Lia tabbed to drive the 81 for Moss in next two races

Randy Moss Motorsports has announced that Craftsman Truck Series rookie Donny Lia will drive the No. 81 Chevrolet beginning Saturday at New Hamsphire Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 13.

Lia currenty is 17th in Truck Series driver points and second in the 2008 Rookie of the Year standings. Lia has made 17 starts this season in the No. 71 Chevrolet of TRG Motorsports. He posted his first career win at Mansfield, also the team's first, and has three top-10s overall.

Lia

"We are pleased to have Donny Lia come on board at Randy Moss Motorsports," co-owner David Dollar said. "He has already proven he can get the job done in the Truck Series and he is a winner at New Hampshire. We are looking forward to a solid run with him behind the wheel on Saturday."

Lia finished 12th at Bristol, his last race for TRG. He didn't race last week at Gateway. A native of Long Island, Lia is looking forward to his first race at a track with which he is very familiar, having races at NHMS in the modified ranks.

"New Hampshire is the closest thing to a home track that I have on the Truck Series," Lia said. "I've raced at New Hampshire for a few years now. Being that I came from the modified series we raced there twice a year and last year I won a modified race there. It's a track that I really enjoy going to. Of all the tracks that we race on in the Truck Series, New Hampshire by far I have the most experience at.

"I'm just looking forward to going there again and looking forward to racing the truck again. It was a little hard watching the race and not being in it, but definitely looking forward to this weekend more so than I probably have looked forward to going racing all year, so definitely very excited about it."

Team owner and New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss is excited to see his other passion come to the New England area for the first time since he has taken on the role as a Craftsman Truck Series owner.

"The New England area is obviously very special to me," Moss said. "I'm so excited to have my two passions come together and there is a huge Patriots fan base in New Hamsphire. The NASCAR fan and football fan are pretty much the same demographic so we're hoping to tap into that fan base and have them support Randy Moss Motorsports on Saturday."

As far as driving for Moss, Lia is excited about the opportunity. "It's pretty cool. I get to say I've driven for Randy Moss and now we're going racing in New Hampshire at New Hampshire Motor Speedway up in the New England area. That's makes it even more special. It's probably a little bit of pressure on us to perform being it's Randy Moss and we're up in New England."

Lia also is slated to drive the 81 truck at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sept. 20. Lia's longtime sponsor Nationrides.com will be the primary sponsor of the No. 81 for the next two events as well.

As for TRG Motorsports, rookie Andy Lally drove the 71 truck to a 20th-place finish last week at Gateway. But the first-year Truck team has decided to sidleline the No. 71, marking the first week the truck, which is 18th in owner points, will not race this year.

"We have decided to take the high road and not make any public comment on the issues surrounding Donny Lia's departure from TRG Motorsports," team principal Kevin Buckler said. "We have made a smart business decision by sidelining the No. 71 at New Hampshire this weekend and are currently in negotiations with other funded drivers who are available to take over that ride as soon as Las Vegas Motor Speedway next week."

Buckler made the decision late Tuesday night. "We were looking at all of our options and felt it would be best for us to focus all of our efforts on one truck this weekend while we work out the details that surround the No. 71 and the races that truck will run the rest of the year. All of our equipment right now is really top-notch and we already have drivers and sponsors lined up for Martinsville and Texas, and it's only a matter of time before we fill that seat for the remaining races."

TRG Motorsports made its splash into the Craftsman Truck Series by winning in only its seventh start and has multiple top-10 finishes.

"We have some of the best equipment out there and everyone in the Truck Series is aware of that," Buckler said. "With help from Chevrolet, we have forged an alliance with Kevin Harvick Inc. We also have one of the best engine builders in the business in Pro Motor Engineering.

"We have proven that we have what it takes to be competitive in this cutthroat business and we have built a solid foundation for this team from the ground up with top-level people. We've had one of the fastest trucks on the track in the last six races and that just goes to show that our equipment can run at the front. We plan to be in this series for years to come and although the decision not to race at New Hampshire was a hard one, it was the decision that we had to make."

T.J. Bell will drive the No. 7 TRG Chevrolet at NHMS. He has two top-10 finishes in seven races this season.