Bad luck keeps Said, others out of the Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- For Boris Said, the slimmest of hopes Thursday afternoon turned to great expectations and became a bitter defeat in the space of three laps at Daytona International Speedway.

Said -- along with Canadian NASCAR newcomer Patrick Carpentier, who also didn't qualify -- pointed up the grueling nature of Daytona 500 qualifying. They posted the ninth- and 11th-best qualifying speeds overall; and fourth and fifth among the "go or go home" cars not locked into the race by being in the top 35 in the 2007 Cup owner points.

Wearing thin

Patrick Carpentier was one of a handful of drivers who suffered some sort of tire issue during the Gatorade Duel 150 races.

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Neither one made the Daytona 500.

Said's heartache following the Gatorade Duel 150-mile qualifying races for the 50th Daytona 500 mirrored that of Stanton Barrett, Carpentier, Sterling Marlin, Ken Schrader, A.J. Allmendinger and Jacques Villeneuve -- none of whom qualified for the "Great American Race" despite racing, for a time, in qualified positions in their respective Duels.

"It pretty much feels like I've been kicked in all the bad places," Allmendinger said. "I feel bad for myself but I really feel bad for my whole 84 team. It's good that Red Bull got one car [Vickers'] in the race, because with all the work they deserved that -- they deserved to have two cars in."

Kenny Wallace and Brian Vickers scored stunning successes in the first 150-mile qualifier, as did Dale Jarrett and John Andretti in the second.

But for the above group and the other three go-or-go-home cars: Those of Bill Elliott, Carl Long and Eric McClure; that never contended to get into the $18.6 million 500-miler, there was no silver lining to be found.

It was particularly bad for Said, who after he finished 19th in the first qualifying race, knew that David Reutimann, who had the second-best qualifying speed among the-go-or-go-homers, had to race into the field to allow Said to qualify.

To compound Said's discomfort, Reutimann was black-flagged for jumping his race's initial start. He pitted and went to the back, but was back into the top 10 and in a qualified spot by Lap 42 of 60.

But when Carpentier's right front tire blew and sent his No. 10 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge into the Turn 2 wall with less than three laps left, it set up a scenario where a number of cars, including Andretti's, could get tires.

On the last half lap, Andretti passed Reutimann and finished 10th. Said, who was none-too-pleased after a tire problem in his own race set him back, was beside himself -- but still at his trailer -- nearly half an hour after the second checkered flag. (Continued)