Nationwide driver Boris Said, left, is congratulated by second place finisher Max Papis for his victory at the Nascar Napa 200 race, Sunday, August 29, 2010 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul ChiassonPaul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
Finally.
That was Boris Said's first word following his maiden NASCAR Nationwide Series win after nine years of trying.
In the closest ever road course finish in the Nationwide history, Said out-duelled a hard charging Max Papis on a short run to the flag in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 to cross the line just 0.012 seconds ahead.
"I just won a damn Nationwide race and I am happy," he said. "I'm shocked, overwhelmed and I thought I was going to cry - I didn't, my wife would have made fun of me.
"I don't think we had the fastest car today. It was really about managing the racetrack and managing your brakes. This track is really hard - hard on brakes, hard on tires, and hard on drivers."
A free spirit in racing, Said is a road racing specialist that NASCAR teams bring in to deliver results on road courses. But in his 22 starts, he's never gotten a win in a NASCAR Nationwide car to add to a truck series victory in 1998.
The veteran racer also has a following of rabid fans known as "Said heads," who wear dishevelled wigs of long, curly hair in homage to their hero. While he turns 48 next month, Said has no plans to stop racing.
"I am going to keep trying to win more of these and I am going to keep trying to win a [NASCAR top tier Sprint]Cup race," he said.
"I hope to come here for a long time, it's a great event in a great town and it's just fun racing - it's door-to-door and not for the weak and you can't cry when you get spun. You can't believe how much fun it is and it's without any police chasing you."
After biding his time for most of the race and surviving a spin at the hands of Canadian Jacques Villeneuve who finished third, Said led the final three laps before Papis pulled out all the stops to attempt a pass on the final chicane. The Italian got next to his rival under braking and the pair took the corner in unison coming out side-by-side for a drag to the chequered flag.
"We came to the last corner with a win to grasp and I went in so deep and passed him," Papis said. "I was in the car and I was pushing with the seat belts like when I was in karts and I kept looking at his fender and I was ahead and I was behind and ahead and at the end of the day this was an amazing race. I had a blast."
Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula One world champion fought at the front with early leader Marcos Ambrose who retired at two-thirds distance with a broken suspension, but saw his car fall off at the end of the race.
But it's not like Villeneuve didn't try. The former F1 driver made a daring attempt to pass Papis for second on the penultimate lap but couldn't make it stick.
"I got by Max, which is never easy, but it last long enough and because of that I lost some time and I wasn't close enough to them to fight for the win when they got to the last corner. We did everything to try to win it but it didn't work and I guess we will have to try again."
"I think Ambrose and I had the fastest cars today but here you don't need the quickest car, you need to be there in the laps 10 laps on the restarts and you need to have a car you can drive aggressively."
The race on the 12-turn, 4.361-kilometre Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was marred by several crashes early that slowed the action to a snail's pace as four yellow caution periods kept the drivers behind the safety car for most of the first third of the race.
Later, after trying once to get a green-white-chequered overtime finish into the books, NASCAR had to throw a red flag for 13 minutes to clean up oil laid on the track by a broken car. When things got going, it was tough to keep up with frenzy on the final three laps as another green-white-chequered lead to the fifth closest finish in Nationwide history.
In all, it took in 3 hours 17 minutes and 34 seconds and three additional laps added to the planned 74 to get the race in the books.
But the finish was worth the wait.
While Villeneuve was the top Canadian, NASCAR Canadian Tire series regular J.R. Fitzpatrick of Cambridge, Ont., put in a solid performance to take seventh. The day didn't go well for the rest of the Canadians in the field, with Patrick Carpentier, of LaSalle, Que., retiring on lap 51 after a sway bar broke on his car. He finished 32nd, two spots behind Ron Fellows of Mississauga, who retired two laps later.
After taking the win in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race, Andrew Ranger's day ended early after he was involved in a crash three laps into the race and broke his radiator. He was classified 39th. After qualifying 11th, Ranger started from the back after needing to change an engine before the race.
While the Canadians might need to drown their sorrows, Said planned to find some fun ways to celebrate his victory.
"I don't usually drink, but I think but tonight I am going to find someplace in Montreal and I'm going to have a nice steak and I am going to drink like hell and maybe French kiss a French girl," he said.
"My wife said I could maybe do that just once cause you gotta do that up here in Montreal."