Conservative Said Qualifies 14th in Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif. -- Without an automatic berth in Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway, Boris Said played it safe Friday by taking a conservative qualifying lap at the 1.99-mile circuit.

Said's less-than-full-throttle run was the 14th fastest and he will start the road course event from outside of Row 7. His No. 60 7-Eleven No Fear/Slurpee Ford Fusion recorded a time and speed of 78.568 seconds at 91.182 miles per hour. Kasey Kahne won the pole with a speed of 92.153.

"I stuck to our game plan and I'm glad I did," offered Said. "I'm a racer and I want to go fast. That's why it's mentally difficult when you're only going 75-80 percent and know you have a car that can challenge for a front row spot. When you're one of the go or go home teams, you just can't take a chance by going full throttle. One spin would have sent us home. Overall, I am very happy with the performance our 7-Eleven No Fear/Slurpee Ford.

Sprint Cup teams are scheduled for two practices Saturday.

"Our first objective was to qualify," noted Said. "Now, we want to be in the top 10 with 15 laps to go and then do everything we can to win the race."

Sunday's Save Mart 350 will be televised on TNT, beginning with a prerace show at 12:30 p.m. local time and 3:30 ET.