Lally finishes 27th in NASCAR debut
Photo credit: Getty Images | Andy Lally races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at Watkins Glen International on August 10, 2009 in Watkins Glen.
Newsday on a NASCAR Track at Full Speed
Andy Lally had waited a lifetime for the opportunity. What was another 24 hours?
A day after rain washed out the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International Raceway, the Northport native made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut Monday, driving the No. 71 Chevrolet to a 27th-place finish.
Lally had been excited to get the race started Sunday and when NASCAR called off the race, he looked as deflated as if he had failed to qualify.
"It was frustrating because I was ready," he said. "I wanted to get it going."
When it finally did get going, Tony Stewart held off Australian Marcos Ambrose to win his fifth race at the Glen. Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Greg Biffle rounded out the top five.
Jeff Gordon has four career wins at Watkins Glen, but none since 2001. That streak continued Monday thanks to an incident involving Lally.
Coming out of the ninth turn on the 63rd lap, Kasey Kahne dived inside of Sam Hornish Jr., sending him onto the grass on the left side. Hornish's No. 77 Dodge then caromed off a tire barrier and back onto the track, where Gordon said he hoped he had room to get past. He didn't and slammed Hornish's car head-on. Lally said he was approaching the car in front of him, tucked into his rear bumper and couldn't see anything else in front of him.
"And it was the only five-second window that we didn't have a spotter," he said. "I feel really sad that we weren't able to avoid that wreck."
Lally's car suffered minor damage, but he continued on, making a late rally from the mid-30s down to 27th. Despite the crash, Lally said he felt excellent after the race.
"It was everything I always wanted it to be," Lally said. "Crazy, crazy, crazy from the start all the way through. It was a lot of fun."
As for whether this would lead to more Sprint Cup races, the 34-year-old said: "I sure would like to think positively and think so. To be completely honest, I do want to. I think it might be unrealistic without a whole lot of testing to jump right in and do what these guys do week in and week out. I want to, but I don't want to come off cocky, like this is an easy thing to do. These guys are awesome."
- With Bobby Cassidy
