By:
GABlogs
On:
8/7/2009 10:39 PM
Posted To: Grand-Am
Feel-good story of the day from Watkins Glen International: Andy Lally.
On a beautiful, sunny day in upstate New York, the Long Island-born racer achieved a career two-fer – racing in Friday’s Crown Royal 200 at The Glen (the ninth of 12 races this season for the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16) and – this was a big and – earning his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start.
Lally’s day job is driving the No. 66 Construct Corp./No Fear Energy Drink Porsche GT3 in the Grand-Am Rolex Series. A formidable road-racer and sports-car specialist, he’s a three-time Rolex Series champion and the reigning winner of the 2009 Rolex 24 At Daytona.
He knows sports cars.
But come Sunday, when he starts the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen in TRG Motorsports’ No. 71 Adobe Road Winery Chevrolet, he’ll check off a bucket-list item – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing. And he’ll do it from the 15th starting spot, earned during Friday’s qualifying session.
“GOSH, HOLY COW, I qualified for the Cup race,” was the official reaction.
Lally drives for owner Kevin Buckler’s TRG Motorsports, which fields three Rolex Series teams and two in the accompanying KONI Sports Car Challenge. This year, Buckler is establishing a presence in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, usually fielding the No. 71 for David Gilliland. In fact, that sounded the day’s only sour note: Gilliland, driving a second TRG car, the No 70 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet, didn’t make Sunday’s field.
But Lally will carry the team banner for both of them.
“I am not going to Disneyland yet,” he said. “We are just going to put our head down with these guys and start thinking about the race. We are going to focus on getting a good race car tomorrow during practice.
“I have to thank all these guys, I can’t tell you enough how much it means to me. That was the biggest pressure moment in my entire career to go one lap and try to make the field with these great drivers and the guys I have been looking up to all of my life.”
