New Trans Am President began racing career at LRP 33 years ago

LAKEVILLE, CONN. (21 April 2025)- Andy Lally will be in a very different role when he returns to Lime Rock Park during the Trans Am Memorial Day Classic May 23-26.

After enjoying three decades of success behind the wheel, Lally has stepped out of the cockpit for a new role – President of the renowned Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli.

Last July, Lally won the inaugural SpeedTour All-Star Race, joining 2023 TA2 Series champion Brent Crews in the two-part event.

“I won that race last year, and the next time I go back to Lime Rock in May, it will be as President of the Trans Am Series,” Lally said. “That’s quite a turnaround. If you told me a couple of years ago that I would end up officiating a series in any capacity, I would have said ‘You’re crazy!’

“But Trans Am is a perfect fit for me,” Lally continued. “It has the kind of cars I like and the kind of racing I want to see. It’s in a situation where I think it needed assistance from a racer who’s been around for a while. I think the current staff is amazing, doing so much work than their actual job titles. It’s very interesting to pull back the curtain, see all the work that everyone does, see what kind of things I need to focus on and see what directions we’re going to go in the future.”

Lally is no stranger to Lime Rock Park – in fact, he enrolled in Skip Barber Racing School there 33 years ago. Then, he made his professional winning debut at LRP.  Racing in the 2001 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series event, Lally won the SRII class in a Nissan Lola. The 49-year-old Long Island native added a Grand-Am GT class victory in 2004, driving a Pontiac GTO.

Lally made the podium in his lone Trans Am start at Lime Rock in 2021. Called up late to drive for Dyson Racing, Lally took third behind Chris Dyson and came up just short for second following a spirited battle with Tomy Drissi.

In the American Le Mans Series at Lime Rock, Lally won the GTC class in 2019 in a TRG Porsche 911. He finished second in the LMP2 class in 2004, driving a Lola B2K.

Competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Lally won in GT in 2016 and placed second in 2018, driving a Magnus Racing Audi in both events.

Last year’s victory marked his fifth at LRP.

But the question still stands, will Lally miss racing?

“I don’t think I will, to be honest,” he admitted. “Running in the Rolex 24 in January marked my 33rd-straight season of car racing. While I love driving, I’ve got other things in life that I enjoy that will keep my competitive edge going.”

The “other things” include street luge – both as a successful racer and luge builder – and mixed martial arts, including black belt in Brazilian Ju Jitsu. 

“They’re both high-adrenaline and high-competition areas that are very fun for me.”

While he won’t be competing during the Memorial Day weekend, he’s looking forward to the many challenges of his new role at his home circuit.

“Lime Rock is always a very special place for me to go back to,” Lally said. “I’ve got some of my biggest wins in IMSA there, and also the All-Star race in TA2 a few months ago. The track is close to home where I grew up in Long Island, and to go back there in the position that I’m in will be like the culmination of a career. I’ll be going there in an officiating capacity, and to be head of Trans Am will be a surreal moment for me.”

Over Memorial Day weekend, the Trans Am Series returns to Lime Rock Park for the 42nd time in its history. 

Starting Friday, May 23,Trans Am will deliver a massive dose of Americana. 

The highly competitive CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series, which features muscle cars like Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers, will storm the track on Saturday, May 24,  in a 100-mile race on the original 1.53-mile Lime Rock circuit.

Memorial Day (Monday, May 26) will once again be celebrated with the thunder from 850-horsepower American V8s in the Trans Am class along with top production-based GT cars battling it out in the XGT, SGT and GT classes. 

On Sunday (May 25), Royals Garage will host a car show benefiting The Little Guild animal shelter located in West Cornwall, CT.

For tickets and more information, visit https://limerock.com/events/memorial-day-classic/