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The No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Ford Mustang will have a new driver in place for the return to Circuit of the Americas. Andy Lally, a veteran with considerable experience on road courses, will replace BJ McLeod for the NASCAR Cup Series trip to Texas.
FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass first reported the news on March 19, prior to the Camping World Truck Series race at the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Cup Series team then confirmed the news and hinted at some updates as the March 27 race approaches. Lally will be the first driver other than McLeod to take over the No. 78 Ford Mustang as he makes his return to the NASCAR Cup Series for his 40th start.
Lally previously made one start for Live Fast Motorsports during the team’s inaugural season. He replaced McLeod for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course race on August 15, 2021. However, he finished 39th after a mechanical issue disrupted his day.
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This race at Circuit of the Americas will be Lally’s first in a national NASCAR series in 2022. He has focused on other races, including the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway and the 12 Hours of Sebring as a member of Magnus Racing.
Lally Has NASCAR Experience at Circuit of the Americas
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GettyAndy Lally drives the No. 23 Chevrolet Camaro at COTA.
Lally has made multiple starts at Circuit of the Americas during his racing career, primarily in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. This run includes races in 2014-2017. However, he also has a previous Xfinity Series start at the Texas road course.
Lally joined Our Motorsports during the 2021 season for two of his five starts. The other three were with BJ McLeod Motorsports. This limited schedule included the inaugural Xfinity Series race at Circuit of the Americas in which he qualified 13th overall before turning in a top-20 finish.
The veteran driver turned in a quiet performance overall, but he avoided the mechanical issues that disrupted five total drivers. Noah Gragson, Kris Wright, Timmy Hill, and Tommy Joe Martins all had engine problems while Miguel Paludo had rear gear issues. Other drivers headed to the garage early while Lally simply turned in an 18th-place run.
Lally Altered His 2022 NASCAR Plans
Lally, who has made 71 total starts across the national three series, had previously agreed to join an Xfinity Series organization for the 2022 season. He was set to take over the No. 44 Alpha Prime Racing Chevrolet Camaro for all of the road course races.
The situation changed, however, on January 7, 2022. Alpha Prime Racing GM Tommy Joe Martins issued a statement and announced that the team had released Lally from his contract. There were no hard feelings as Martins wished Lally the best in his future endeavors.
With the veteran driver no longer available to take over for the road courses, APR went in a different direction. The team added Josh Bilicki, who has competed in a variety of series on road courses, for the trip to COTA, Road America, Watkins Glen, and the Charlotte Roval. He will now partner with Sage Karam to compete in some of the races that require both left and right turns.
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