Auto Racing Insider Pete Pistone Posted Wednesday, April 23, 2008
It's hard not to root for Boris Said.
The personable, opinionated and flamboyant driver has been part of the NASCAR scene for more than a decade and has carved out quite a niche as one of the sport's underdogs.
A road racing specialist by trade, Said has driven in all three of NASCAR's top divisions and has proven he can be a contender on both oval tracks as well as road circuits.
He has become a popular cult figure in the NASCAR world with a legion of so-called "Said Heads" popping up, wearing wigs copying his trademark long and bushy hairstyle.
But Said's reputation hit a major speed bump the last few days after an incident with Marcos Ambrose in last Sunday's Nationwide Series race in Mexico City.
Marcos Ambrose made contact with the rear of Said's car on a lap 55 restart on the twisting Mexican road circuit, an incident that KO'd Said from the race.
Said was hopping mad and waved wildly at Ambrose as he passed by the wreckage under caution and later went down pit road to air his feelings at the Australian driver's crew chief.
"Just cheap-shotted me and took me out," Said said. "He hooked my left rear in turn one. He had me sideways for a while and then just turned me around. ... I'm not going to cry about it, but I'm going to go apologize to his crew chief because it's going to cost him a car."
Heat of the moment type stuff and certainly somewhat expected given the emotional nature of the situation.
But on Tuesday night's "NASCAR Now" show, Said continued his ranting and crossed the line from emotional and disappointed to classless.
Both drivers appeared on the program via a split screen satellite hook-up and Ambrose, wearing a Said Head wig, apologized for what had happened, going out of his way to say how much respect he had for Said as a driver and a person.
But Said refused to relent on his accusations or accept the apology, choosing to continue his rant and to throw more insults at Ambrose.
What made the segment even a bit more uncomfortable is the fact that Said is a regular contributor to the show. When he does return as a commentator rather than a guest, his remarks and actions will certainly color many viewers' opinions of Said in his television personality role..
Letting NASCAR drivers speak their minds and show their emotions is vital to the sport's appeal.
But once again, this is a case when a driver went too far.
It's surprising that this time it was Said, who has shown great restraint and class during other trying times during his NASCAR career, such as the time his potential pole-winning run at Daytona was wiped out by rain coming before qualifying was complete.
Maybe it was the water or a bad taco in Mexico, but for whatever reason this week Said seems to have wigged out.
