Boris Said

MEXICO CITY (April 20, 2008) -- Boris Said's day ended abruptly in Mexico City. While running in eighth place and making a charge to the front, Said's No. 25 Ford Fusion got wrecked with 26 laps remaining in Sunday's NASCAR Nationwide Series road race.

Said, who had claimed top-five finishes in the last three Nationwide races at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez road course, was credited with a frustrating 35th-place result.

The blow that caused Said to retire from the race prematurely came on Lap 54 of 80 when Marcos Ambrose tagged Said's No Fear Energy/Advance Auto parts Ford as it was exiting Turn 1.

"We were in great position," offered Said, who qualified fifth. "Marcos Ambrose just cheap shotted me and took me out. He either made a mistake or he's incredibly stupid. He hooked my left rear in turn one. He had me sideways for a while and then just turned me around. I’m disappointed for everybody at No Fear, Advanced Auto Parts, Smithfield Foods and Rensi Racing."

“Well, there’s bumping and banging and then there’s cheap shots and that was a cheap shot," added Said. "Everything else that I saw was good, clean, hard, rough racing.”

Said did not suffer any injuries in the accident, but his car was totaled as it was towed to the garage.

Ambrose, who finished second, was apologetic for the miscue. “If I could take it back, I would. I didn’t mean to get into Boris."

Said, who promised to shave his afro locks if he had won the event, overcame a couple of incidents early in the race when his car drifted off the course on Laps 10 and 25.

"We were competitive up until we got wrecked," noted Said. "Everyone on this team has worked so hard. That incident with Ambrose just ruined everything for us today."

Said's next NASCAR race will be the June 22nd Sprint Cup event at Infineon Raceway road course in Sonoma, Calif.