LUCAS FINISHES RUNNER-UP IN BOBSLED
Sun, 2008-01-06 04:38
Defending Chevy Bodine Bobsled Challenge titlist, Boris Said reigned
supreme again as the ‘King of the Mountain’ as he won the NASCAR vs.
NHRA battle against drag racing’s powerhouse driver, Morgan Lucas. So
far, Said, the son of former Olympic bobsledder, Bob Said has won all
three of the Bodine Bobsled Challenge races quite impressively. Last
year, Lucas took home the silver medal in his first year participating
as Said grabbed the gold in last year’s edition of the event.
Going into the finals, Lucas experienced a problem with his Lucas Oil-sponsored bobsled when the left rear axle holding the runner in place snapped and ORDA officials were forced to use the Said sled twice, with Lucas getting into an unfamiliar sled for the first time of the weekend for his final round race. Unfortunately for Lucas he did manage a good time racing down the mountain to the tune of 52.06 seconds, but Said posted a quicker time of 50.99 seconds to outdistance Lucas by the slim margin of 1.07 seconds.
“This morning I messed up my first run by overdriving a couple of turns and that prevented me from accelerating, but I can tell you there’s no disappointment whatsoever when you race someone with the credentials of a Boris Said and all the NASCAR guys that came up here. They taught me to take the corners like a pro and it was a big deal with the NHRA guys representing ourselves very well.” Defending Chevy Bodine Bobsled Challenge titlist, Boris Said reigned supreme again as the ‘King of the Mountain’ as he won the NASCAR vs. NHRA battle against drag racing’s powerhouse driver, Morgan Lucas. So far, Said, the son of former Olympic bobsledder, Bob Said has won all three of the Bodine Bobsled Challenge races quite impressively. Last year, Lucas took home the silver medal in his first year participating as Said grabbed the gold in last year’s edition of the event.
Going into the finals, Lucas experienced a problem with his Lucas Oil-sponsored bobsled when the left rear axle holding the runner in place snapped and ORDA officials were forced to use the Said sled twice, with Lucas getting into an unfamiliar sled for the first time of the weekend for his final round race. Unfortunately for Lucas he did manage a good time racing down the mountain to the tune of 52.06 seconds, but Said posted a quicker time of 50.99 seconds to outdistance Lucas by the slim margin of 1.07 seconds.
“This morning I messed up my first run by overdriving a couple of turns and that prevented me from accelerating, but I can tell you there’s no disappointment whatsoever when you race someone with the credentials of a Boris Said and all the NASCAR guys that came up here. They taught me to take the corners like a pro and it was a big deal with the NHRA guys representing ourselves very well.”
In eliminations, Lucas’ run of 51.58 seconds in his opening round was the quickest elapsed time for the NHRA racers earning him a spot to have a bye run into the semi-finals and had to race the winner of the Jeg Coughlin and Bob Vandergriff race which Vandergriff snagged with his run of 51.76 seconds to Coughlin’s slightly slower run of 52.02 seconds giving him a margin of victory of .27-hundredths of a second.
The Brownsburg, Indiana resident was quicker than his opponent in the semis and managed to produce another great time of 51.76 seconds defeating Vandergriff’s run of 52.02 seconds.
His teammate, the very capable five-time NHRA Top Fuel winner, J.R. Todd didn’t have the best of days on top of Mount Van Hoevenberg on Saturday. Todd was denied an opportunity to participate in the overall race after failing to qualify and in the NHRA vs. NASCAR event was eliminated in the first round.
“At the strip, you have your bad days sometimes when it doesn’t go your way, and that’s how it was for me up here in Lake Placid today,” said a disheartened Todd. “It really doesn’t matter whether you have a great run or a bad run, it’s still an adrenaline rush and a lot of fun, but now it’s all about the competition. It’s just as competitive here as it is on the dragstrip. So far, Morgan has done a hell of good job representing the NHRA going to the final round again.
“It’s kind of a different format this year which should make it very exciting for the TV show; I’m sure, with the NHRA guys versus the NASCAR guys. My times today were just too slow today. After my runs from yesterday, I’m still learning how to drive one of these things and to be honest; I think I’ll stick to drag racing before I attempt to sign up for the Olympic team anytime soon.”
