New Trans Am Series Boss Andy Lally Faces Daunting Task

Yahoo

21-02-2025

The Trans Am Series TA class, which averaged fewer than 10 entries last year, has just 11 entries for the 2025 season opener at Sebring.
The explosion of GT racing series and 'country club' tracks has created opportunities to go elsewhere for drivers who can afford their own cars and crews.
, who occasionally raced in the Trans Am, was preceded by John Claggett, an executive who was a driving force of the series for four decades.
Andy Lally's endurance racing victories and three IMSA championships, not to mention a NASCAR Cup Series rookie title, brought momentum to his new job as the Trans Am president.
But like a driver at the wheel of an 850-horsepower beast with no driver aids, Lally has his hands full as the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli season launches at Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway this weekend.
The ground-pounding top class of TA, which averaged fewer than 10 entries last year, has just 11 entries at Sebring. The explosion of GT racing series and 'country club' tracks has created opportunities to go elsewhere for drivers who can afford their own cars and crews.
'It's a thin herd because not a lot of people choose difficult challenges and Trans Am is not easy' said Lally before pointing to two recent champions.
'A guy like Paul Menard, who's got a ton of Cup experience, sees the Trans Am series as fun,' said Lally. 'He likes to drive the heck out of something. Same thing with Chris Dyson. When I was Chris's teammate in a million-dollar prototype in the American Le Mans Series, he loved the high-speed corners.'
Building the car count will not be an easy task, acknowledges Lally.
'It's a tough sell to get people to invest in what they need to do to raise the bar and come race Trans Am,' Lally said. 'It's not cheap. You've got to love a lot of horsepower in a car that's difficult to drive, because these things are rocket ships and the driver is in charge of everything. There's not a babysitting tool in that car.'
Lally, who occasionally raced in the Trans Am, was preceded by John Claggett, an executive who was a driving force of the series for four decades. Tony Parella, founder of series owner Parella Motorsports Holdings, recruited Lally.
'The first time Tony actually made the offer, he didn't say president,' recalled Lally. 'I forget exactly how he worded it, but it was something along the lines of 'Do you want to run Trans Am?''
Lally initially was not interested, although as he approached the age of 50 he was alert to an alternate career path. 'I assumed Tony was talking about being a race director. That meant trouble. I don't have much of a filter. I have a long fuse with people who are trying. I have a short fuse with intelligent people that aren't trying. I tend to speak my mind on stuff.'
But as president he will get involved on the rules side. One of his main tasks will be coordinating with SCCA Pro Racing, which sanctions the Trans Am and operates the series under a licensing agreement. 'He's going to fill a role that's been very much needed,' said Dyson, 'helping to interface between the competitors and officials to narrow that gap down.'
Observed Adam Andretti, another veteran of the TA class, 'Everybody will come to him with an agenda.'
This year's schedule should help give Lally a tail wind, because the car counts tend to go up on the classic road circuits. Sonoma Raceway, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Barber Motorsports Park have been added and the races at NOLA Motorsports Park and World Wide Technology Raceway were dropped.
To present full fields, three GT classes run with the TA cars, including XGT for ex-GT3 cars no longer eligible in the FIA category. Indy car veteran Paul Tracy is among the entries in XGT at Sebring. The SGT and GT classes are based on SCCA categories.
The well subscribed TA2, a support series that runs separate preliminary races, is an entirely different story. It averaged 30 entries last season with cars usually fielded by teams selling seats. The category for tube-frame Late Model stock cars with 530 horsepower has been positioned as the road racing rung for those with an eye on advancing to NASCAR. But it's one of motor racing's best kept secrets. Lally's goal is to bring TA2 as well as the Trans Am more publicity via marketing by Parella Motorsports Holdings, where longtime friend Michael Printup is the Chief Operating Officer.
'TA2 is the only fulltime stock car road racing series in the United States,' said Lally. 'It's recognized as a rung on the ladder, sort of parallel with ARCA in regard to a place for a young driver to come in and get the best bang for the buck and the closest thing that they're going to be able to drive in the Xfinity Series car or in NASCAR Truck.'
Brent Crews became TA2's youngest champion in 2023 at the age of 15 and was subsequently signed to the Toyota Driver Development program. This year, Crews is driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in the ARCA Menards Series and in the NASCAR Truck Series for Tricon Garage. At Sebring, he will return to Nitro Motorsports and step up to the TA race.
Phenom Connor Zilisch came through the TA2 series with flying colors in 2023 as well, winning five races with Silver Hare Racing. He signed with Trackhouse Racing at the beginning of the 2024 season and will drive in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports this season.
'TA2 is an amazing learning tool,' said Lally. 'We've got bright drivers as young as 13, 14, 15, coming into the series to drive, which is allowed by our insurance. NASCAR is not letting you in until you're much older than that.
'The car is essentially a straight Late Model, not offset for the ovals, but straight for a road course,' he continued. 'It's a 500-plus horsepower engine with a spec tire and no ABS, no traction control, no driver aids, just raw power. It's a good tube frame racing car, very, similar to the feel of a Xfinity car or a NASCAR Truck.'
But to maintain the legacy of North America's longest running road racing series, the big horsepower cars remain the key. As the TA class goes, so goes the Trans Am.
Can Lally be the crucial link in a TA revival? He thinks of a racing garage as a crucible and in that sense is well prepared for the job ahead. 'Conflict with human beings is natural,' he said. 'When you get competitive people who race, you're going to get this mixing bowl of emotion. We've got the same end goal, but they all want to be on the top of the podium.'