Allstate 400 at the Brickyard - Boris Said Notes

RIGHT BOUNCE OF PING PONG BALL COULD ADD TO BORIS SAID’S WORLDLY STATURE

INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 2, 2005) – Le Mans (France), Suzuka (Japan), Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), Silverstone (Britain), Nurburgring, (Germany), Daytona (United States), Valencia (Spain), Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (Mexico), Mosport Park (Canada) and Monza (Italy). These are some of the world-renowned racetracks that Boris Said has competed on.

But what is missing from Said’s resume of motorsports facilities is arguably the world’s most famous auto racing venue – Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). And if Said is going to add IMS to his platinum-elite list of tracks, he might need the right bounce of a ping pong ball to qualify for Sunday’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

"I've been fortunate to have raced at some of the most famous tracks in the world, but never at Indy," noted Said. "It would be a dream come true to race on that historic 2.5-mile oval."

A part-time racer in the Nextel Cup Series, Said's No. 36 CENTRIX Financial team doesn't have the owner points required to receive one of the 35 automatic qualified berths. He, along with approximately 20 other drivers, will be vying for the eight remaining spots that will make up the 43-car starting field for Sunday's race at the Brickyard.

"History will tell you the earlier you make a qualifying run on Saturday morning, the faster you will go," offered Said. "So, whoever gets a low numbered ping pong ball in the qualifying draw will have a big advantage."

The Nextel Cup draw, which uses numbered ping pong balls to determine the qualifying order, is scheduled for Friday at 12:30 p.m. The two-lap qualifying session is slated for Saturday, beginning at 10:10 a.m. In between the draw and qualifying will be two practice sessions on Friday afternoon.

"I've seen track temperatures increase at Indy by 20 degrees from the start to the end of qualifying," said crew chief Frank Stoddard. "I've also seen temperatures only increase by five degrees. But under normal conditions, the earlier the draw at Indy, the better off you'll be. It’s going to be a challenge, especially with some top-notch veterans battling for those eight remaining spots."

The Brickyard race will be the seventh Nextel Cup race Said will enter this season. He has qualified his No. 36 CENTRIX Financial Chevrolet in all of the races except the May 29th Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte.

"If we can only get that ping pong ball to bounce in our favor, I would have a better shot of adding Indianapolis Motor Speedway to my select list of racetracks," explained Said, who won last week's Trans Am race in San Jose, Calif.

Said, known for his road-racing prowess, has 18 career NASCAR Cup starts -- 10 on road courses and eight on ovals. His first Cup race was in Watkins Glen, N.Y. in 1999.