Said, Earnhardt appreciative of WGI support after tough finales

Boris Said received a penalty after going straight through the Inner Loop early in Sunday's I Love New York 355 at The Glen and ended up finishing 30th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was out of the race after 22 laps because of a mechanical problem and placed last among the 37 drivers.

Not the way either wanted to see their Watkins Glen International Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series careers end. It was unlikely, however, their standing among The Glen faithful was diminished.

Said and his army of devoted "Said Heads" got to hang out for one final time at a Cup Series weekend. He took the opportunity to thank them Sunday morning before the early-afternoon qualifying session.

About 20 minutes after the checkered flag, Said still found it hard to fathom why they flocked to him for all these years.

"It kind of blows me away," he said. "I look back at my career and I’m not a Jeff Gordon or a Tony Stewart by any means, but I’ve had a pretty cool career. I’ve driven a lot of cool cars. I had a lot of great races. Had a lot of bad races I’d want to forget. I screwed up as much as a lot of people have, but all in all I wouldn’t trade the last 31 years for anything. I just love what I do and the fans here are amazing.

"I don’t really know why they get behind me so much, but it’s flattering. I would get behind Dale Jr. if I was a fan, and I am, but still really flattering all the fan support here and how nice the people are."

Said, racing in a car normally driven by Jeffrey Earnhardt, ended up in the backup No. 33 Genesee Beer/Genesee Light Chevrolet on Sunday after his main car was damaged in practice Saturday. As he described it, "that kind of screwed the pooch" for the team's chance at a quality finish. A brake problem during the race made the day that much tougher.

"I wish I could have done better in my last Cup race here," he said. "I look back, I’ve had a lot of good times here. This was such a great track to me and a lot of great memories. I’m definitely going to miss it, but definitely going to come back here and hopefully do a few more sports-car series races."

He mentioned next year's Six Hours of The Glen as a potential reunion. While that race has its own devoted following, it won't be the same as rooting for the underdog in the underpowered stock car.

Said made 17 official career Cup starts at The Glen and had a best finish of third in 2005, usually while competing in cars that had no right to contend with those of the sport's biggest stars, who had the advantages of more money and more power. He finishes with eight top-10 finishes in 54 starts.

Those stars included Earnhardt, whose day ended early because of a problem with the valve train in the No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet. Sunday continued a long stretch of rough days this season and at The Glen for Earnhardt, whose last top-10 finish there was 10th in 2005. He has 19 finishes outside the top 10 in 23 Cup starts this year.

"It's been a really difficult week," said Earnhardt, who announced in April this will be his final season in the Cup Series. "We've been way down on speed. We had a pretty good car at (the series' other road course) at Sonoma, so I was kind of looking forward to coming here."

Earnhardt spun out during practice Saturday and things weren't any better Sunday.

"Guys worked really hard," he said. "We changed this car inside and out twice this weekend. We had made it better. We were kind of hanging in there. I think we had a shot at maybe a top 20 at best. It's been a little frustrating this weekend and this doesn't make it much better."

Like Said, Earnhardt took a moment to thank The Glen fans for their years of support.

"I sure have enjoyed racing here," he said. "I really appreciate the fans here, the track, the staff. They’ve treated us so good every time we’ve been here, so it’s been a blessing."

WGI President Michael Printup shared a few moments with Earnhardt after the driver's media conference Saturday. On Sunday, Printup presented Said, a personal friend, a custom-made glass piece from the Corning Museum of Glass. He presented Earnhardt a hand-blown piece of glass from the museum.

"I wanted to let them know they meant a lot to us and do still mean a lot to us," Printup said. "You're losing two significant people and that's why I brought it up in my welcome speech to the fans today."

Beyond their fan appeal and despite their disappointing results, it was fitting Said and Earnhardt raced in their final WGI Cup race together, though Said pointed out that at nearly 55 he is much older than the 42-year-old Earnhardt.

"Ever since I met him, when I taught him road racing — I don’t know how many years ago, 10 or 12 years ago — he’s been a really good friend and a great guy and a class act," Said said of Earnhardt. "If I could race and be like him and be remembered like him as a class act, that’s how I’d want to be."

Said's NASCAR career included an XFINITY Series victory in Montreal in 2010 and some memorable run-ins with the series' regular drivers. He also has a distinguished sports-car career highlighted by becoming the first American to win the 24 Hours Nurburgring, in tandem with three co-drivers.

"Just the fun," he said when asked about what memories he'll take from Watkins Glen. "The sheer driving pleasure. Getting to drive Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s car here to test once, kind of getting to know him was something I'll never forget as long as I live.

"I had some great races here and just a lot of fan support ever since that first Cup race in 1998 when I subbed for Jimmy Spencer and qualified fifth. It's just been an unbelievable ride."

Follow sportswriter Andrew Legare on Twitter at @SGAndrewLegare.