JGR hires familiar super-sub for Kyle Busch
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| Boris Said |
As many a NASCAR wheelman will attest — Dale Earnhardt Jr. being amongst the foremost — Boris Said helped them learn the abstract art of hustling — and racing — a lumbering 3,400-pound race car around the road courses of this nation.
A journeyman sports car racer for nearly two decades, Said became something of a NASCAR road-race hired gun before Jack Roush — appreciative of what Said had done for him and his road-race program — helped him set up a highly competitive satellite team back in 2006. Said ran well for the next few years before the money, as it often does, ran out and the opportunities started to vanish.
But now he's back and ready, willing and able to go racing as over the winter as Joe Gibbs Racing and sponsor Monster Energy made a collective decision to hire the 52 year-old to tail gun for Kyle Busch and the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry in seven XFINITY races this season. Certainly typecast as a road-racing ace, in a somewhat surprising move, it was also announced that Boris would compete in a host of oval races this spring and summer.
Which leads us to the daunting 32-degree high banks of Talladega Superspeedway in Saturday's Winn Dixie 300 (3 p.m. ET, FOX). For it will be there that Said will, if all goes to plan, circulate the 2.66-mile monstrosity 117 times. With a phenomenal car beneath him and one of NASCAR's premier organizations behind him, Said, who last won at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal way back in 2010, has a full-on shot at success on Bill France Sr.'s fabled tri-oval.
Eric Johnson: Just how did you land the ride with the Joe Gibbs Racing outfit?
Boris Said: It just came up. Monster was looking for a driver and a guy there named Mitch Covington asked me if I was interested. Who wouldn't be? You know that's every driver's dream. For me it's been so hard because I found out about this right before Christmas and for any driver that's probably the best Christmas present you could ever get — to be able to get a ride in the Monster Energy-sponsored Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Imagine getting the best Christmas present you ever got and then having to wait until May to play with it. I'm just beyond excited to get to Talladega and start racing.
E.J.: Why did Monster and Joe Gibbs Racing choose you to drive the No. 54 in seven races in the '15 XFINITY Series?
B.S.: You know it was really a surprise. I thought for sure at first that they wanted me for just the road races and I think I would be the logical choice for the two road courses that Kyle couldn't go to because I get called all the time to do that. I was a little surprised they picked me for the ovals. It's twofold because 1) it makes you a little nervous because you have big shoes to fill and you have a frontline car, and 2) for me, it's going to really help me to be even that much more prepared when I get to the two road-course races which I think I can have an excellent chance to win. In the past I've had good luck on the superspeedways in Cup. I had the pole and finished fourth at Daytona in 2006. Maybe with the new rules and the lack of testing available they thought a veteran would be a good pick.
E.J.: The pole you won and the upset you almost pulled off at the 2006 Pepsi 400 at Daytona was an eventful and memorable night, wasn't it?
B.S.: Yep. 2006 we sat on the pole and we ended up finishing fourth after a long race. You know back then it was the go-or-go-homers — the guys who didn't have points had to really set their car up for qualifying — and they were impound races so during the race you had to take all of the qualifying setup out and switch it back to race setup so during the course of the race you made a lot of pit stops to try and always ended up in the back and had to come all the way back through. That was a race I'll never forget, that's for sure.
E.J.: The last race you did at Talladega was the Aaron's 499 in the spring of 2007. What do you think of the track and can you do well there?
B.S.: Yeah, I mean a superspeedway is kind of a crapshoot. I love it because of the speed and how big it is. It's the biggest track NASCAR goes to and it's probably got the wildest bunch of fans. The whole atmosphere is awesome. It's the only track that has a jail on the premises so you get some pretty rowdy fans and that makes it fun. Also, on a superspeedway a lot can happen beyond your control so you need a little luck there. It's really easy to get caught up in the Big One. You can have two strategies: you can go out as hard as you can and maybe you won't be in it, or hang back and maybe won't be in it. I'm just going to go there and try and get comfortable and just race as hard as I can the whole time.
E.J.: And like you mentioned earlier, you'll have a very competitive car, won't you?
B.S.: Yeah, I mean in my whole NASCAR career I don't think I've ever had an opportunity like this and with this competitive of a team. The organization of Joe Gibbs Racing is second to none. To have a sponsor like Monster, I think Monster fits my personality. They're a little wild and they like to have fun and they're just a fantastic sponsor. Hopefully, if I drink enough Monster, it'll throw some youth back into me and give me some energy for the speed I need.
E.J.: How old are you now, Boris?
B.S.: 52.
E.J.: So you're going to be one of the older dudes out there, huh?
B.S.: Probably the oldest guy out there unless Morgan Shepherd is still dragging around. I think the oldest NASCAR winner was Harry Gant at 52 years, six months. Hopefully by the time we get to those road-course races, I'll be able to maybe get that record.
E.J.: You have been racing. Going back to 2011, you've done the Sonoma and Watkins Glen races.
B.S.: Right. I did them with low-budget teams. I hate calling them back-marker teams, but they were definitely underfunded underdog teams and so I've never really had the equipment that can compete for a win. I've also been pretty busy sports car racing the last few years. This year my commitment is to do these nine NASCAR races I'm going to do — seven with Monster — Talladega, Iowa, Chicago, Mid-Ohio, Road America and Kentucky — and hopefully the two Cup races with an underdog team.
E.J.: Have you spoken with the two guys who have driven the No. 54 car this year, namely Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin or even Kyle Busch?
B.S.: You know, it's funny I haven't talked to those guys yet. Who I've been talking to a lot actually has been Kurt Busch. We're personal friends and we play golf together and he's been running like the wind this year. He told me, "When I get to Talladega, you come see me." I think I've got a lot of people I'll be able to lean on. Once I get to Talladega I'll probably meet the other guys like Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez and hopefully I can trade out some road-racing secrets and they can help me on the ovals. I think we can be good teammates.
E.J.: How about the No 54 team and crew? Have you been able to talk with them at all?
B.S.: Yeah, I spent two days down at the shop with (crew chief) Chris Gayle and it seemed like we got along great. The one thing about my career is that I've run a lot of one-off races in NASCAR. Normally that's really hard because the communication between the driver and the crew chief is so important in how you work together. It's really hard when you do a one-off or you just show up because you don't really know each other. You don't know how tight your tight is compared to his tight and how loose your loose is so you really have to get the communication right. My whole career has been doing that. I feel really comfortable with Chris and we got along great and hopefully we can get some good results. Give me a few races to kind of get my feet back under me with driving a stock car and I think I'm going to be really prepared by the time we get to Mid-Ohio. I plan on going there and doing nothing but winning.
E.J.: For both you and all of the Said Heads out there, you must be thrilled to be back racing at this level again. I know nothing tops racing for you…
B.S.: Yeah, I mean racing is my passion. If I could just do that every day… You know this is my 28th year racing and I still feel like a little kid. I mean I eat, sleep, breathe, live and love racing. I'm like the most excited kid on Christmas Eve right now waiting to get to Talladega and getting into that Monster-sponsored car.
E.J.: And there's nothing like going back to Talladega, is there?
B.S.: At Talladega you never know what to expect. It's a pretty crazy place. If there were ever aliens living on Earth, they might be at Talladega on a Saturday in the infield. Hopefully I'll have something to celebrate after the race, like a good finish and then Saturday night I'll be in the infield with all those people having fun.
E.J.: If you win will you cut your hair?
B.S.: (Laughter) If I win, I'll let you shave my head! No problem! Eric Johnson/NASCAR.com