Andy Lally and the TRG Motorsports team hit the high banks of Daytona International Speedway today for the first round of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Preseason Thunder testing from the historic 2.5-mile oval, posting impressive lap times and running among the top-five all day.  Lally closed out the day second on the time sheets and was the fastest Chevrolet overall.

"I had a lot of learning that I had to do today and it went smooth," said Lally, who will be contending for the 2008 Raybestos Rookie of the Year award in the No. 7 TRG Motorsports Chevrolet.  "Our Silverado is real fast.  These guys really helped lessen the steepness of my learning curve by giving me a great truck."

Since Lally is a rookie to the Craftsman Truck Series, he enlisted the coaching skills of NASCAR veteran Tony Raines.  "Tony was with us today kind of mentoring me along and he did a wonderful job.  He helped calm me down a little bit and he gave me some important advice as to how and where to be."  Raines assistance, coupled with the guidance from Crew Chief Butch Hylton and a lot of hard work by the crew, helped Lally remain in the top-five all day.

"I was fortunate last December to come here and run a handful of laps in an ARCA (Re/Max Series) car," explained Lally.  "Just that alone - those 15 or 20 laps that I was able to do - was something that I was able to remember and draw from today." 

Lally's preparation paid off.  "To put our Silverado in 'P2' at the end of the day here was much more than we expected," he said. 

Lally and the TRG Motorsports team will return to Daytona International Speedway tomorrow for day two of the three day NASCAR sanctioned test session.  On-track activity begins at 9 a.m. and concludes at 5 p.m. ET.

TRG was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of sports car racing ever since.  TRG Motorsports (the NASCAR division) is made up of a group of 10 partners, friends and racers.  The team has the most wins of any team in the Grand-Am Rolex Series with 23, including the 2005 and 2006 Rolex Series GT championship trophy to go along with wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 24 Hours or Le Mans.

TRG is a manufacturer and distributor of high-performance racing parts.  The group specializes in engine and chassis building as well as full service professional race car preparation.  The company also provides electrical and mechanical engineering services, driver development and arrive-and-drive opportunities. TRG is based in Petaluma, Calif., near its home track of Infineon Raceway in Sonoma as well as its new facility in Charlotte.

http://www.truckseries.com/cgi-script/NCTS_07/articles/000134/013441.htm" target="_new">SATURDAY TEST TIMES/DAYTONA: AM SESSION

http://www.truckseries.com/cgi-script/NCTS_07/articles/000134/013429.htm" target="_new">FRIDAY TEST TIMES/DAYTONA: AM SESSION

http://www.truckseries.com/cgi-script/NCTS_07/articles/000134/013432.htm" target="_new">FRIDAY TEST TIMES/DAYTONA: PM SESSION