'Hired guns' don't always have the best shot

SONOMA, Calif. -- Every year at Sears Point, a handful of Winston Cup teams use one-race substitutes for the event, but history has shown that these "hired guns" do not have a history of success.

Boris Said qualified 10th-fastest for Sunday's race at Sears Point. Credit: Autostock

Sunday's Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Sears Point Raceway is no exception when it comes to road-racing specialists lining up to do battle with Winston Cup regulars.

Boris Said qualified 10th in a second Jasper Motorsports Ford, and Ron Fellows will start 19th in Joe Nemechek's No. 87 Cellular One Chevrolet.

But Said and Fellows know that mere experience on road courses does not give them a clear advantage over the regulars on the curvy, hilly 1.99-mile road course.

Not when most of the drivers in the field run tens of thousands of laps a year in full-bodied 3,400-pound stock cars. That experience helps swings the edge back to the guys who race each other every Sunday.

Jeff Burton, one driver who keeps getting better and better at road racing, explains.

"We understand these cars much better than they do," Burton said. "Winston Cup racing has been on road courses for such a long time now. I think we have certainly made a lot of headway."

Nearly 30 drivers in the field on Sunday have three or more starts at Sears Point, and many of the track novices -- like Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch -- tested extensively at the track.

The crew works on Boris Said's car Friday in the Sears Point Raceway paddock. Credit: Autostock

All of which closes the gap between skill and machine.

"Jimmie Johnson tested really well, so I look for big things from him," said Fellows. "There are some awfully good road racers here."

Boris Said, who finished 11th here last year, says that NASCAR's one-lap-is-all-you-get way of qualifying takes some adjustment.

"It's hard to explain how tough this is," Said said. "Especially coming from road racing where you have 20 minutes to qualify, and here you have one lap."

This Sunday will mark Sears Point's 14th Winston Cup race -- and during that time, only Robby Gordon was able to step into a ride and score a top-five finish. He stepped into the No. 7 Ultra Motorsports Ford at Sonoma last year and finished second after giving up the lead with 11 laps to go.

Every single Winston Cup winner at Sears Point -- from Ricky Rudd in 1989 to Tony Stewart last year -- was an established Winston Cup regular with veteran race teams.

	Robby Gordon shares some information with Kevin Harvick. Credit: Autostock

"These team and driver combinations that run every weekend, it's hard to beat that," said Jeff Gordon, who won three straight Sears Point events from 1998-2000. "The guys that are up front in points always seem to find a way to get the most out of their cars."

It took Jeff Burton awhile to learn how to get around Sears Point, but he finished eighth here last year -- a career-best -- and qualified third this year.

"What made me a better road course driver is just driving the damn thing -- forgetting about the technical stuff and forgetting about hitting the apex right," Burton said.

"Just go drive."