Veteran Crew Chief has No. 99 Aflac Team on Brink of Historic Championship
MIAMI (Nov. 17, 2011) – For the past 13 seasons Bob Osborne has worked his way up through the ranks at Roush Fenway Racing, helping the team grow into one of the most successful teams in motor sports history. On Sunday, he will look to become the third crew chief in Roush Fenway history to guide the organization to a Sprint Cup Championship (joining the legendary Jimmy Fennig and Robbie Reiser, who now serves at general manager at RFR).
The Chester, Penn., native has served as the crew chief of Roush Fenway’s No. 99 Ford for the past five seasons, growing the team into one of the strongest in the garage. An engineer by trade, Osborne has been working towards this moment for over a decade.
“Personally, it’s really what I’ve been striving for since I got into the business,” said Osborne, who served as the team engineer for Mark Martin’s No. 6 team during a championship run in 2002 and led Edwards to a second-place finish in the points in 2008.
“To be a part of a program that is one, capable of winning a championship and two, actually accomplished that goal and won a championship,” added Osborne. “We are nipping at the heels of that right now. Hopefully everything does go our way and we see that go being accomplished this weekend. Obviously if we do, I’ll be elated.”
As far as strategy, Osborne says it’s business as usual for the No. 99 team.
“Really with a three-point lead, we don’t have a choice but to play offense,” said Osborne. “We are going to go there and try to sit on the pole and win the race like we do every other weekend. If that strategy has to change because of the situation then it will, but our intention is to go there and win.
“Everybody understands the situation that we are in and we are all in the same situation,” added the veteran crew chief. “We all have a hand in the performance of the race car and the outcome of the season. Just keep an open line of communication and make sure that everybody understands that the job they have done for the last 37 weeks has been good enough and that if we can just maintain that level, everything should work out for us.”
Sunday’s Ford 400 takes the green flag at 3:00 p.m. EST and will be televised live on ESPN. The race will ultimately decide the winner of the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating in both the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series with drivers Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, David Ragan, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Trevor Bayne. Celebrating 25 winning years in 2012, Roush Fenway is the leader in NASCAR marketing solutions with its exclusive Roush Fenway OnTrack sponsorship measurement services, motorsport’s only team-focused TV show, and its social marketing channel RickyvsTrevor.com bringing unmatched brand opportunities to sponsors. Visit www.RoushFenway.com, become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/roushfenway and follow on Twitter at @roushfenway. For sponsorship inquiries call John Younger at 704.720.4620.
