Speeding In The Pits: Andy Lally

Showing posts with label Andy Lally. Show all posts

Sunday, December 11, 2011

2011 Year In Review: Andy Lally's Penalties

Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR

Patience was the key going into the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season for rookie driver, Andy Lally and his TRG Motorsports team. It was almost certainly going to be a tough road to hoe as Lally was jumping straight into the deep end of the pool basically without knowing how to swim. Lally had virtually no oval track experience at the start of the year making him a rookie among rookies.

One of the positive things Lally and his shoe-string budgeted team had going for them all season long was that they were almost certainly ensured the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year awards. Lally's only competition came in the form of Brian Keselowski and later T.J. Bell. Both drivers were racing for teams with even less financing than TRG's #71 and ended up posing no challenge for the award.

2011 was most definitely a challenge for Lally. He averaged a 37.6 starting position on the year and an average finishing position of 30.8 with his best finish of 19th coming at Talladega in the Aaron's 499. In spite of those numbers, Lally did a good job keeping the 71 in the top 35 for most of the season, qualifying for 30 of the 36 events, only DNQing for three events while the other three he missed were due to having a different driver in the car. Unfortunately for Lally, he was replaced just before the season finale at Homestead and will not be returning to NASCAR's Sprint Cup series in 2012.

Lally did a good job early in the season avoiding getting penalties in the pits in spite of his lack of experience pitting in NASCAR Sprint Cup series' conditions. Lally only had two speeding penalties in the first half of the season, both coming in the third race of the season at Las Vegas. However Lally was exceptionally mistake prone in the second half of the season, getting black flagged five times for speeding in the pits. The TRG pit crew did their job all year long without getting a penalty from NASCAR.

2011 Statistics For Andy Lally
33rd in Sprint Cup standings
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 19th in the Aaron's 499
8 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Andy Lally
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 2 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 3 - Speed-Exiting pits, tail end; Speed-Exiting pits, pass thru
Race 15 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 16 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 25 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Speed-Entering pits, Tail of Field; Speed-Exiting pits, Pass Thru; Speed-Entering pits, Stop & Go, Sped while doing pass thru
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end garage; Speed-Exiting pits, tail end; Speed-Exiting pits, tail end
Race 28 - Speed-Entering pits, pass thru

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Most Penalized Drivers In 2011 - Pit Crew Penalties

Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

The third category of penalties we feature here is the penalties that are earned by a driver's pit crew. Like the penalties a driver can get in a race, these penalties can prevent a team from winning a race or getting a good finish. This category also is an indication of what teams have the best pit crews in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series. Some of the penalties that fall into this category include too many crew members over the wall, crew members going over the wall too early, crew members losing contact with equipment and lug nuts not installed.

In all, five drivers and their teams led all the rest in receiving penalties in this category in 2011. It's probably not surprising that the underfunded teams of Dave Blaney, David Gilliland and Casey Mears are among the leaders but they are joined by two of Michael Waltrip Racing's drivers, Martin Truex, Jr. and David Reutimann. In fact, it was not a good season to be on any of the crews for MWR as Bobby Labonte's team earned only one less penalty in this category in 2011. Greg Biffle's team also had three penalties in the season, a likely indication as to why he missed the Chase field and didn't run well this season. Jimmie Johnson's Lowe's team also had three penalties as well.

Several teams were able to have a clean 2011 in the pits. While Kurt Busch had a total of 10 penalties due to mistakes on his own behalf, his pit crew did not have a mistake this year. Andy Lally's underfunded team also managed not to cost their driver in the pits as they too did not have a penalty all year. The teams for the two championship contenders of Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards were on their game in 2011 and also were able to avoid making any costly penalties for their drivers.

