Boris Said pulled off an incredible victory in Sunday’s NAPA Auto Parts 200 Nationwide Series race after edging Max Papis by inches at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Said passed Robby Gordon for the lead just after the final restart in a green- white-checkered finish. Papis moved around Said to take the top position on the final lap, but Said outran Papis to the finish line by 0.012 seconds, making it the fifth closest margin of victory in series history.
“[Papis] went in deep, and I thought ‘Alright, I’m second’,” Said explained. “It was good and really clean racing.”
Said picked up his first Nationwide win in his 22nd start. He won a Truck Series race in 1998 at Sonoma, CA. MiamiHerald.com
Jacques Villeneuve, son of the late Gilles Villeneuve and local Montreal hero, finished third in his No. 32 Braun Racing Toyota. Completing the top five were series points leader Brad Keselowski in a Penske Dodge and Paul Menard’s Roush Fenway Ford.
“It’s unbelievable,” Said noted. “I’ve been trying so long and this race is so tough.”
Said and Papis, two road racers who have struggled to gain a toe-hold in NASCAR, staged a epic last-lap duel, racing hard and clean for the victory.
“It was just awesome,” Said enthused. “It was good racing, really clean racing. Max is a great guy.”
Papis, although denied victory, scored his career-best NNS finish. “I gave everything I had,” said Papis. “ ... This is what I can do in a good car and I’m really proud.” FOXNews
The race that gave pole-sitter Marcos Ambrose another heartbreak (he retired with an electrical problem after leading 25 laps) turned on a bad break—literally—for defending winner Edwards, who led a race-high 29 laps before breaking the track bar on his No. 60 Ford as a caution flew with eight laps left in regulation.
Edwards held a lead of almost three seconds over Gordon when Michael Annett slid into the Turn 4 wall to cause the fifth caution of the race, ending a green-flag run of 42 laps.
Two more late cautions forced overtime and prolonged the race enough to empty Gordon’s fuel tank. Gordon led the field to the green flag for a restart on Lap 76 but coasted to a stop before completing the circuit. He finished 14th.
But it was the drag race to the finish between Said and Papis that had the more than 70,000 fans on their feet. NASCAR.com
Click Here to Read More:
NASCAR Nationwide Series: Napa Auto Parts 200 in Montreal - Race Results
| 
|