While Saturday’s rain-shortened NASCAR Nationwide Series race had a historical significance, it also had an eventful outcome for part-time driver Boris Said.
Said was credited with a fifth-place finish—by far his best result of the season which has been riddled with an abundance of bad luck.
“It’s been a tough season—I’m pretty happy about finishing fifth—we didn’t have a mark on our car,” offered Said, who drove the No. 25 No Fear Energy/Advance Auto Parts Ford Fusion for Team Rensi Motorsports.
The Nationwide road race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was flooded with a number of storylines due to the inclement weather that surrounded the Montreal area.
The biggest story was that it was the first time that rain tires were used in a NASCAR race. But the treaded rubber that replaced the conventional slicks could not withstand the heavy rain and standing water on the 2.71-mile road course. And after 48 of the scheduled 74 laps NASCAR called the event.
“That was the right decision by NASCAR,” explained Said. “All in all, I’m surprised how well everyone did and how few accidents there were. In the end, people were wrecking under caution because you just couldn’t see. The cars were hydroplaning.”
Said qualified seventh and maintained his position in the top 10 until he made an unscheduled pit stop for a suspension adjustment. He dropped to 28th place and fought his way back to 10th by Lap 41.
“We made a mistake,” noted Said. “The rules are so new we thought NASCAR was going to let us decide when to put dries (tires) on. So, we gambled on it drying out and put a full dry set-up in the car. We weren’t set up best for the rain, but all in all, it was a good day. I had a blast driving our No Fear Energy/Advance Auto Parts Ford Fusion.”
“We just had a terrible string of bad luck this year so today’s result is going to give us a big lift heading to Watkins Glen next week,” added Said, who had not finished a race this season in five previous events, including two Sprint Cup, one Nationwide and two sports car races. “It feels really good to walk away with a top-five finish.”
Said is planning to pull double duty next weekend at the Watkins Glen International road course in upstate New York. He is entered in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup events. He will drive the No. 52 7-Eleven Slurpee/No Fear Energy Ford for Jimmy Means Racing in the Nationwide race and the No. 60 7-Eleven Slurpee/No Fear Energy Ford in the Cup event for No Fear Racing.
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