MONDAY MORNING CREW CHIEF: Boris Said ready to go for Sprint Cup win to complete NASCAR cycle
Boris Said gets a congratulatory hug from runnerup Max Papis after their stirring 1-2 finish yesterday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. // Geoff Burke, Getty Images
Boris Said went nearly 12 years between NASCAR national touring series victories.
In October 1998, Said won the Truck Series race at Sonoma for his first NASCAR win. It took him until Sunday to get another major NASCAR win as he captured the Nationwide Series NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Montreal.
Now the 47-year-old driver has his sights on another victory – on the Sprint Cup level.
Said, an accomplished road racer, has 41 career Cup starts, with 20 on ovals. His Nationwide victory came in his 22nd career start in the series – and his 16th on a road course.
“We got the victory, and I’m shocked and overwhelmed,” Said said Sunday in his postrace news conference. “I thought I was going to cry but I didn’t. My wife would have made fun of me. … It’s been a long time. I don’t care, [road-course] specialist or not, I just won a damn Nationwide race and I’m happy. It feels so cool.
“I’ve been trying so hard. Everyone says, ‘You’re too old, it’s too late, you don’t have enough money, and you’re not doing it enough.’ When people say, ‘No,’ it makes me try harder. I’m going to keep trying until I win more of these. I’m going to keep trying until I win a Cup race.”
Three full-time Sprint Cup drivers had chances to win at Montreal. But Marcos Ambrose had battery problems while leading, Carl Edwards broke a track bar and Robby Gordon ran out of fuel.
Said lead a parade of road-course aces across the finish line as Max Papis and Jacques Villeneuve finished second and third, respectively.
Papis passed Said going into the final two turns but wasn’t able to hold him off as they drag-raced to the finish line.
“It proved that you can be successful in NASCAR even coming from a different background,” Papis said. “It’s something that is pretty special. … [A] NASCAR driver is just a good driver, point blank. Maybe they don’t do a road course every day, but they’re awesome. They’re very specialized. The road course equalizes the stuff a little bit.”
Road-course specialists have had some success in the trucks and Nationwide Series – Ron Fellows won at Montreal two years ago and has four Nationwide wins and two truck wins – but success in Cup has avoided them.
“A good driver is just a good driver – put them on an oval or a road course,” Villeneuve said. “You see some drivers that are supposed to be oval drivers only doing extremely well on road courses, and vice versa.”
In addition to winning a Cup race, winning again in Montreal will be a priority for Said, who won the event Sunday driving for independent RAB Racing.
“I hope to come here for a long time,” Said said. “It’s a great event, a great town and it’s just fun racing. It’s door-to-door. It’s not for the weak.
“You can’t cry when you get spun out and your fenders are getting ripped off. It’s just a blast. You can’t believe how much fun it is without police chasing you.”
Extending points leads
Points leaders in the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series standings were able to extend their leads going into the final stretch of the season.
Brad Keselowski finished fourth at Montreal. The only driver to finish in the top five in all three Nationwide road-course races, Keselowski extended his advantage on Carl Edwards by 52 points, to 365, with 10 races remaining.
Edwards is the only serious challenger to Keselowski as Kyle Busch is 599 points behind and Justin Allgaier trails Keselowski by 734 points.
“Brad just showed how strong he is as a driver and the fact that he’s now run three road courses and finished inside the top five in all three is a great feat,” team owner Roger Penske said.
In the trucks, Todd Bodine finished second Friday night at Chicagoland, with challengers Ron Hornaday (third), Johnny Sauter (fourth), Aric Almirola (sixth) and Timothy Peters (21st) all finishing behind him.
With eight races left in the season, Bodine has a 236-point edge on Almirola, a 303-point lead on Sauter, 325 points on Peters and 328 on defending series champion Hornaday.
Gordon feeling good about Atlanta
Jeff Gordon, riding a 53-race winless streak, says this week’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway could be his best opportunity to return to victory lane.
The four-time champion’s not exactly been on a tear of late, finishing outside the top 10 in three of his past five starts, but historically, he’s been rock-solid on the 1.54-mile layout. His 18th-place finish there earlier this year, the result of a tire wear issue for his Hendrick Motorsports team, was his first outside the top 10 since 2007, and he’s finished 12th or better in his last nine starts there.
“I’m really looking forward to going to Atlanta,” Gordon said after his recent 11th-place finish at Bristol. “I think we’ve got a great shot to win there.”
Gordon’s a four-time winner at AMS, trailing only Bobby Labonte (six) and Bill Elliott (five).
He’s been second in the Sprint Cup point standings for the past seven races, but likely will be at least 50 points in the hole come Chase time unless he can pick up a win in at least one of the two final races leading up to the 10-race championship battle. His Bristol finish locked the team into the Chase, earning him his sixth career postseason appearance.
“We’ve had a heck of a season,” Gordon said. “Very consistent runs and strong runs. We haven’t won yet, [but] I still think we have a heck of a shot at the championship.
“Right now we are focused on wins and bonus points.”
