October 14, 2002

Johnny Finished 5th At Road Atlanta - Boris Clinches Championship

Johnny commented, “We needed a caution today and it just didn’t happen. We ran them down as hard as we could, but it just wasn’t enough.

“I got held up on the start which allowed Boris (Said) to get a good launch. Paul and I had a good time swapping positions all day long. I was a little quicker early on and he seemed like he wanted to race early. We must have both gotten a little mental telepathy going because we both tucked in and waited for the caution. We figured we’d bunch up, go on, and race…except that the caution never came.

“If we’d had that caution, it might have been a real interesting race. Both Paul and I were as quick as Boris and Butch and it would have made for some good, solid racing.”

Boris Said finished off his rivals for the BFGoodrich Tires Cup in impressive fashion Friday afternoon when he drove to his fourth consecutive victory in the Trans-Am 100 Presented by the Crank – You’ve Never Seen a Ratchet Like This! at Road Atlanta and captured the Trans-Am Series driving championship in the process.

Said (#33 Applied Computer Solutions Panoz Esperante) slipped past pole-sitter and race leader Butch Leitzinger in the 10th of Road Atlanta’s 12 turns on the 34th of 40 laps and went on to a 2.43-second victory over Leitzinger in the 11th of 12 rounds in the 2002 Trans-Am Series championship. With only the October 27 season finale at Virginia International Raceway remaining, Said holds an insurmountable 327-263 lead over Leitzinger in the Trans-Am championship standings, guaranteeing Said the first driving championship of his seven-year Trans-Am Series career.

“In the past, I’ve never cared much about a championship,” noted Said, who built his title run on series-high totals of seven victories and 10 podium finishes in his 11 starts to date. “I am a bit selfish, and all I want to do is go out and win races.