NASCAR: 61-year-old driver returning to Hendrick Motorsports for another race

Hendrick Motorsports signed road course racing veteran Boris Said to compete in last October's NASCAR Xfinity Series playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, but a mechanical issue in qualifying prevented Said from qualifying for the race.

Now Said is set to return to the team behind the wheel of the No. 17 Chevrolet, doing so this weekend in the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 at Sonoma Raceway.

Saturday's 79-lap race around the 12-turn, 1.99-mile (3.203-kilometer) natural terrain road course in Sonoma, California is set to mark the 61-year-old's first start in the Xfinity Series since he competed for MBM Motorsports at Circuit of the Americas in 2021.

Said hasn't competed in any NASCAR national series since the 2022 Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas, when he also competed for Carl Long's team.

Boris Said returns to NASCAR

The New York City, New York native is a two-time NASCAR national series race winner, with both victories coming on road courses. Driving for RAB Racing, he won the Xfinity Series race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in 2010, and driving Irvan-Simo Racing, he won the Truck Series race at Sonoma Raceway in 1998.

Said's appearance this weekend is set to mark the fifth of 10 scheduled starts for Rick Hendrick's No. 17 Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series this year. This race is the only one of the 10 races in which one of Hendrick Motorsports' four full-time Cup Series drivers will not be competing.

William Byron drove the No. 17 Chevrolet at Phoenix Raceway in March and Darlington Raceway in May, and he is set to compete at Pocono Raceway in July and Watkins Glen International in September. Kyle Larson won at Circuit of the Americas in March and is set to compete at the Chicago Street Circuit in July.

Chase Elliott won at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May and is set to compete at Darlington Raceway in August. Alex Bowman has not yet driven the car this season; his lone scheduled start is set to come at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, two weeks from Saturday.

Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 8:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, June 8 for the live broadcast of the Zip Buy Now, Pay Later 250 from Sonoma Raceway. If you have yet to begin a free trial of FuboTV, do so today and don't miss it!