Driver Number(s)	Driver Name	Crew Penalties
36, 60, 35	Dave Blaney	4
38, 34	David Gilliland	4
13	Casey Mears	4
00	David Reutimann	4
56	Martin Truex, Jr.	4
47	Bobby Labonte	3
83	Brian Vickers	3
6	David Ragan	3
16	Greg Biffle	3
48	Jimmie Johnson	3
20	Joey Logano	3
1	Jamie McMurray	3
7	Robby Gordon	2
27	Paul Menard	2
34, 38	Travis Kvapil	1
42	Juan Pablo Montoya	1
09, 60, 51	Landon Cassill	1
21	Trevor Bayne	1
78	Regan Smith	1
46, 38	J.J. Yeley	1
9	Marcos Ambrose	1
24	Jeff Gordon	1
88	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	1
31	Jeff Burton	1
32	Ken Schrader	1
39	Ryan Newman	1
87	Joe Nemechek	1
22	Kurt Busch	0
18	Kyle Busch	0
71, 77	Andy Lally	0
32, 71	Mike Bliss	0
4	Kasey Kahne	0
32, 38	Terry Labonte	0
11	Denny Hamlin	0
2	Brad Keselowski	0
43	A.J. Allmendinger	0
17	Matt Kenseth	0
33	Clint Bowyer	0
29	Kevin Harvick	0
5	Mark Martin	0
35, 36	Geoffrey Bodine	0
60, 36, 37	Mike Skinner	0
66, 18	Michael McDowell	0
14	Tony Stewart	0
99	Carl Edwards	0
09, 46	Bill Elliott	0
30	David Stremme	0
71	Hermie Sadler	0
7	Reed Sorenson	0
46	Scott Speed	0
95	David Starr	0
15	Michael Waltrip	0
32	Andrew Ranger	0
37	Robert Richardson, Jr.	0
37	Tony Raines	0
77	Steve Wallace	0
84	Cole Whitt	0
92	Dennis Setzer	0

Monday, September 26, 2011

Race 28 - Sylvania 300 Penalties

Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

There were only four penalties asessed in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. One of those penalties went to Jamie McMurray who was caught speeding while pitting under yellow on lap 174. McMurray ended the day with a 23rd place finish.

Penalty Report - New Hampshire:

Car#, Lap, Reason, Penalty
#36 Dave Blaney, 60, Removing equipment from assigned pit area, stop and go
#71 Andy Lally, 66, Speed-Entering pits, pass thru
#51 Landon Cassill, 156, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#1 Jamie McMurray, 174, Speed-Entering pits, tail end

Thank you to NASCAR Statistics and Jayski.com for the information.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Race 25 - Advocare 500 Penalties

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Kyle Busch started off the rain delayed Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but as the race wore on Busch's car faded. On the final pit stop under the green flag, Busch sped entering the pits ending any chance for a decent finish.

Penalty Report - Atlanta:

Car#, Lap, Reason, Penalty
#16 Greg Biffle, Pre-Race to the rear W Tail of Field Engine
#36 Mike Skinner, Pre-Race to the rear W Tail of Field Driver Change
#60 Dave Blaney, Pre-Race to the rear W Tail of Field Driver Change & Missing Driver Intros
#95 David Starr Pre-Race to the rear W Tail of Field Missing Driver Intros
#46 Scott Speed, 83, Speed-Entering pits G Pass Thru 86
#47 Bobby Labonte 93, Pitting before pit road is open Y Garage
#71 Andy Lally, 129, Pitting before pit road is open Y Tail of Field 134
#71 Andy Lally, 133, Speed-Entering pits Y Tail of Field 134
#71 Andy Lally, 168, Speed-Exiting pits G Pass Thru 170
#71 Andy Lally, 170, Speed-Entering pits G Stop & Go 172 Sped while doing pass thru
#00 David Reutimann, 204, Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires Y Tail of Field 219
#38 J.J. Yeley, 245, Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires Y Tail of Field 247
#78 Regan Smith, 250, Pitting before pit road is open Y Garage
#6 David Ragan, 250, Pitting before pit road is open Y Garage
#18 Kyle Busch, 284, Commitment Line Violation G Pass Thru 286

Thank you to NASCAR Statistics and TheHotLap.com for the information.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Race 16 - Toyota/Save Mart 350 Penalties

Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

Save for a few drivers pitting before pit road was open, it was another fairly clean race in the pits for drivers and crew at Infineon Raceway. Casey Mears and David Ragan were two of the unfortunate drivers who were penalized for mistakes made by their pit crews.

