mental
08-16-2011, 01:41 AM
By JOHN KEKIS, AP Sports Writer
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP)—Boris Said touched off a wild crash that ended the Sprint Cup road race at Watkins Glen International. He was looking to wreak some more havoc off the track afterward.
Greg Biffle, who finished 31st, confronted Said in the pits afterward and gave him a couple of quick hits while Said was still in his car.
“He wouldn’t even let me get out of the car. He comes over and throws a few little baby punches and then when I get out, he runs away and hides behind some big guys,” Said said. “He is the most unprofessional little scaredy-cat I’ve ever seen in my life. He wouldn’t even fight me like a man after. He needs a whooping, and I’m going to give it to him. He won’t hide from me long. I’ll find him.
“I won’t settle it on the track … but he’ll show up at a race with a black eye one of these days.”
Biffle finished a lap down and well behind Said. Said relayed a message to Biffle’s spotter that he wanted to meet Biffle after the race.
“I think Biffle has had a problem with Boris from a previous race, so leading into this race they already had some aggression toward each other,” said Nick Harrison, crew chief for Said’s No. 51 Chevy. “Early in the race, Biffle had run out of gas and was multiple laps down and was racing Boris.”
The rain-delayed race won by Marcos Ambrose ended with a violent crash entering the second turn. Said appeared to touch the back of David Ragan’s No. 6 Ford, and Ragan slammed David Reutimann’s 00 Toyota, which then caromed off one guardrail, flipped, and slid back across the track upside down while Ragan slammed head-on into the barrier.
Biffle used his Twitter page to respond to Said’s remarks.
“Boris,’the roadcourse ringer’ caused that wreck,” he posted on his page, later adding. “Then Mr. Class pulls in behind my truck after the race today?! Shouldn’t you go check on David & David? How unprofessional & disrespectful!”
Ragan said the accident was typical considering the mad dash that develops in the closing laps of most races.
“It’s just a product of close-quarters racing at the end,” said Ragan, who had rallied nicely after running out of fuel early in the race and was ready to move on. “I felt like I had Boris clear, and I think he got a little better run than we did and just hooked us. He certainly could have given a little more of a break and we all could have gotten through there. But he was aggressive. We were all aggressive.”
Both were treated at the track and released.
“Something flew in there and got hold of my shin and ate it up a little bit,” Reutimann said. “Just not a very good day for us, but that’s just how it goes.”
Said, a road racer who doesn’t have a regular Cup ride, was competing in only his second race this season. He finished 22nd, one spot ahead of Ragan.
“It was crazy,” Said said. “I mean, the last lap, (Ragan) was getting into me a lot. I didn’t want to wreck him, but I had to stay on track and he didn’t give me any room. I’m more upset with Greg Biffle.”
PETTY’S GOOD DAY: Marcos Ambrose gave Richard Petty Motorsports a big jolt by winning the Sprint Cup road race at Watkins Glen International on Monday in his No. 9 Ford.
It was a banner day for the struggling team because teammate AJ Allmendinger finished eighth after starting on the front row. Trouble is, it might have been even better if not for some aggressive driving by Kurt Busch on the 11-turn, 2.45-mile layout.
Allmendinger, who had five road victories in the old CART open-wheel series before jumping to NASCAR, took the lead from polesitter Kyle Busch on the first lap and stayed out front for the first eight laps.
Kurt Busch spun out on the fourth lap and suffered damage to his left front end, had to pit and fell a lap down when Allmendinger passed him in the chicane two laps later.
Kurt Busch then closed to the bumper of the No. 43 Ford and slammed Allmendinger into the grass in the chicane on the ninth lap, giving the lead to Ambrose and sending Allmendinger plummeting through the field.
“I know what he’s trying to do, trying to get back on the lead lap,” Allmendinger said. “I’m just proud of the way we fought back all day.”
CHASING ANOTHER ROAD RACE: NASCAR president Mike Helton says there are no plans to put a road race in the Chase, but the question always surfaces when Sprint Cup makes its annual stop at Watkins Glen International.
Just the mention of that possibility piques the interest of many drivers nowadays because the road-racing skills in the garage have improved dramatically in the past decade.
The Chase is dominated by intermediate tracks of 1.5 miles, and something completely different makes sense to Jeff Gordon.
“In order to make the Chase fully complete and find out the true best team, the only thing that I think we’re missing in the Chase is a road course,” said the four-time Cup champion, whose nine road course victories are a NASCAR record. “I think it’s pretty complete right now, but if you wanted to just look at one little thing it was missing, it would be a road course. As exciting as the road courses have been lately with these double-file restarts, I think the fans would be for it as well, where in the past you haven’t seen that kind of action.”
SUMMER SHOWDOWN: With his Cup win Monday at Watkins Glen International, Marcos Ambrose joined Paul Menard and Brad Keselowski in the Sprint Summer Showdown.
The Summer Showdown puts $3 million on the line for drivers, their charities and one lucky fan in a six-race competition. Any driver who wins between Indianapolis and Bristol will become a finalist for the Labor Day weekend race in Atlanta.
If one of those eligible drivers wins Atlanta, the driver, the driver’s charity, and a fan each collect $1 million.
Fans can enter for their shot at the big bucks each week at
www.sprint.com/speed.
Ambrose also qualified for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
SPARK PLUGS: Five-time Cup champ Jimmie Johnson has only one win after 22 races, and he’s not surprised: “It’s much different than years past. There’s no favorite. They’ve worked hard to build parity into this sport and they’re doing a great job of it.” … Nineteen of the 29 Cup races at Watkins Glen have been won from a top-five starting position … “Man v. Food Nation” star Adam Richman served as grand marshal.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP)—Boris Said touched off a wild crash that ended the Sprint Cup road race at Watkins Glen International. He was looking to wreak some more havoc off the track afterward.
