Credit: Donald Miralle/Getty Images

Conversation: Boris Said

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- Boris Said has a love-hate relationship with Watkins Glen International.

It's a track where he feels he excels. In fact, he hopes he'll score his first Nextel Cup victory there.

However, despite his road-racing expertise, his best finish there so far has been eighth in 2001. Weather has also not been in his favor, as he's missed the race twice -- including last season -- because qualifying was rained out.

During the Allstate 400 weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Said answered a few questions about Watkins Glen, road racing and his ability to seemingly switch effortlessly between very different racing machinery.

How has Watkins Glen International changed this year and how might that affect the racing?

Boris Said on his dream date with Angelina Jolie Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

Boris Said: I don't really think it's changed that much. There's no gravel in Turn 1, it's asphalt, so that might make for less full-course cautions. A lot of people will go down in there and drive away.

They (also) cut the curbs down in the chicanes in the inner loop. I think it'll be a little easier and you can probably run two-by-two through there now. I think it'll just make people a little braver through there now.

How do you attack Watkins Glen differently than, say, another road course like Sears Point?

Sears Point is a lot more finesse and you're always trying to manage the tires and wheel spin. There's no real straighaways there, it's just corners and a lot of off-camber.

Watkins Glen for these cars, you can be a lot more aggressive and the tires don't go away and it's really fast, high-speed corners and you've got to be really good on the brakes.

So it's not as technical a racetrack as Sears Point?

It's just a different kind of technique. Sears Point's a slower speed but more finesse and technical on the gas pedal, while Watkins Glen is faster, you've got to hit your marks and you've got to be really good on the brakes.

What's your favorite memory of Watkins Glen?

	Credit: Autostock
	BORIS SAID •   Driver Page •   10 Questions: Said •   Follow Team CENTRIX

Probably my most memorable Trans-Am race ever in my career. I had a race with Dorsey Schroeder and we probably hit each other about 15 times and they had a rule then that if you hit somebody and they spun out, you had to go behind them.

We kept hitting each other and every time I hit him, I'd say, "Don't you spin! Don't you spin!" He was saying the same thing about me. It was a pretty fun race.

I finished second and it was a riot. Afterwards I thought, "He's going to come over and want to fight or he's going to come over here laughing." And he came over laughing. It was a good memory.

It's also the first place I ran a Winston Cup car there, when I helped Jimmy Spencer out in 1998. I love going there.

Is there a memory you'd like to forget?

When Irvan-Simo went there the first time, I qualified second and actually was running good enough for a top-two finish and the engine let go. That was heartbreaking and something I'll never forget.

The weather's never been good to me there. In the last four years, I've missed the race twice because they've canceled qualifying, so I love it and I hate it.

I love everything about it when I get the to run but the weather's been bad to me there, so hopefully this year it'll be good to me.

The more you've run these cars, do you get more used to how they handle, especially in road courses?

I think so. I've run five races this year and I just feel a lot better than I ever have. I feel like I'm getting better and better every time I get in the cars, and as long as I can keep doing that, I feel good about it. If I go to a race and feel like I haven't learned something or improved, then I'll get pretty down on myself.

We were in a position to maybe win or finish second at Infineon Raceway and I just hope we can take all that back next week and be in the same position.

How difficult is it to switch back and forth between like Trans-Am sports cars and Nextel Cup stock cars?

The last two years, I did all three races at Infineon where you get in the Trans-Am car, then the Nextel Cup car, and in the Southwest Tour car. And all three cars are completely different. It's as different as if you were on the driving range hitting golf balls and then suddenly decided to go into the batting cage and hit baseballs.

If you don't think like that, you'll have problems, either going off the road, or wheel hop it or you sure wouldn't be good.