Wally Brown Debuts As Crew Chief
Although Wally Brown has been involved in racing almost his entire life, this will be the first weekend he sits atop the pit box and calls the race for Carl Edwards and the No. 99 Office Depot crew. Brown is set to follow in the footsteps of Bob Osborne, who has led the No. 99 team since 2004. When Jack Roush moved Osborne to the No. 26, this left a vacancy on the No. 99 team. Roush looked to Brown, who has been the head engineer at Roush Racing since 2004 to fill the void.
Brown joined Roush Racing in 2002 as the team engineer for the No. 6 car, piloted by Mark Martin. During Brown's tenure as Martin's team engineer, he helped led the team to one victory, 17 top fives, and more than 30 top-10 finishes. Brown remained with the No. 6 team until 2004, when the position of head engineer became available. Ironically, it was Osborne who had left to become crew chief for the No. 99 team.
While overseeing the engineering department, Brown helped Roush Racing secure a NEXTEL Cup Championship in 2004. In 2005, Brown was a part of Roush's "Five for Five in 2005," which landed all five Roush cars in the "Chase for the Championship."
Brown takes the helm of a team who currently finds themselves in the 22nd position in the point standings, but only 183 points out of the coveted 10th place. Look for Edwards and Brown to make their first start together this weekend at the Phoenix International Raceway. Phoenix holds a lot of "firsts" for the Office Depot team. Phoenix International Raceway is where Edwards ran his first pavement race in 2001, and ironically, the same track Brown will make his first foray as a Nextel Cup crew chief.
Although Wally Brown has been involved in racing almost his entire life, this will be the first weekend he sits atop the pit box and calls the race for Carl Edwards and the No. 99 Office Depot crew. Brown is set to follow in the footsteps of Bob Osborne, who has led the No. 99 team since 2004. When Jack Roush moved Osborne to the No. 26, this left a vacancy on the No. 99 team. Roush looked to Brown, who has been the head engineer at Roush Racing since 2004 to fill the void.
Brown joined Roush Racing in 2002 as the team engineer for the No. 6 car, piloted by Mark Martin. During Brown's tenure as Martin's team engineer, he helped led the team to one victory, 17 top fives, and more than 30 top-10 finishes. Brown remained with the No. 6 team until 2004, when the position of head engineer became available. Ironically, it was Osborne who had left to become crew chief for the No. 99 team.
While overseeing the engineering department, Brown helped Roush Racing secure a NEXTEL Cup Championship in 2004. In 2005, Brown was a part of Roush's "Five for Five in 2005," which landed all five Roush cars in the "Chase for the Championship."
Brown takes the helm of a team who currently finds themselves in the 22nd position in the point standings, but only 183 points out of the coveted 10th place. Look for Edwards and Brown to make their first start together this weekend at the Phoenix International Raceway. Phoenix holds a lot of "firsts" for the Office Depot team. Phoenix International Raceway is where Edwards ran his first pavement race in 2001, and ironically, the same track Brown will make his first foray as a Nextel Cup crew chief.