Daytona 500 thrills Northport's Lally

Northport's Andy Lally said he "would use a lot of words" to characterize his first Daytona 500 experience Sunday.

"Thrilling. Exhilarating. Stressful. Fun. And, maybe the best word to describe it would be that it was an honor."

His No. 71 TRG Motorsports Chevrolet limped home 33rd in the 43-car field on an afternoon when Daytona records were set for the number of lead changes (72), different leaders (22) and cautions (16). And, at 36, Lally needed all the instincts and training developed through years of auto racing to deal with the 14-car accident that engulfed him on the 29th lap of his debut in the sport's most prestigious event.

But he shrugged off the early crash as "a been-there, done-that. You race this long, you'll be in accidents like that. Just one of those deals." He noted that such celebrated drivers as Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon also were taken out in the same wreck.

With cars scrunched together to maximize the new bumper-to-bumper drafting strategy made possible by Daytona's $20-million repaving project, racing three-wide at almost 200 miles per hour in that 29th lap, "Michael Waltrip spun out [while pushing his teammate David] Reutimann," Lally said in a telephone interview, "and it all hit the fan from there."

Lally had worked his way up from the 37th starting position to as high as 13th, and had just slipped back to 20th after a pit stop when the action hit the skids.

"The spin was maybe five car lengths in front of me," he said. "It happens so quick, there's less than a second to make your decision on which direction you're going to take. I was in the middle of three wide, someone on top and someone on bottom. The way the track was blocked by the spin, I was just getting to a hole and thought I was getting through when somebody got into my back and we were collected up in the mess."

Lally said he "never even unbuckled from the car; as I spun around, I never even stopped, probably never slowed under 180. Just stuck it in gear" and went for mechanical first aid. His crew replaced the right-side tires and spent roughly an hour repairing the right side of the car.

An axle was slightly bent and the steering wheel was "vibrating like crazy; it was a little nerve-racking." But, since the damage "wasn't terminal," Lally said, the decision was made to finish the last 200 miles. The team has a new sponsor and the exposure in the Daytona 500 was important.

The plan still is for him to run the entire NASCAR Sprint Series this year. So, by Monday, his team was loading up its truck and heading for Phoenix for this weekend's race. "I'm totally fine," he said.