Boris Said drove one of Greg Biffle's former cars Saturday at Daytona. Credit: Autostock

Said's week of surprises ends with another

Road-course expert scores stunning top-five run in Pepsi 400

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Daytona International Speedway has always been friendly to underdogs, but this is ridiculous.

Boris Said, driving in just his second race for his newly formed No Fear Racing outfit, nearly won the Pepsi 400 on Saturday after a brilliant call to stay out with 10 laps to go.

Boris Said led nine laps Saturday at Daytona. Credit: Autostock

Official Results Pepsi 400 Pos. Driver Make 1. T. Stewart Chevrolet 2. Ky. Busch Chevrolet 3. Ku. Busch Dodge 4. B. Said Ford 5. M. Kenseth Ford 6. E. Sadler Ford 7. C. Mears Dodge 8. J. McMurray Ford 9. K. Harvick Chevrolet 10. C. Bowyer Chevrolet • Complete results, click here • Official standings, click here Victory LaneTony Stewart celebrates after winning the Pepsi 400! Final lapsThe Pepsi 400 at Daytona ends in a three-lap shootout Late-race wreckJ. Gordon gets the worst of a late-race pileup at Daytona Lowe's turns highJimmie Johnson gets loose and collects Bobby Labonte Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

Said wound up fourth, easily a career high on an oval. The finish comes on the heels of a ninth-place finish in the team's debut at Sonoma last weekend.

"For the first time in my life, I am speechless," said Said, who led nine laps. "I was really good in the draft. On old tires I was really fast, so Frankie [Stoddard] made a great call at the end."

"It is like a win. It is the biggest thing I've ever accomplished in racing."

The top-10 finish was expected at Sonoma, but not the most talented of psychic could imagine that Said would threaten to win on an oval. Even Said, who won the Bud Pole on Friday, said he hoped his team could merely secure a lead-lap finish and keep the car intact.

Despite Said's modest goals, the Bud Pole turned out to be far from a fluke. Said spent only 19 laps in the top 10, as his inexperience on ovals hid the fact that his Ford was among the fastest in the field.

The race was just Said's 10th on a Nextel Cup oval.

Said overshot his pits early and had to battle all night long for track position, but when the caution flag waved with 10 laps to go, crew chief Frankie Stoddard pounced at the chance to get it all back.

Stoddard kept Said on the track during the final round of stops, and Said held the lead as late as Lap 157. It took a Chevrolet freight train of Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch to steal the race away.

Stoddard has made the call to stay out late in Daytona before. In 2004, when he was crew chief for rookie Scott Wimmer, Stoddard kept Wimmer on the track during a late caution. Wimmer wound up third, a career best.

"The car was that good. We were riding back there," said Stoddard. "[Boris] overshot the pit and got us behind. We had been super fast from 25 laps on the run to 35. The car was just perfectly balanced.

"It was an easy call to stay out. He drove the heck out of it in the end. A little more experience, we win the race."

Stoddard and Said started No Fear Racing from scratch, leasing cars from Roush Racing in exchange for technical help. Said helps Roush Racing by providing its young drivers with road racing expertise, and Roush stocks Said with cars, engines and a pit crew.

The car Said finished fourth with at Daytona is one of Greg Biffle's former cars. Stoddard tweaked the body and took it to the wind tunnel.

Despite the back-to-back top-10s, Stoddard isn't sure if the team can add more races to its thin schedule. They currently plan on running Indianapolis and Watkins Glen.

The team has just seven employees, and Said and Stoddard have found themselves doing such tasks as submitting logo designs to NASCAR and ordering crewmen's uniforms. They are looking to sponsor SoBe to up the ante on its small sponsorship.

"Sell more cases, get more races," said Stoddard.