Lally to Retire After Rolex 24; Named Trans Am President

Photo: Chris Clark/Trans Am

Andy Lally will retire from professional driving following January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, having been named the new president of the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli.

The 49-year-old championship-winning IMSA driver, who holds five class victories in the Rolex 24, along with wins at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, Motul Petit Le Mans and the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, will hang up his helmet following next month’s WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener.

It will coincide with Magnus Racing’s hiatus from series’ competition.

“This is both my retirement from professional driving and a simultaneous transition to President of the Trans Am Series,” said Lally.

“It’s a lot of emotion, both looking back and realizing how fortunate I’ve been, while at the same time looking forward to this next journey.

“I’ll be using 32 years of auto racing experience in a huge variety of cars and sharing what I’ve learned along the way to contribute to the growth of Trans Am and the continued development of future stars.”

Lally will report to Parella Motorsports Holdings Chief Operating Officer Michael Printup, who has been at the helm of the series since April.

“The timing seems right and the opportunity is fantastic,” said Lally. “Anyone that knows me knows I’ve been very vocal for years about not only how incredible Trans Am cars are to race, but also how the CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series is the best platform on this planet for driver development.

“To know that going forward I will be able to play a part in helping our leadership push this series forward while helping both our teams and drivers grow under the Trans Am banner is a dream come true.

“I know this is going to be a whole new challenge and I will have a steep learning curve ahead, but I’m very much looking forward to it. I have a well-seasoned and talented group of Trans Am officials that I will be leaning on heavily for help along the way.

“I will also have [PMH owner] Tony Parella and my longtime friend Michael Printup available for advice in what will inevitably be many new situations and choices.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John