WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. -- It's not a surprise to see Boris Said at Watkins Glen International for Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race -- he's attempted to qualify every year since 1999 -- but what is a surprise is he is feeling little, if any, pressure to perform.

Said will take control of Red Bull Racing's No. 83 Toyota for this weekend's events at The Glen and, for the first time, knows he will be in the 43-car field come Sunday afternoon.

“

To be associated with a team like Red Bull, they have a lot of resources and it's definitely my best chance [to win] in a long time.

”

-- BORIS SAID

"My mind is so at ease," Said said Friday before practice. "The last couple of years I've always run my own car, I've always run it on a small budget. I don't think I had a bad car ... now I'm with a team that I don't have to worry about qualifying. They have a lot of resources and a pit crew that works every single weekend; I think I have a little better chance [than in years' past]."

Despite the added stress of having to qualify on time, Said has made all but two races at Watkins Glen since 1999. He has an average finish of 23.1 with an eighth-place run in 2001 and a third-place effort in '05. But, for the most part, Said hasn't been a real threat at the 2.45-mile road course. He hopes not having to be consumed so much with qualifying can change that.

"The biggest thing is the weather, not worrying about the weather and [qualifying] getting rained out," Said said. "And then after the weather and you know it's going to be sunny, you start worrying about, 'don't screw up, don't screw up.' When I qualify, I qualify at like 85 percent to try and get in the top 20 and I'm happy. So [Saturday], I'm gonna try to qualify the most aggressive I can be and if I spin, I spin -- if I don't, hopefully I'll be in the top 10."

Said posted a top-10 finish in the other road-course event this season, an eighth at Sonoma in June. That race featured some of the most aggressive driving on a road course in recent memory and Said was right in the middle of it.

"At Infineon, when I was leading I was trying to go easy, just play it safe and I ended up getting beat up on two restarts and got knocked back," Said said. "You know you either have to be the bug or you have to be the windshield. You have to be aggressive and that's almost a preventative thing."

Said expects more of the same aggressiveness Sunday, and with the Chase looming just five races away, it could get even crazier.

"It was so aggressive on those restarts. It was fun but definitely there were a lot of tempers flying afterward and I don't think it will be any different here," Said said. "It's coming to crunch time where there's only five races until the Chase so there's some people that have to make something happen. I think once the pay window starts to open when it gets down to like 10 laps to go, people are gonna drive and take a lot more chances.

"I keep that in the back of my head -- that I gotta be a little careful with the guys that are trying to get in the Chase and the guys trying to win the championship. At the same time, I'm hired to do a job and I got to drive at 100 percent. I can't back down so it's a tough situation."

Pit strategy is another issue that could change the way Sunday's race is run. Said admitted that planning out a race was much easier before the recent rule changes were created for more in-race excitement.

"You try to do [two pit stops] but it was a lot easier to figure in the past," Said said. "With the new restart rules and the green-white-checkered -- there could be three green-white-checkereds -- and with the double-file restarts that usually brings another restart because they are pretty crazy.

"I think that makes it a lot harder for the crew chief and I wouldn't want to be a crew chief to pick when you come in for gas because you've got about a 10-lap window that you need in case that happens."

Jimmy Elledge is the one who has to make those difficult decisions, but with Said behind the wheel, Elledge admitted there are challenges more challenging than what's on the surface.

"It's definitely an honor to work with a guy like him," Elledge said. "I feel fortunate to work with two veteran road racers in the same season with Matias [Ekstrom] at Sonoma and Boris here. But it carries some responsibility because the expectations are high.

"He can obviously get it done on his end, so we gotta do our job on our end and get it right. It's been fun, I wouldn't say easy so far, but its been conclusive."

Elledge agreed with Said that pit strategy has become more complex at a place like Watkins Glen then in years' past.

"It's difficult because you basically make a plan and commit to it before you have any idea what the outcome is going to be -- the more scared you are before you do it, typically the better chances you have of running great," Elledge said. "The flip side of that is it's the first time I've had a guy that I haven't had to feel like I've inherited all the responsibility for [making up] all the track position."

Said has proven in nine Watkins Glen starts that he can work his way through the field. But he doesn't believe he has an advantage because of his road-course prowess. In fact, he thinks he's at a disadvantage to the rest of the field.

"I've been in a car very little this year. I didn't test this car," Said said. "I think 10 years ago I could say I have a lot of tricks but now everyone has caught up and the level of competition is so deep, I wish I had a trick.

"It's an uphill battle. There are so many of those guys that put the effort in, the testing and figuring out road racing -- these guys are still the best in the business."

Even though the competition has improved, Said knows this is his best opportunity for his first Cup victory -- and he is going to do everything he can to grab it.

"People call us road-course ringers -- I don't see where they come up with that name considering a ringer has never won. I like to be good, I want people to say, 'He did a great job and I'd like to have him back again,'" Said said. "To be associated with a team like Red Bull, they have a lot of resources and it's definitely my best chance [to win] in a long time."