Lally 18th in NASCAR Sprint Cup race at The Glen
August 10, 2010 · No Comments
Lally Records Solid Top 20 in Adobe Road Chevy at The Glen
Watkins Glen, NY, (Aug. 8, 2010) - TRG
Motorsports driver Andy Lally drove to an 18th place finish in the No.
71 Adobe Road/TRG Motorsports Chevrolet Impala SS in the NASCAR Sprint
Cup Series Helluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen race today.
Unfortunately, on the first lap Lally reported a problem with the brakes
on the Adobe Road Chevy. Adjusting his driving style, the sports car
ace reverted to some well tuned endurance type driving, backing up his
brake points and taking exactly what the track, car and competitors
would give him. As a result the team's strategy headed by team
principal Kevin Buckler took Lally to the end of each fuel window
maximizing time and track position. At one point in the race the No. 71
was listed second in the running order. In the waning laps Lally made
several key passes to put the Adobe Road Chevy in the top 20.
"Wild! That is how I would sum it up," Lally said. "It may only be 18th
in some people's eyes, but for me it was one of the coolest, wildest
races I have ever driven. We had brake issues from lap one. I think it
was a set of glazed pads on the front. I just couldn't drive the car
deep into the braking zone and make aggressive passing moves. We will
see what we can do to avoid that in the future. The guys did a great
job making the calls and keeping me on the lead lap, which paid off with
a good finish."
Lally's race was clean and calculated.
"I had no real drama with the car. A couple of guys used me as brakes
when they were losing them and I did the same. For the most part we
kept it clean, I didn't shove anyone off and I didn't get shoved off. I
had some light contact, but no real car damage."
The pit stops were spent trying to diagnose the brake problem, instead of adjusting for handling.
"A couple of times I mentioned the car would get tight on new tires.
After they got run-in the car was good. We were chattering the fronts a
little. I had to be so careful on entry to the corners that we weren't
really bothered too much with the handling. I had a little bit of push
in the middle and then when the tires got worn a little push off of the
corner."
It turned out to be a sports car type drive today.
"I was driving like it was the end of a 24 hour race. Just backing up
my brake points and not taking too many chances. It was a total blast!
I was going wheel-to-wheel with the guys I've wanted to race with all
of my life, in the series I've wanted to race in all of my life.
Hopefully one day I'll get to do it again. I passed Mark Martin today!
Kevin Buckler played a key role in the top 20 finish working with Dan
Stillman on the strategy and motivating the crew during pit stops.
"That was one of the smartest drives I have witnessed from Andy,"
Buckler said. "When he reported the brake problem on lap one, it about
broke my heart. We let him down a little with the car, but he picked us
up with his performance. It is really a bummer when I think what could
have been with a car that would stop. It just shows his
professionalism and all those years of endurance racing and how to
manage a wounded car to the finish for all it's worth. The guys did a
nice job in the pits trying to manage the problem. At the end of the
day a top 20 finish in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race is really a big deal.
We advanced to 32nd in owners points and are headed to Michigan."
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will travel to Michigan International
Speedway for the CarFax 400 to be run on Sunday, August 15.
TRG Motorsports is based in Mooresville, North Carolina. Currently the
team fields a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry as well as a limited
Camping World Truck Series effort and an ARCA RE/MAX Series team. The
Racer's Group was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top
level of sports car racing. TRG's Porsche sports car program is run out
of the company's headquarters in Petaluma, California. The team has the
most wins of any team in the Grand-Am Rolex Series with 30, including
the 2005 and 2006 Rolex Series GT championship trophy to go along with
wins in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona (three) and the 24 Hours of Le
Mans.
For more information please contact Kyle Chura at (248) 821-0468 or
chura@aol.com. Detailed team info can be viewed at
www.trgmotorsports.com and www.theracersgroup.com.
Contact Jason Solomonson, (704) 662-7158, for TRG Motorsports sponsorship information....


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