Race number two of ten for the Nextel Cup Championship chase on the concrete mile at Dover International Speedway, kept crew chiefs battling down to the checked flag. Amidst the record 13 cautions and a lot of bent metal, crew chief Bob Osborne and the No. 99 Office Depot team emerged victorious earning a hard fought crucial win and gaining valuable points in the race for the cup. For his tactical race planning and mid race decisions, Osborne was awarded the WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
Osborne and the No. 99 crew faced early worries with their Ford Fusion as driver Carl Edwards radioed in problems with a sticking throttle. During a yellow flag pit stop on lap 150, Osborne directed his crew as they lifted the hood and went to work. With the problem fixed Osborne returned to the task of getting the most out the Ford and catching the lead pack. By lap 230, Edwards was once again racing in the top five, eventually taking over the lead as the final laps were run. Osborne avoided the temptation of a tire change during a late race caution with 20 laps remaining, keeping Edwards on the track. The ploy was successful as Edwards was able to hold off all charges earning the team its third win of the season.
“At the start of the race Carl [Edwards] came over the radio saying his throttle was sticking real bad, and at Dover that is not a good thing, ” shared Osborne. “We kept making changes to the car all day and all the cautions allowed us to dial the car in so by the end of the race we were real fast. That big wreck with 20 laps to go worried me that debris would become an issue. We didn’t take on new tires and I felt we made the right choice. ”
WYPALL* Wipers spokesmen Robbie Reiser with a panel of voters selected Bob Osborne as the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the race. “We really thought we had the No. 17 working today but after we dropped a valve it was all the No. 99, ” stated Reiser. “They kept making adjustments on the car all day and at the end, where it really counts, no one could touch him. ”
As the WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race, Osborne received $1,000. Mike Ford and Osborne are currently tied for first in the overall standings with fours wins. Robbie Reiser is second with three wins each, while Tony Eury Jr., Larry Carter, Donnie Wingo, and Chad Knaus are all tied for third, with two wins apiece. Pat Tryson, Jimmy Elledge, Tony Gibson, Steve Letarte, Mike Nelson, Darian Grubb, Alan Gustafson, Chip Bolin and Ryan Pemberton each have one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most wins will receive $20,000 and be crowned WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Year.
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