Roswell, GA (March 9, 2011) – Bob Osborne, crew chief for the No. 99 Scotts/Kelloggs’ Ford driven by Carl Edwards, has been named the WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief of the Race following Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
With just 26 laps remaining, Osborne brought his driver to pit road for two tires only and fuel during the final round of green flag pit stops. This important call for two instead of four tires put Edwards out front after the field cycled through pit stops. Edwards was atop the leader board for the final 23 circuits, cruising to the win by 1.246 seconds over Tony Stewart. Once the victory was secure, Edwards showcased the triumph with his trademark back flip for the fans.
“The key to winning today was my team, Bob, and these guys at Roush Fenway,” said Edwards, who led 66 laps of the 267-lap event. “It means a lot coming off of Phoenix (where Edwards thought he had the winning car only to be involved in an on-track accident). You don’t get a good racecar like that often and we got another one here today. This was just a great day.”
“What a great recovery coming out of Phoenix,” said WYPALL Wipers crew chief representative and FOX/Speed analyst Jeff Hammond. “They just started off the weekend right and then made no mistakes in the pits all day. That two-tire call at the end was a crucial move by Osborne and proved to be the right one.”
WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Results
Steve Addington led Kurt Busch’s No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil team to an impressive ninth place finish, his third top-10 of the season. Starting from the 22nd position, the Addington-led team made the right calls to keep Busch, who is atop the championship point standings, in contention all day.
“We just have to keep working on getting our cars turning better,” Addington said. “Kurt never gave up and drove his guts out all day. We probably had a 12th-place car there at the end of the race, but Kurt was able to get us a solid top-10 finish out of it.”
Paul Wolfe and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge of Brad Keselowski finished a disappointing 26th after fighting an ill-handling car all day.
“We missed something all day. I’m not sure what,” said Keselowski. “Kurt (Busch) was a little bit better, but neither of our Dodges were where we wanted them to be. We’ll go back to the drawing board. We tried a lot of different things and just never hit on anything.”
WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Voting Team
Addington and Wolfe, along with Hammond and Sirius NASCAR Radio’s Claire B. Lang, serve as the panel for the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge and vote for the weekly crew chief winners.
Each weekly WYPALL Crew Chief Challenge winner will be a guest on Lang’s “Dialed In” program on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 at 8 p.m. EST on Wednesdays throughout the season.
The crew chief with the most weekly top wins will be honored as the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $10,000 check during the weekend of the WYPALL 200 Presented by Kimberly-Clark Professional Nationwide Series race at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday, November 12, 2011.
About WYPALL Wipers:
Since 2004, Kimberly-Clark Professional’s WYPALL Wipers brand has been affiliated with some of racing’s top teams. Offering heavy-duty to versatile light-duty towels, WYPALL Wipers provides race teams with a number of products providing strength and durability. Defeating the toughest of challenges, from absorbing tough grease and oil to wiping down windshields without leaving residue behind, WYPALL Wipers continue to offer performance and versatility.
The WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge will continue throughout the remainder of the 2011 season and spotlight the men behind the machines. For more information, log onto www.wypall.com.
About Penske Racing
Penske Racing is one of the most successful teams in the history of professional sports. Competing in a variety of disciplines, cars owned and prepared by Penske Racing have produced 332 major race wins, 396 pole positions and 23 National Championships. The team has also earned 15 Indianapolis 500 victories. For more information about Penske Racing, please visit www.penskeracing.com.
