Road-course “ringers” are again on the top of publicity. After the announcement that Jacques Villeneuve will attempt to repeat his successful performances this year with Braun Motorsports at Zippo 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series, Boris Said’s figure is another bold-face in the Glen course listings both for the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup races. And this time Said has a A-class car to compete as he would be RedBull Brian Vickers’ replacement in the No. 83 Red Bull Racing Toyota, giving him an excellent shot at scoring his first Sprint Cup victory.
Over a dozen seasons, Said has raced succesfully in 40 Cup events. He has top finishes of third (in 2005 at Watkins Glen) and fourth (in 2006 at Daytona). In a total of 20 races at Watkins Glen and Sonoma, he has seven top 10s, but he hasn’t put himself in position to cross over into victory lane.
Boris Said commented:
"I haven’t driven the car yet, but I know the team. It’s an A-class team. They were in the Chase last year. Brian Vickers is a good friend of mine. I’ve worked with a lot of the crew guys before at MB2 racing.
I think it’s one of the best chances I’ve had, and one of the best cars. The car is in the top 35, so I know I’m going to race Sunday. That puts me in a different mood. I don’t have that mental weight on my shoulders making sure I qualify. We can work on the race setup and go for broke in qualifying."
The new realities of Cup racing – double-file restarts and the possibility of several green-white-checkered runs at the finish – have altered road-course events considerably. Teams typically run the races "backward," attempting to time fuel mileage so that they can set up pit stops perfectly, but the possibility that the races could be extended in length has modified that approach.
Said explains:
"The green-white-checkered puts a monkey wrench into that equation. There could easily be another 10 laps of racing. I still think you will see some guys, especially if they are in the Chase, gamble on it, but guys more on the cusp of making it won’t gamble on when they pit.
You have to have extra gas for the green-white-checkered. And if there’s one green-white-checkered, there could easily be three."
