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  • Matty’s Picks – Vol. 7 – Infineon – June 26, 2011

    Matty’s Picks – Vol. 7 – Infineon – June 26, 2011

    Matty’s Picks
    Vol. 7 – Infineon – June 26, 2011

    Its time to go road racing for the first time in the 2011. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series makes its next stop in Sonoma, California on Sunday for the first of two road courses on the 2011 Cup schedule.

    [media-credit name=”InfineonRaceway.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]California is home to the highest and lowest points in elevation in the Continental United States, and surprisingly both points are within 100 miles of one another. Mount Whitney in the Eastern Sierras measures 14,495 feet while Bad Water located in the hottest and driest place in the US, Death Valley, is 282 feet below sea level.

    Now, the debate still rambles on what is missing from The Chase. I am an extreme advocate for a road-course race to be ran during the last ten races of the season. Road-courses show a driver’s true talent with the constant shifting, breaking, right and left corners, and the overall toughness of a driver behind the wheel.

    Infineon makes the most sense for a race in The Chase just because of the weather there during Chase season. The other road course on the schedule, Watkins Glen International, happens to be my home track, and has been known to see snowfall during the last ten weeks of the NASCAR season. The only other option would be to add another road course like Barber Motorsports Park, Road Atlanta, or a true test the brand new Circuit of the Americas being built for next year’s US Grand Prix just outside of Austin. Nonetheless, to really make The Chase complete, a road-course must be added if for nothing else, another wild card race.

    Michigan Recap

    I won’t spend too much time on my recap of last week in this week’s picks because my picks last week were less than impressive. I scored no imaginary points last week for myself and my top finisher was shown 14th when the checkered flag flew Sunday afternoon. Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne both had a decent runs going very early, but fell out of the Top 10 in the running order by lap 50. The action picked back up by the mid-way point in the race, Harvick and Kahne battled each other for a Top 5 spot around lap 100. Kahne would eventually make it to fifth before his pitfall of the race came on lap 155 when he ran his car out of fuel. He would make it to pit road, but struggled getting his car fired and sat in his pit box for over a minute before his car finally started once again. Kahne would go on to finish one lap down in 28th, netting me zero points. Harvick lasted a bit longer towards the front, but would eventually hit the wall around lap 182, and bring his Chevy home 14th, also netting me zero points.

    Infineon Picks

    I’m a bit torn this week on defining what a Dark Horse is on a road course. I would like to say that it’s a guy that nobody sees coming, sort of like pole-sitter Joey Logano. I sure didn’t see him starting up front tomorrow when I started this column on Thursday Afternoon. Kudos to him for surprising everyone with the pole.

    For my Dark Horse pick this week I have to play a little track-position game and go with a guy that has not won on a road course. Clint Boyer does have two Top 5’s at Sonoma and also boasts an average finish of 12.6. Bowyer starts ninth on Sunday and was 14th quickest in practice on Friday. Starting up front at a road course can set the pace for the entire race, and Bowyer has given himself a spot in the Top 10 for Sunday.

    The Thunder from Down Under, Marcos Ambrose is my pick to win this Sunday at Infineon. He starts one position in front of Bowyer in eighth and has an astounding record on road courses. Ambrose has an average finish of 9.8 in all his starts on road courses, with four Top 5’s in just six starts. Ambrose was born to drive on road courses and is utterly familiar with left and right turns from his days of Supercar Racing in Australia. He’s got a great car and a great starting spot on Sunday, so watch for him to finish towards the front.

    Stay tuned for next week’s preview as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads back to Florida to go night racing once again at Daytona. Until next time…..you stay classy ROAD COURSE NATION.

  • Boris Said Says ‘I’m Back’

    Boris Said Says ‘I’m Back’

    Boris Said has just two words to share with his fans, dubbed ‘Said heads’ in honor of the curly wigs they wear to mimic their driver’s mane. “I’m back,” Said said to his fans. “And I hope you didn’t forget me.”