Greg Biffle, who finished 31st, confronted Said in the pits afterward and gave him a couple of quick hits while Said was still in his car.
“He wouldn’t even let me get out of the car. He comes over and throws a few little baby punches and then when I get out, he runs away and hides behind some big guys,” Said said. “He is the most unprofessional little scaredy-cat I’ve ever seen in my life. He wouldn’t even fight me like a man after. He needs a whooping, and I’m going to give it to him. He won’t hide from me long. I’ll find him.
“I won’t settle it on the track … but he’ll show up at a race with a black eye one of these days.”
Biffle finished a lap down and well behind Said. Said relayed a message to Biffle’s spotter that he wanted to meet Biffle after the race.
“I think Biffle has had a problem with Boris from a previous race, so leading into this race they already had some aggression toward each other,” said Nick Harrison, crew chief for Said’s No. 51 Chevy. “Early in the race, Biffle had run out of gas and was multiple laps down and was racing Boris.”
The rain-delayed race won by Marcos Ambrose ended with a violent crash entering the second turn. Said appeared to touch the back of David Ragan’s No. 6 Ford, and Ragan slammed David Reutimann’s 00 Toyota, which then caromed off one guardrail, flipped, and slid back across the track upside down while Ragan slammed head-on into the barrier.
Biffle used his Twitter page to respond to Said’s remarks.
“Boris,’the roadcourse ringer’ caused that wreck,” he posted on his page, later adding. “Then Mr. Class pulls in behind my truck after the race today?! Shouldn’t you go check on David & David? How unprofessional & disrespectful!”
Ragan said the accident was typical considering the mad dash that develops in the closing laps of most races.
“It’s just a product of close-quarters racing at the end,” said Ragan, who had rallied nicely after running out of fuel early in the race and was ready to move on. “I felt like I had Boris clear, and I think he got a little better run than we did and just hooked us. He certainly could have given a little more of a break and we all could have gotten through there. But he was aggressive. We were all aggressive.”
Both were treated at the track and released.
“Something flew in there and got hold of my shin and ate it up a little bit,” Reutimann said. “Just not a very good day for us, but that’s just how it goes.”
Said, a road racer who doesn’t have a regular Cup ride, was competing in only his second race this season. He finished 22nd, one spot ahead of Ragan.
“It was crazy,” Said said. “I mean, the last lap, (Ragan) was getting into me a lot. I didn’t want to wreck him, but I had to stay on track and he didn’t give me any room. I’m more upset with Greg Biffle.”
PETTY’S GOOD DAY: Marcos Ambrose gave Richard Petty Motorsports a big jolt by winning the Sprint Cup road race at Watkins Glen International on Monday in his No. 9 Ford.
It was a banner day for the struggling team because teammate AJ Allmendinger finished eighth after starting on the front row. Trouble is, it might have been even better if not for some aggressive driving by Kurt Busch on the 11-turn, 2.45-mile layout.
Allmendinger, who had five road victories in the old CART open-wheel series before jumping to NASCAR, took the lead from polesitter Kyle Busch on the first lap and stayed out front for the first eight laps.
Kurt Busch spun out on the fourth lap and suffered damage to his left front end, had to pit and fell a lap down when Allmendinger passed him in the chicane two laps later.
Kurt Busch then closed to the bumper of the No. 43 Ford and slammed Allmendinger into the grass in the chicane on the ninth lap, giving the lead to Ambrose and sending Allmendinger plummeting through the field.
“I know what he’s trying to do, trying to get back on the lead lap,” Allmendinger said. “I’m just proud of the way we fought back all day.”
CHASING ANOTHER ROAD RACE: NASCAR president Mike Helton says there are no plans to put a road race in the Chase, but the question always surfaces when Sprint Cup makes its annual stop at Watkins Glen International.
Just the mention of that possibility piques the interest of many drivers nowadays because the road-racing skills in the garage have improved dramatically in the past decade.
The Chase is dominated by intermediate tracks of 1.5 miles, and something completely different makes sense to Jeff Gordon.
“In order to make the Chase fully complete and find out the true best team, the only thing that I think we’re missing in the Chase is a road course,” said the four-time Cup champion, whose nine road course victories are a NASCAR record. “I think it’s pretty complete right now, but if you wanted to just look at one little thing it was missing, it would be a road course. As exciting as the road courses have been lately with these double-file restarts, I think the fans would be for it as well, where in the past you haven’t seen that kind of action.”
SUMMER SHOWDOWN: With his Cup win Monday at Watkins Glen International, Marcos Ambrose joined Paul Menard and Brad Keselowski in the Sprint Summer Showdown.
The Summer Showdown puts $3 million on the line for drivers, their charities and one lucky fan in a six-race competition. Any driver who wins between Indianapolis and Bristol will become a finalist for the Labor Day weekend race in Atlanta.
If one of those eligible drivers wins Atlanta, the driver, the driver’s charity, and a fan each collect $1 million.
Fans can enter for their shot at the big bucks each week at
www.sprint.com/speed.
Ambrose also qualified for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
SPARK PLUGS: Five-time Cup champ Jimmie Johnson has only one win after 22 races, and he’s not surprised: “It’s much different than years past. There’s no favorite. They’ve worked hard to build parity into this sport and they’re doing a great job of it.” … Nineteen of the 29 Cup races at Watkins Glen have been won from a top-five starting position … “Man v. Food Nation” star Adam Richman served as grand marshal.