takes the green flag at 1:30pm ET live on SPEED. For more information on Donny Lia, Hagans Racing and its driver development program, contact Matt Kentfield at (704) 455-2051 and visit www.hagansracing.com and www.donnylia.com.
