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.

Finish 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. I have to thank everyone at TRG Motorsports for their effort. Kevin, Dan, Paul and Skip were working to help me all weekend long and my crew was giving me everything they had to get this car right for me. My spotters did a great job in this race and of course I need to thank our sponsors Adobe Road Winery as well as Taxslayer.com, it was a great race and a good result for us to build on."

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.