Andy Lally

Andy Lally is an American racing driver who achieved the most in sports car racing. He was a champion three times in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in three different classes (2001 – SRP II, 2004 – SGS, 2006 – GT). Currently, he drives Audi R8 LMS for Magnus Racing in the GTD class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship.

He won five times at Daytona 24 Hours, three times in GT class, once in GTD class and once in SRP II class. He also has one class win at Sebring 12 Hours and class podium at Le Mans 24 Hours.

Lally also recorded 60 starts in all three NASCAR national divisions, taking the Rookie of the Year award in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Andy Lally

World Karting Association World Cup winner in 1994

Born in February 1975 in Northport, New York, Andrew Lally had a successful karting career before stepping into car racing. The highlight of his karting career was a victory at WKA (World Karting Association) World Cup in 1994.

In the following years, Lally's main competition was the USF2000 National Championship but he participated also in other open-wheel competitions such were Barber Dodge Pro Series, CART Toyota Atlantic Championship or Formula Palmer Audi.

Andy Lally and Ben Devlin in 2001

Grand-Am champion in SRP II class in 2001

Lally made a debut in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series in 2000, driving a Lola B2K/40 prototype for TRP Racing at Road America. Next year, he spent a full season in the Rolex Sports Car Series and won the championship title in SportsRacing Prototypes II (SRP II) class in the #21 Lola B2K/40 of Archangel Motorsport Services.

In February 2001, he won Daytona 24 Hours in SRP II class, sharing a car with Paul Macey, Martin Henderson and Peter Seldon. His full-time partner during the season was Paul Macey and they won two more races, at Lime Rock Park and Mid-Ohio.

In 2002, Lally was combining prototype rides in the Rolex Series and American Le Mans Series. His only win was in SRP II class at Mont-Tremblant 6 Hours in the #70 Picchio-BMW prototype of G&W Motorsports.

In 2004, Lally's championship winning car was the #38 Porsche

Debut with Porsche in 2003, championship title in 2004

In 2003, Lally continued to drive BMW Picchio for G&W Motorsport but he also joined ZIP Racing to drive the #33 Porsche 996 GT3-RS in the American Le Mans Series.

In 2004, Lally joined TPC Racing to drive the #38 Porsche 996 GT3 Cup in SGS class of the Rolex Sports Car Series. He and Marc Bunting became champions after they won two races during the season, the Watkins Glen 6 Hours and Barber 250 Miles. In 2004, Lally was also driving Lola prototypes for different teams in the American Le Mans Series and Lexus IS300 for Team Lexus in the Grand-Am Cup.

Marc Bunting, Andy Lally and TRG's owner Kevin Buckler in 2006

Rolex Series GT class champion in a Pontiac GTO.R

For the 2005 Rolex Sports Car Series, both Lally and Bunting joined The Racer's Group (TRG) to drive the #65 Porsche 996 GT3 Cup in GT class. In the mid-season they switched to Pontiac GTO.R. After winning two races, they finished second in the points, losing a title by just one point to Craig Stanton.

In 2006, Andy Lally and Marc Bunting became champions in the #65 TRG Pontiac GTO.R, scoring five GT class wins during the season. That year, Lally also finished second in GS class of the Grand-Am Cup with Marcus Motorsports' Porsche.

Two attempts and one class podium at Le Mans 24 Hours

While racing with TRG in the Rolex Sports Car Series, Lally recorded two starts at 24 Hours of Le Mans, both with Miracle Motorsports. In June 2005, he made his debut at Le Mans 24 Hours in the #34 Courage C65-AER LMP2 prototype, not finishing the race. His co-drivers were Ian James and John Macaluso.

The same crew came to Le Mans in 2006 in the #27 Courage C65-AER, finishing 14th overall and third in LMP2 class.

Andy Lally spent the most of his career with The Racer's Group

Racing with TRG until 2011, winning Daytona twice

In the 2007 Rolex Sports Car Series, Lally was defending his title in the #66 TRG Porsche 997 GT3 Cup. He scored five wins during the season, sharing a car with Richard (R.J.) Valentine, but finished just fourth in the points. He also made one start with Howard Motorsports' Crawford-Porsche prototype. In 2008, Lally had a part-time schedule with TRG Porsche, scoring four podiums in eight races, including one victory.

