Cup qualifying rained out; Said replaces Petty in 45

Boris Said's "bucket list" will get another check Sunday at Watkins Glen International when the veteran road racer drives Kyle Petty's No. 45 Dodge in the Centurion Boats at The Glen.

For the fourth time in the last five years, pole qualifying for the Sprint Cup Series' second road race of the season was canceled Friday when rain eliminated NASCAR's "window of opportunity." Said is a part owner of No Fear Racing, whose No. 60 Ford was sent home Friday. That's when Petty approached him.

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If somebody had told me 10 years ago that I would drive for Eddie Wood and now Richard Petty I would have told 'em, 'Yeah, you're crazy -- I might as well land on the moon.
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BORIS SAID"I love Watkins Glen, but I don't love Fridays at Watkins Glen because it's always raining, and this is two years in a row," Said said of being sent home without a qualifying attempt. "Kyle Petty asked me to drive his car to help them out in the points situation -- and for me, personally that was like the movie The Bucket List.

"It's pretty cool to put on your bucket list that you drove for the King [Richard Petty] and Kyle. So I'm pretty pleased about it. If somebody had told me 10 years ago that I would drive for Eddie Wood and now Richard Petty I would have told 'em, 'Yeah, you're crazy -- I might as well land on the moon.'"

Last year when qualifying also was rained out, Bill Elliott stepped out of the Wood Brothers' No. 21 Ford and let Said drive. He finished 14th.

"Boris is known around the world as one of the premier road-course racers," said Robbie Loomis, vice president of operations at Petty Enterprises. "He'll give us another great opportunity to assess our program. Everyone at Petty Enterprises is grateful to Boris for helping us out."

The No. 45 Dodge is 40th in the owner standings, 242 points out of the top 35.

It's the 10th consecutive race in which Petty has been out of the seat. The absence began when he attended daughter Montgomery Lee's wedding at the beginning of June, included six races in which he was part of the TNT broadcast team and continues as the team evaluates its cars and organization.

Points leader Kyle Busch and second-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. will lead the 43-car field to the green on Sunday after the lineup was set according to the rulebook for the fifth time this season. Previous rainouts occurred at California, Bristol, Michigan and Chicagoland.