SPEED TV will broadcast the event on two different weekends beginning on January 20 and 27 following the network’s coverage of the 24-Hours of Daytona.
Going into the finals, Lucas experienced a problem with his Lucas Oil-sponsored bobsled when the left rear axle holding the runner in place snapped and ORDA officials were forced to use the Said sled twice, with Lucas getting into an unfamiliar sled for the first time of the weekend for his final round race. Unfortunately for Lucas he did manage a good time racing down the mountain to the tune of 52.06 seconds, but Said posted a quicker time of 50.99 seconds to outdistance Lucas by the slim margin of 1.07 seconds.
“This morning I messed up my first run by overdriving a couple of turns and that prevented me from accelerating, but I can tell you there’s no disappointment whatsoever when you race someone with the credentials of a Boris Said and all the NASCAR guys that came up here. They taught me to take the corners like a pro and it was a big deal with the NHRA guys representing ourselves very well.” Defending Chevy Bodine Bobsled Challenge titlist, Boris Said reigned supreme again as the ‘King of the Mountain’ as he won the NASCAR vs. NHRA battle against drag racing’s powerhouse driver, Morgan Lucas. So far, Said, the son of former Olympic bobsledder, Bob Said has won all three of the Bodine Bobsled Challenge races quite impressively. Last year, Lucas took home the silver medal in his first year participating as Said grabbed the gold in last year’s edition of the event.
Going into the finals, Lucas experienced a problem with his Lucas Oil-sponsored bobsled when the left rear axle holding the runner in place snapped and ORDA officials were forced to use the Said sled twice, with Lucas getting into an unfamiliar sled for the first time of the weekend for his final round race. Unfortunately for Lucas he did manage a good time racing down the mountain to the tune of 52.06 seconds, but Said posted a quicker time of 50.99 seconds to outdistance Lucas by the slim margin of 1.07 seconds.
“This morning I messed up my first run by overdriving a couple of turns and that prevented me from accelerating, but I can tell you there’s no disappointment whatsoever when you race someone with the credentials of a Boris Said and all the NASCAR guys that came up here. They taught me to take the corners like a pro and it was a big deal with the NHRA guys representing ourselves very well.”
In eliminations, Lucas’ run of 51.58 seconds in his opening round was the quickest elapsed time for the NHRA racers earning him a spot to have a bye run into the semi-finals and had to race the winner of the Jeg Coughlin and Bob Vandergriff race which Vandergriff snagged with his run of 51.76 seconds to Coughlin’s slightly slower run of 52.02 seconds giving him a margin of victory of .27-hundredths of a second.
The Brownsburg, Indiana resident was quicker than his opponent in the semis and managed to produce another great time of 51.76 seconds defeating Vandergriff’s run of 52.02 seconds.
His teammate, the very capable five-time NHRA Top Fuel winner, J.R. Todd didn’t have the best of days on top of Mount Van Hoevenberg on Saturday. Todd was denied an opportunity to participate in the overall race after failing to qualify and in the NHRA vs. NASCAR event was eliminated in the first round.
“At the strip, you have your bad days sometimes when it doesn’t go your way, and that’s how it was for me up here in Lake Placid today,” said a disheartened Todd. “It really doesn’t matter whether you have a great run or a bad run, it’s still an adrenaline rush and a lot of fun, but now it’s all about the competition. It’s just as competitive here as it is on the dragstrip. So far, Morgan has done a hell of good job representing the NHRA going to the final round again.
“It’s kind of a different format this year which should make it very exciting for the TV show; I’m sure, with the NHRA guys versus the NASCAR guys. My times today were just too slow today. After my runs from yesterday, I’m still learning how to drive one of these things and to be honest; I think I’ll stick to drag racing before I attempt to sign up for the Olympic team anytime soon.”
SPEED TV will broadcast the event on two different weekends beginning on January 20 and 27 following the network’s coverage of the 24-Hours of Daytona.
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