BFGoodrich Tires is combining its winning technology with the skill of highly decorated road racing star and NASCAR driver Boris Said for X Games 13. Said will be partnered with co-driver and rally racing legend John Buffum in a BFGoodrich Tires-backed Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car prepared by Vermont sports car for the Rally Racing Super Special on Aug. 5, 2007.
Said earned his X Games bid via an “at large” invitation due to his numerous racing accomplishments, which include winning the 1997 and 1998 24 Hours of Daytona and the 1991 12 Hours of Sebring. During his first full season of competition in 2002, Said won the fiercely fought SCCA Trans-Am Championship and in 2005, he became the first American to win the prestigious 24 Hours of Nurburgring in Germany. Beyond international sports car racing, Said has also performed well in various NASCAR disciplines having competed in – and captured the pole – in all three NASCAR racing series: Craftsman Truck, Busch Grand National and Nextel Cup.
Said commented on his relationship with BFGoodrich: “The biggest thing about BFGoodrich is that I would not be racing if they had not have supported me early on in my career. I won three straight SSGT Championships for them in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Then in 2002, I won the Trans-Am Championship with BFGoodrich tires. If not for all the people at BFGoodrich helping me throughout my career, I would not be racing right now. In fact, I may have raced more miles on BFGoodrich tires than anyone.”
Said’s co-driver, John Buffum, is the most successful U.S. rally driver in the history of the sport, with more than 100 rally victories and 11 SCCA ProRally Championship titles. In 1983, driving a BFGoodrich® tire-shod Audi, Buffum became the first and only American to win a European Championship event, the 1983 Sachs Rally in Germany and the 1984 European Rally Championship event in Cyprus. Buffum is currently working for Subaru Rally Team USA as an advisor, mentoring returning X Games Rally gold medalist Travis Pastrana along with his Subaru Rally Team USA teammate and last year’s X Games Rally bronze medalist Ken Block.
BFGoodrich Tires will again be the tire of choice for both Pastrana and Block who will be contending in Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally cars at this year’s event. BFGoodrich Tires will also be featured on former World Rally Champion Colin McRae’s Subaru Impreza WRX STI rally car. McRae earned the X Games Rally silver medal last year, narrowly missing the gold after spectacularly rolling his car on the last jump in the competition.
“BFGoodrich Tires has a strong tradition in extreme motorsports competition and has earned championships from the deserts of Baja and Dakar to the asphalt of Japan and the U.S.,” said Todd Steen, Motorsports Marketing Manager for BFGoodrich Tires. “We are very proud of our teams and their level of success and we are excited to support them at this year’s X Games.”
The first five races of the 2007 Rally America season served as qualifying events for the popular X Games 13 action-sport competition. The X Games Rally Car Racing Super Special will take place at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. on Sunday, Aug. 5 at 1:30 p.m. PDT. The X Games Rally Car Racing Super Special will be aired live on ABC on Sunday. Please check local listings for repeat airdates and times.
