Our beloved Tour heads back to Riverhead for the second go round on the Long Island oval this weekend. I thought that this might be an appropriate time to bring our readers a little closer to a couple of the key players. Read along and get to know Donny Lia and Kevin Crowley.

Donny was born Domenick Lia to Don and Marlene Lia from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn in November of 1980. Don Lia owns a number of car dealerships. Prior to getting involved in the automobile business, Don worked as an Architect for the City of New York. Marlene worked as an office professional up until the time that Donny was born. Donny’s sister Danielle rounds out the family.

Donny played sports in elementary and middle school but when he got to high school Donny went to work. Lia relates, “I worked in my dad’s stores all of the time growing up. Not like work work, I was just always there to be doing something. Then I started my first real job, where I actually got paid, I worked for a cousin of mine working on motorcycles on the South Shore of Long Island. I used to leave school early and go down there and work. I used to take them (motorcycles) out of the crates and assemble them. I was a just a kid building Honda and Kawasaki motorcycles”.

Kevin Crowley was born in Melrose, Massachusetts in 1967. Kevin keeps racing in the family as he brings his wife Linda and twin daughters Ashley and Shawna to every race in his motor home. Kevin owns an excavating company and the Crowley’s call Billerica, MA home.

Crowley got his start in racing early in life. Kevin’s father took him to the races often in his youth. Crowley began working with the late Corky Cookman over twenty-five years ago, long before it was legal for him to be in the pits. Kevin said, “I worked with Corky for six or seven years.” When he was old enough, he started going to Stafford, Westboro and Thompson every week.

“My father was good friends with Tony Hirschman and I worked with him on and off for three or four years.” Crowley told MSS, “My friend Howie Lane got two Supers (Supermodifieds) so whenever I wasn’t working on a Modified I went Super racing. I learned a lot from Brad Lafontaine when we worked with Jeff Fuller. I was doing the tires, Brad is a very smart guy and I learned a lot from him, I learned how to treat the crew members because he treated us like gold."

Kevin said, “Who I’ve learned the most from was Hirschy, because he is so good at just feeling a car. I could change something and not tell him and he knew exactly what it was. That’s how good he is”. Crowley also worked with his good friend Eric Beers for two or three years. His efforts with Beers came to a crescendo at New Smyrna Speedway in February of 2004 when he helped Eric win the Speedweeks Modified Championship.

Donny got his start in racing driving Legends cars at the Riverhead Raceway. Lia went straight from Legends to Modifieds. Lia said, “My father and I had been talking to Frank (Vigliarolo) about buying one of his cars. Frank kind of used it as a deal closer, “Why don’t you come out next week and race my show car?” I was like a kid in a candy store. I hopped in it and went out there. It was such a rush. You know I never would have imagined stepping on the gas pedal and feeling what I felt and at the same time feeling how much grip I felt. It was almost an equal balance magnified ten times from the legends car to the Modified, grip and horsepower. I was able to figure out how to get around pretty quick. I was almost easier to drive than a legends car because they (the Modifieds) have so much tire on them."

He raced in fast company at the Long Island oval, winning the Riverhead Raceway Rookie of the Year Award in 2001, and soon set his sight on higher goals. Lia started competing regularly on the Whelen Modified Tour in 2002 and found it difficult just to make the field. As he got more seat time, his performance improved. In 2003 Donny won the Whelen Modified Tour Rookie of the Year award.

Donny Lia’s Whelen Modified Tour results have grown by leaps and bounds over the past year or so. “The addition Kevin Crowley as crew chief really made a big difference in our program”, said Lia, who continued, “Michael Boehler introduced us. I called Kevin up after that. Michael and I had been talking a lot. I was looking for a crew chief and I was also looking for a little bit of direction at the time.

I didn’t know a lot about what Kevin had done but when I found out what he did do, I was really impressed. What I did know was that all of the cars that he worked on always seemed to look comfortable. Those cars always looked drivable and they were always fast. Once we spoke, that’s what did it. But Michael Boehler got the ball rolling. I never knew who Kevin Crowley was until Michael told me about him.”

Crowley joined the LMI team before they started the Whelen Modified Tour season last year. Kevin said, “Donny had been running with a different crew chief and he did things differently. I basically did the whole car my way…I changed everything on the car. He likes the car now, he’s comfortable in it”. He might have added that he has been fast in it as well.

Crowley takes at least one day per week away from his family and business, drives from his home in Bellerica to Long Island and sets up Donny’s Tour cars. “(Car chief) Rob Dimond changes the car over at the (Lia) shop. He installs the various changes that I want. Rob does a great job,” said Crowley, “I go down there for the day to make sure that everything is exactly the way that I want it. You know, everyone looks at a tape measure differently”.

Donny won Modified Tour races at his home track in Riverhead, Long Island in 2003 and in 2004, the latter was his first win with Crowley at the helm. He also had a dominating performance earlier this season at the Waterford Speedbowl. Lia led the Whelen 150 wire-to-wire.

The combination of Lia and Crowley has made headway away from the Tour as well. Last year, Donny won a Race of Champions Modified Tour event at the Thompson Speedway in July. He also won the North vs. South Shootout at Concord Motorsports Park in Concord, NC last November and the 100-lap Richie Evans Memorial race at New Smyrna, FL in February. Two weeks ago, Lia pulled down the win and the $10,000 first place prize at the Seekonk Speedway in Seekonk, MA. Donny dashed to the victory in the 100-lap TVMS event with a late race pass over Ted Christopher.

There are a couple of other Crowleys in the mix on the LMI team. Kevin’s brother Brian works as the tire specialist and spotter for the team. Kevin’s daughter Shawna won the pedal car race at the North vs. South shootout last season as well. Actually the cast of characters that are connected with this team is long and distinguished. Some of the others include; Tour veteran Mike Irvine, master fabricators and geniuses John Mazza and Jon Trask, Geoff and Rich Harbach, tire changers Jimbo and JR Boccanfuso, gasman Garfield Bowen, Bob Holland, Chad Israel, Phil Saporito and Kevin Scosic.

As the Whelen Modified Tour heads into the second Riverhead event of 2005 this weekend, there is little doubt that this team will be one of the favorites to win. The combination of Donny Lia and Kevin Crowley has had a taste of success but, they are looking to more. Lia said, “I think that any given week we can win. Where we have lacked is in consistency. We need to develop consistency when it comes to the way that we finish on the Tour. We weren’t qualifying, and then we started qualifying; now we’re qualifying great. We weren’t finishing, and then started finishing races and finishing better and winning but, consistent top-five finishes has got to be our next step. If we can’t get to finish in the top-five week-in and week-out we aren’t going to win championships and that’s what it is all about.”