Andy Lally was in an odd position this year as the only Sprint Cup driver eligible for NASCAR’s annual rookie of the year award. Lally had a clear path to the title, yet that, he said, brought more pressure than if he had competed against other drivers. “It has been kind of an odd pressure this year of being the only rookie eligible for this deal,” said Lally, who was honored Thursday as the Sunoco Rookie of the Year for the Sprint Cup Series. “I think it was actually more pressure doing it this way than having to beat two or three other guys because I knew we didn’t have much to compare to and we were going to be compared to the other 42 superstars that compete week in and week out and trying to go for those top-10s, which were so far away, and try to qualify as good as we could every weekend so I could try to earn the respect of the 12 guys in this room and the others guys. [That] was a monumental task and something that I really wanted to achieve so I could earn their respect.” Lally, who was driving for TRG Motorsports, didn’t score any top-10 finishes and finished in the top 20 only once. He made 30 of the 36 races, failing to qualify three times and wasn’t entered in three races. Lally, a three-time Grand-Am Rolex Series champion and former Nationwide and Truck Series driver, got his first opportunity to run in the Sprint Cup Series this year.(SceneDaily)(12-3-2011)
