Andy Lally Returns to Cup Series After 10-Year Absence

Andy Lally is heading back to the NASCAR Cup Series after a 10-year absence, albeit for an unexpected reason. The 46-year-old will join Live Fast Motorsports for the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard while replacing an injured Kyle Tilley.

The original starting lineup for the race weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway featured Tilley pulling double-duty. The 33-year-old was set to compete in the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard Xfinity Series race on Saturday, Aug. 14, and then move over to the Cup Series on Sunday, Aug. 15. However, a sore shoulder kept him out of both races. Tilley tweeted on Saturday morning that he would miss both races with the injury.

With the lineup change, Lally will now be the one making multiple starts during the race weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He will drive for BJ McLeod Motorsports during the Xfinity Series race and will start on the 13th row after the qualifying session on Aug. 14. Lally will then switch to the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Ford Mustang for the Cup Series race on Aug. 15.

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Lally Has Not Competed in Cup Since the 2011 Season

The veteran driver has made 18 starts in the Xfinity Series since 2007, but he has not suited up for a Cup Series race in a decade. Lally’s last start took place in 2011 when he finished 29th at Texas Motor Speedway.

Lally made 30 starts for TRG Motorsports in 2011 while driving the No. 71. he did not crack the top 10 for the small team, but he posted a season-best finish of 19th at Talladega Superspeedway on April 17, 2011. Lally also failed to finish four races for various reasons.

Lally made a total of 38 starts for TRG Motorsports over a three-year span (2009-2011) before moving full-time to the NASCAR Rolex Grand-Am Sports Car Series for 2012 and 2013. The veteran locked up three wins and nine trips to the podium during this stint, bringing his respective totals in the series to 27 wins and 74 podium finishes over the course of 14 years.

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Multiple Driver Changes Took Place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Lally and Davison are not the only drivers that had to make some adjustments to their schedules due to unforeseen circumstances. Multiple others had to leap into action and replace their peers.

For example, IndyCar steward Max Papis was set to make his first Xfinity Series start in eight years while driving for Rick Ware Racing/SS Greenlight Racing. However, he tested positive for COVID-19 and immediately headed into quarantine. RWR turned to veteran driver JJ Yeley and put him in the No. 17. Though Yeley had to drop to the rear of the field after missing driver introductions.

Similarly, defending Cup Series champion Chase Elliott made his return to the Xfinity Series for the first time since 2019 after receiving an early-morning phone call from JR Motorsports. Regular driver Michael Annett could not compete in the Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard while continuing to recover from recent surgery on his leg, so the team turned to Elliott.

The road course aficionado agreed to make the start and gain some extra experience at a track where he had no prior starts. Elliott climbed into the No. 1 JRM Chevrolet Camaro and fought to move through the field after initially starting at the rear due to a driver change.

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