61-Year-Old Veteran Gets the Kyle Larson Treatment as Rick Hendrick Takes Old Student to “Disneyland”

Road courses in NASCAR have always been the go-to races for drivers around the world, such as the likes of Shane van Gisbergen to Kamui Kobayashi, to bring a cross-cultural flavor to the sport. The Charlotte race this coming weekend will be no exception. But this time, it will be a former NASCAR driver, Rick Hendrick’s former business partner, who will be making his return. A welcome update on him would be that the globe-trotter has conquered the toughest of road courses whose return would be worth the wait.

Coming to NASCAR from outside and participating in such high-intensity races is always a challenge. However, that pressure goes up by quite a margin when the car they are driving belongs to Hendrick Motorsports. Rick Hendrick has never been a man to shy away from risks or potential. In the forthcoming Saturday in the Xfinity Series, the legendary team owner will give a chance to one of his close friends and a world-class racer, Boris Said.

Road course specialist hails Hendrick Motorsports’ professionalism

It is important to note that NASCAR will not be a foreign environment for Boris Said. The 61-year-old driver used to race in the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series during his younger days. He has one win each in Trucks and Xfinity. But perhaps his most notable achievements lie beyond the world of these series.

Boris Said is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, a class winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring, and the winner of the treacherous 24 Hours Nurburgring. On a recent episode of the NASCAR Live Wide Open podcast, Boris Said revealed his experience of walking into the Hendrick Motorsports shop not as a business partner, but as a driver. Although the 61-year-old mentioned that many would treat it like a joke, given his age, he was pleasantly surprised when he was being treated like HMS’ 2023 Cup Series favorite.

“I’ve been to Hendrick Motorsports a lot, giving tours and showing people around. It’s an amazing place. But last Monday I went there as a driver, got to meet Greg Ives, the crew chief. In a way I thought they would treat it as a joke really, you know, I mean a 61-year-old guy getting a winning ride like this is crazy when I think about it,” he said.

“And they treated me so good, they treated me like Kyle Larson. Everything I needed for the car they did and get me fitted and comfortable and the right brake pedal. It’s just been an experience for driver going into Hendrick Motorsports is like I’m a little kid going to Disneyland for the first time. It’s just, it’s amazing,” the two-time 24 Hours of Daytona winner added.

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Hendrick Motorsports is one of the strongest favorites to have one of their playoff drivers win the Cup Series. Both Kyle Larson and William Byron have been in fantastic form in the playoffs but things have looked a little bleak for the former of late.

HMS title favorite is not out of danger going into Charlotte

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After starting the playoffs on a strong note, Kyle Larson finds himself with a bit of work to do. The HMS driver suffered a DNF in Texas and finished 15th in Talladega. He does have a 15-point buffer ahead of the cutline but it is imperative that he has a clean race on Sunday.

A DNF due to a crash or any mechanical failure could see Kyle Larson knocked out of the playoffs, much like what happened with the defending champion Joey Logano in Bristol a few weeks ago. His stats at the Roval are inconsistent at best. The driver of the #5 has finished in the top 10 only once out of his four starts but that time, he won the race.

Fans can be rest assured that the Hendrick Motorsports driver will give it his 100% at the Roval. The 2021 Cup Series champion will be looking to end the round of 12 on a positive note and carry that momentum into the next round.

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