Matt Kenseth will have a familiar voice over his team radio this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
Chris Osborne will return to the spotters’ stand at the .526-mile track for the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota team. Osborne — nicknamed “Crazy” — has been out since the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season to recover from multiple injuries suffered in an automobile crash on Dec. 17.
Osborne suffered severe injuries to his right leg and foot. His wife, Melissa, was affected by major injuries to her pelvis, right hip, right shoulder, right arm and elbow; and Osborne’s son Austin suffered a concussion, partially collapsed lung, cracked sternum and broken nose.
“It’s been a lot of tough days and nights and healing,” Osborne said Tuesday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “The mindset was to get back at Daytona, but the physical part of it and the reality was, there just wasn’t enough healing time. Once we got past Daytona and Atlanta, the doctor said ‘I can’t release you to get on an airplane and fly back and forth to the West Coast three weeks in a row.’ “
Kenseth has worked with two spotters so far this season. Lorin Ranier handled the duties for Daytona’s Speedweeks in February; Curtis Markham spotted for Kenseth in Atlanta and the three Sprint Cup races that followed at Las Vegas, Phoenix and Auto Club.
Osborne was welcomed back by drivers and spotters alike when he got to the track Friday morning.
Can’t possibly respond to all of the well-wishes, but know that I have read them all! Thanks for all the continued support!! #BeyondBlessed
— Chris Osborne (@crazy_spotter) April 2, 2016
It’s race #6 on the NASCAR schedule, but race #1 of the of the ’16 season for me! Excited to be back w/ @mattkenseth and the 20Team! #Pumped
— Chris Osborne (@crazy_spotter) April 3, 2016