Carlsbad's Boris Said is entered in both NASCAR road races this weekend at Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Said is guaranteed a spot in the field for Saturday's Nationwide Series race on the famed 2.45-mile, 11-turn circuit. He will have to claim a spot through qualifying tomorrow for Sunday's Sprint Cup main event.

Said has competed in 14 races at The Glen – seven in the Sprint Cup, five in the Nationwide Series and two in Craftsman Trucks. He has also run a number of sports car races at the track and scored Ford's first overall win in the Grand Am series at Watkins Glen.

“Even though I've had my share of ups and downs at The Glen, I still consider it my home track,” said Said, who was born in upstate New York. “I like everything about it – the track, the area, the people, the restaurants.”

Said even has his own fan club at Watkins Glen, a group of zanies who show up at each race wearing wigs that accentuate Said's wild hair style.

Said finished third in the 2005 Sprint Cup race at The Glen and eighth in 2001. His first official NASCAR race was Aug. 15, 1999, at Watkins Glen.

But The Glen has also produced its share of heartbreak for Said. Rain has wiped out qualifying three times in recent years, keeping Said out of the field.

“You know it is going to rain some time during the weekend at Watkins Glen,” said Said. “But when you are in my position, you pray it is not during qualifying. The only way I can make the field is through qualifying.”

And there was the 2003 race, in which Said was spun out from behind by Robby Gordon, who went on to win the event.

“I had the fastest car that day and I know I could have won that race,” said Said. “But I got punted by Gordon, spun out and hit the fence. That one is still hard to swallow.”

Miscellany

Arizona's Kirby Chambliss survived blustery wind conditions in London to score his second win of the Red Bull Air Races season and move into second place in the standings. France's Nicolas Ivanoff was second, Austria's Hannes Arch third. Hometown favorite and season points leader Paul Bonhomme and reigning series champion Mike Mangold of the United States both hit gates and failed to make the finals.

Dave Villwock drove the U-1 Ellstrom Elam to victory in the Unlimited Hydroplane race Sunday in Seattle. Steve David's Oh Boy Oberto was second and will lead the points race into the Sept. 21 season finale on Mission Bay.

CHECKERED FLAGS

Bob Osborne: Although Carl Edwards was visibly upset with the call during the rain delay at Pocono, the crew chief's decision to refuel just before the rain turned out to be genius. Edwards was the only driver who didn't have to pit after the delay and won his fourth race of the season.

Heikki Kovalainen: The McLaren pilot drove a smart race and picked up his first Formula One victory when rivals Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton had problems late in the race.

RED FLAGS

NASCAR: The first points race ever run on grooved rain tires still was red-flagged 26 laps early because of heavy rain and poor visibility in Montreal.

Nashville Speedway: Removed from the 2009 IndyCar Series schedule after contract negotiations reached an impasse.

Felipe Massa: Came from behind to pass Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton and was headed to victory in the Hurgarian Grand Prix when his Ferrari engine overheated, costing him the victory.

SCHEDULE

Tomorrow

NASCAR Sprint Cup: Qualifying, Centurion Boats At The Glen, Watkins Glen, N.Y. (2.45-mile, 11-turn road course; ESPN2, noon).

Rolex Grand-Am Sports Cars: Watkins Glen (90 laps; Speed Channel, noon) – The Chip Ganassi Racing duo of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas leads defending Daytona Prototype series champs Jon Fogarty/Alex Gurney by 63 points.

RaceLegal Drags: Qualcomm Stadium, west access road, 6 p.m.

Barona 1/8-Mile Drag Strip: Sport Compact Drags, 6 p.m.

Saturday

NASCAR Nationwide Series: Zippo 200, Watkins Glen, N.Y. (82 laps; Channel 10, 11:30 a.m.) – This is the second road course in as many weeks with Canadian road-racing specialist Ron Fellows coming off a win in last week's rain-shortened event in Montreal. Kevin Harvick won this race a year ago, a week after also winning the Montreal stop. Clint Bowyer has a 168-point lead over fellow Sprint Cup driver Carl Edwards atop the points race.

IndyCar Series: Meijer 300, Sparta, Ky. (200 laps, 1.5-mile tri-oval; ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.) – With four races remaining in the season, Scott Dixon has five wins (including the Indy 500) and a 65-point lead on Helio Castroneves in the standings. Castroneves has no wins this season, but has finished in the top five in 11 of the 13 races. Tony Kanaan is the defending race champion. Dixon was second last year.

NASCAR Craftsman Trucks: Toyota Tundra 200, Lebanon, Tenn. (150 laps, 1.33-mile tri-oval; Speed Channel, 4 p.m.) – Johnny Benson has won the past two races, marking the third straight season that he has won two straight. He has never won three straight. Mike Skinner was the most recent of the five truck drivers to win three straight during the 2007 season. Benson is the series points leader. Travis Kvapil is the defending race champion.

American Le Mans Series: Elkhart Lake, Wis. (4-mile road course).

Barona 1/8-Mile Drag Strip: Sport Compact Drags, 3 p.m.

Sunday

NASCAR Sprint Cup: Centurion Boats At The Glen (90 laps; ESPN, 10 a.m.) – Tony Stewart inherited the win at Watkins Glen last year when race leader Jeff Gordon spun going into the first turn with two laps to go. This is the 60th anniversary of the famed road course, which once hosted Formula One races. Counting Watkins Glen, there are five races before the list of title contenders is trimmed to 12 and the Chase for the Championship begins. The 11th and 12th spots currently belong to Harvick and former Sprint Cup champion Matt Kenseth. Kyle Busch is looking to become the first driver to win three NASCAR road races in the same season. He has already won the Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma and the Nationwide Series race in Mexico City.

NHRA Drag Racing: Lucas Oil Nationals, Brainerd, Minn. (ESPN2, 4 p.m.) – Tony Schumacher swept all three Top Fuel events of the Western Swing to give him eight wins on the season.

RACING NUMBERS

0 – Wins by Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart this season.

8 – Wins that Stewart and Gordon have between them on the Watkins Glen road course.

10 – Sprint Cup road course wins by Gordon, the most by any active driver.

QUOTABLE:

“When things aren't going right, you should just stop.”

– Two-time San Diego winner and 2008 points leader Paul Bonhomme, on why he broke off his run to get eliminated after hitting a gate during the semifinals of the Red Bull Air Races in London