Penalty Report - Infineon Raceway:

Car#, Lap, Reason, Penalty
#66 Michael McDowell, Pre-Race to the rear [driver change], tail end
#13 Casey Mears, 33, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#32 Terry Labonte, 34, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#39 Ryan Newman, 38, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#13 Casey Mears, 38, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#83 Brian Vickers, 38, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#71 Andy Lally, 39, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#83 Brian Vickers, 47, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#6 David Ragan, 73, Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, pass thru
#13 Casey Mears, 81, Lug nut(s) not installed, pit

Thank you to NASCAR Statistics and Jayski.com for the information.

Penalty Color Key

Pink - Pre-race Penalty
Orange - Penalty For Pitting Before Pit Road Is Open/Too many crew member(s) in contact with pit service area
Red - Driver Induced Penalty
Green - Pit Crew Induced Penalty
White - Verbal Abuse Toward Official/Safety Violation

Red, green and white designated penalties are considered to be "serious" penalties as they have a more significant affect on the outcome of a driver and team's finish than pink and orange designated penalties.

Please note that NASCAR does not have different designations for penalties. The color designation is for the purpose of this website only.

NASCAR's Race Penalty Procedures

* Driver change before start of the race
PENALTY: Start at the tail of the field

* Use of a backup car after qualifications
PENALTY: Start at the tail of the field

* Engine and/or transmission change after qualifications
PENALTY: Start at the tail of the field

* Adjustments made to car after impound
PENALTY: Start at the tail of the field

* Miss driver's meeting/driver introductions

PENALTY: Start at the tail of the field

* Impeding a competitor during qualifying
PENALTY: Qualifying lap disallowed

* Pitting before Pit Road is open
PENALTY: Restart at the tail of the field

* Too many crew member(s) in contact with pit service area
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Pitting out of order
PENALTY: Restart at the tail of the field

* Car must enter pit road in single file
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Speeding - Entering/Exiting pits
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* All passing on pit road must be to the outside on entry
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Driving through more than 3 pit boxes
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Car pitting out of the assigned pit box
PENALTY: 1 lap

* Crew member interfering with another team's pit stop
PENALTY: NASCAR Discresion

* Running the stop & go sign/light
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion

* Going above the blend line exiting the pits
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Passing the caution car/truck
PENALTY: 1 lap

* Pulling up to pit (drivers must maintain position in relation to field or face penalty)
PENALTY 1 lap

* Jumping the start/restart
PENALTY: Pass through pits

* Passing after turn three (3) on "One to Go''
PENALTY: Pass through pits

* Passing on a start or restart (before start/finish line)
PENALTY: Pass through pits

* Disobeying NASCAR request
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion

* Intentionally causing a caution
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion

* Disobeying Black Flag
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion

* Commitment Line Violation
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Passing under the double yellow line (at Daytona or Talladega)
PENALTY: Must pass through pits

* Blocking a driver under the yellow line (at Daytona or Talladega)
PENALTY: Must pass through pits

* Disqualification of qualifying time
PENALTY: Start at tail of the field

* Use of extension poles are limited/not self illuminated
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Crew member(s) over the wall too soon
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Crew member(s) returning from equipment side of wall
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Front air wrench must be carried back to pit wall side of car
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Using more than two (2) air wrenches during one pit stop
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Non-Compliant refueling
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Tossing or throwing the fuel filler/equipment
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Tire violation-Removing outside tire acceptable/Rolling a tire(s) beyond the center of pit road
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Unapproved adjustment to car
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Removing equipment from assigned pit area
PENALTY: Stop and Go

* Running over/under equipment
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion

* Hand pushing car more than 3 pit boxes
PENALTY: Must pass through pits under green; Restart at the tail of the field if under yellow

* Refueling car before the affected car receives the green flag on the race track or does not complete the designated race distance (competition yellow)
PENALTY: Minimum 1 lap

* Verbal abuse to a NASCAR official
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion

* Safety violation
PENALTY: NASCAR Discretion