Bob Osborne, crew chief of the #99 Office Depot Ford, and Carl Edwards notched their third victory of 2005 this weekend at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. This was the duo’s second Nextel Cup win of the year at Atlanta, giving them a clean sweep of the season’s action at the track. Edwards led the race eight times for 115 laps, including the final 36, before taking the checkered flag of the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500. For bringing Edwards the win, Osborne was voted the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race.
In the early stages of the event, Edwards didn’t appear to be as stout as the other cars in the top-five. But as the race went on, the #99 Taurus only got stronger and stronger. “There were a lot of good cars in the race today,” said Osborne after the event. “We started out loose. Most of the cars running up front were neutral at first and we couldn’t get up to them, but they started to tighten up through the race. We did too, but that’s what we needed. The car was its best at the end. This team has worked so hard and this weekend is a real testament to that.” The panel of voters, including a Wypall Wipers representative, Robbie Reiser and Tony Eury Sr., all voted for Osborne as the crew chief that did the best job.
Doug Richert leads the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings with five wins. Alan Gustafson, Bob Osborne and Greg Zipadelli are tied for second-place with three wins. Jimmy Fennig, Robbie Reiser, Chad Knaus, Steve Addington and Robbie Loomis are tied for third-place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Fatback McSwain, Steve Hmiel, Greg Erwin, Slugger Labbe, Pat Tryson and Pete Rondeau are tied for fourth place, each with one win. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)(10-31-2005)