In January 2009, Lally scored his second class victory at Daytona 24 Hours and the first in GT class. He was sharing the #67 TRG Porsche 997 GT3 Cup with Justin Marks, Richard Valentine, Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister. Lally spent a full season with TRG and finished sixth in the points. In 2010, he won three races with TRG Porsche but also raced with Chevrolet Corvette and Mazda RX-8.

In January 2011, Lally recorded his third class win at Daytona 24 Hours. He won GT class in the #67 TRG Porsche 997 GT3 Cup, sharing a car with Spencer Pumpelly, Steven Bertheau, Brendan Gaughan and Wolf Henzler.

Andy Lally with the Rookie of the Year award

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year in 2011

The season 2011 was Lally's last year with TRG and his only full season in NASCAR. His stock car career started four years earlier, in 2007, when he made a debut both in NASCAR Busch Series (two races) and NASCAR Truck Series (three races). In 2008, he made eight Truck Series starts with TRG Motorsports and then made a debut with the same team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2009.

Driving the #71 Chevrolet, he expanded his Cup Series programme to seven races in 2010 and then spent a full season in NASCAR's premier division in 2011. He scored just one top 20 finish, at Talladega, ending the season 33rd in the final classification and the best among rookies.

In recent years, Lally is a regular competitor at NASCAR Xfinity Series Mid-Ohio race, participating three times between 2015 and 2017.

2012 – joining Magnus Racing and winning at Daytona 24h

After seven years with The Racer's Group, Lally moved to Magnus Racing prior to the 2012 Rolex Sports Car Series. He opened a season with GT class victory at Daytona 24 Hours at the wheel of the #44 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup. His co-drivers were John Potter, Rene Rast and Richard Lietz.

Lally and Potter scored one more win later in the season, at Indianapolis, to finish seventh in GT class standings. That year, Lally was also driving a Kia Forte Kup for Kinetic Racing in ST class of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, finishing third in the points.

Double Porsche program in 2013

In 2013, Lally had a double programme with Porsche cars. He stayed with John Potter's Magnus Racing in the Rolex Series but also joined Dempsey Del Piero Racing for the full season in the American Le Mans Series, sharing the #27 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup with Patrick Dempsey.

Lally and Potter were on a podium five times, including a victory at Laguna Seca, to finish second in the final standings of Rolex Series GT class, behind Alessandro Balzan. In the ALMS, Lally finished tenth in GTC class.

Andy Lally (second right) and teammates at 2016 Daytona 24 Hours

Fifth Daytona victory with Magnus Racing's Audi

In 2014, Rolex Sports Car Series and American Le Mans Series merged into the IMSA United SportsCar Championship. Lally stayed in Magnus Racing's #44 Porsche in GTD class, scoring a victory at Sebring 12 Hours together with John Potter and Marco Seefried. Lally ended a season 8th in GTD class. Magnus Racing was running the #44 Porsche also in 2015, not scoring wins and finishing 8th in GTD class.

A new car for the 2016 IMSA Championship season was the #44 Audi R8 LMS. Sharing a car with John Potter, Marco Seefried and Rene Rast, Lally scored his fifth class victory at Daytona 24 Hours. Later in the season, he and Potter won at Lime Rock Park to finish seventh in the final points.

Andy Lally and Katherine Legge were teammates in 2017

One-year stint with Acura NSX GT3

Lally changed a car for the 2017 IMSA SportsCar Championship season, joining Michael Shank Racing to drive the #93 Acura NSX GT3 in car's championship debut. His full-time co-driver was Katherine Legge.

After not so good results in the first four rounds, the maiden victory with Acura came at Detroit's Belle Isle circuit. Lally and Legge repeated a victory in the next race, at Watkins Glen 6 Hours. Later in the season, they added two podiums (Mosport and Laguna Seca) to finish sixth in the final GTD standings.

Return to Magnus Racing in 2018

For the 2018 IMSA SportsCar Championship season, Lally returned to Magnus Racing to partner team boss John Potter in the #44 Audi R8 LMS. They scored two podiums and finished eighth in the IMSA GTD class.

In 2019, Lally stayed with the team in the GTD class of the IMSA Championship but he changed a machinery. The team switched to Lamborghini Huracan GT3.

Photos: andylally.com, magnusracing.com, autoweek.com, motorsport.com,