Osborne, crew bring in the awards in off-season

After finishing second in the title race, Carl Edwards’ crew chief and his team were rewarded with some off-season marks for their success.

Crew Chief Bob Osborne was named the DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Year after he helped Edwards score 1 win, 19 top-fives, and 26 top-tens and kept Edwards in the points lead for 24 of the 36 races this season.  Osborne was not at the banquet to accept the ward, however, Carl Edwards did it on his behalf. 

“Bob is like a brother to me and he’s probably the hardest-working guy in the business,” Edwards said.  “He’s actually back at the shop today preparing for 2012 so we can come back even stronger next year.”

The No. 99 Aflac Racing crew was able to pull off the Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew award as well.  The team was also part of the effort this season on pit road as they helped keep Edwards up front during the season, as the team scored a top-ten finish in all but 12 events this season.  Pit crew coach Andy Ward accepted the award on behalf of the team consisting of: Kale Uphoff, front tire changer; Alan Troutman, front tire carrier; Dennis Killian, jackman; Dwayne Ogles, rear tire changer; Jody Fortson, rear tire carrier and Joe Karasinski, gasman.

“I want to thank Mechanix Wear and NASCAR for this award,” said Ward.  “I want to brag on these guys. This group has been a pleasure to work with. A lot of these guys are new and some won their fist race this year. I promised them we’d get to Vegas but we were one point short of staying for the banquet tomorrow.  We’re already looking forward to next year to come back and win this award again.”