    [media-credit name=”Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”217″][/media-credit]After being absent since August of last year, Said will be taking over for young up-and-coming driver Landon Cassill in the No. 51 Security Benefit/Thank A Teacher Today Chevrolet. Said will be proudly representing one of his favorite people, James Finch, and his team Phoenix Racing on the road course in Sonoma.

    Cassill who had his career best finish in the 12th position last weekend in the Irish hills of Michigan, will return to the helm of his race car the following weekend at Daytona.

    “I’m pretty excited about it,” Said said. “Landon is not a road course guy and they’re not running for points so they decided to put me in.”

    “I’m in a Hendrick car owned by James Finch,” Said continued. “I ran for him in Mexico City in the Nationwide Series and had a blast with him.”

    “I haven’t been in a car since last August so I’m chomping at the bit to get in and drive one.”

    Although off the NASCAR Cup circuit for some time, Said has been keeping busy in other areas of racing. He also has entered a whole new phase of his life, with a ‘real job’ as he terms it, as well as a new partner to boot.

    “The biggest thing I’ve been doing is the Grand Am Rolex Series,” Said said. “My other big thing is that I was awarded a BMW franchise, the first one in ten years that BMW has awarded.”

    “We’ve been open two weeks and one day,” Said continued. “And my partner is Rick Hendrick, so that’s really exciting working with him.”

    “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d be a partner with Rick Hendrick,” Said advised. “So, I’ve been working a real job which has been pretty fun.”

    “I guess they’ll let me out of the dealership for the race,” Said said.

    What has Said missed most about being behind the wheel?  Simply the roar of the engines according to this road course racer, as well as the thrill of the competition.

    “It’s a blast feeling the horsepower,” Said shared. “It’s a blast racing with those guys.”

    “They are a bunch of animals and it’s so much fun,” Said continued. “I’ve always wished I could do it full-time but I’ve always cherished every race I get to do.”

    “I can’t wait to go out and start driving.”

    Said has been keeping up with the action on the track throughout the time that he has been away. And he realizes that at Sonoma, there will be plenty of action, especially with the double file restarts.

    “Especially at Infineon, I don’t think there’s a more exciting track to have those double file restarts,” Said advised. “The first couple of times that I did it, I had to be cautious and I just got run over. So, there’s no other way but to be aggressive.”

    “I always hear that ‘you only run one race and you shouldn’t mess with the regulars, blah, blah blah’,” Said continued. “But the fact is that James Finch is a regular and he pays me to do a job. I want to be as aggressive as I can no matter who I’m racing with.”

    While Said knows that the competition will be fierce, he is hoping that the final outcome will not be decided on fuel mileage, as so many races have recently.

    “I hope it doesn’t come down to fuel mileage,” Said said. “That’s not my style. But I would take it any way I could.”

    “I’ve been there and I’ve been the fastest car and then have had really bad luck,” Said continued. “It just takes so much to get a good finish in one of those races, whether it’s pit stops or knowing when to pit or not to pit, or getting involved with somebody. There’s so much that can go wrong.”

    Said is most grateful that he will not have to qualify in on time. Finch’s Phoenix Racing car is firmly locked into the show.

    “The last time we had that opportunity, I was in the Army car and I sat on the pole,” Said advised. “To not have that pressure feels so good.”

    Does Said see himself as that ‘road course ringer’?

    “You know I don’t like that term,” Said shared. “But I think it’s good because at least people are talking about us.”

    “The thing is that no part-time guy has ever won a Cup race,” Said continued. “But it’s still possible. Is it likely? No. It’s a long shot but it’s a long shot for lots of guys.”

    “I’m hoping that I can be competitive and I’m going to try my hardest to be competitive,” Said advised. “We’ve always run in the top-10 there and when that happens, you never know.”

    “You can always get lucky,” Said continued. “And I hope I can put on a good show.”