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| Osborne off to the races for 15 years - Seacoast Online Posted: 03 Oct 2009 09:20 PM PDT
Greg Osborne remembers his last day as a Seacoast resident. It was Thanksgiving Day in 1994, and the 22-year-old had a sudden announcement to make to his family. "Bye Mom, bye Dad, I'm off to Atlanta," said the Portsmouth native and former Hampton resident. Osborne wasn't going to follow the Grateful Dead around the country, nor was he off to make his mark in Hollywood. He had gotten a full-time job down South working on race cars. Oh, and in case you're wondering the obvious question, Osborne confirmed "Yeah, I ate, then I left." Fast forward 15 years and Osborne, now 37, is the car chief for Germain Racing's No. 13 car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. For those unfamiliar, a car chief is second in a race team's line of command only to the crew chief. "A crew chief is so busy with so many responsibilities, he doesn't get to work on the cars, and that's what I love doing," Osborne explained while taking a break last week at Germain Racing headquarters in North Carolina. "So my responsibility as car chief is to get everything done related to the car. I have to delegate a lot, but I'm involved in taking the car apart after a race, cleaning it, rebuilding it, and carrying out all the work the crew chief and the engineers decide on." He spends upwards of 80 hours a week working on the No. 13 GEICO Camry, and travels around the country to approximately 20 races a year. The 20 races is actually a partial schedule for the Spring Cup Series. Osborne started with Germain in January after previously working full, year-round racing schedules for the past 11 years. "Only having to go to 20 races a year has been nice for my family," he said. "I've been able to do a lot of things with them that I normally would not have been able to do." The family Osborne refers to includes his wife, Heather, whom he met in Daytona, Fla., of all places, which seems appropriate for a racing family. And not for nothing, who says you can't find lasting love on spring break? Greg and Heather have two children, a 5-year-old daughter, Riley, and a 4-year-old son, Blake. Things are obviously going well at home for Osborne, and they're also going well at work. He was recently nominated for the prestigious NASCAR Craftsman Wrenchman Award, which recognizes a car team member who excels in the shop and along pit row but doesn't get much in the way of recognition or exposure. So Seacoast residents can do right by one of their own by visiting www.craftsman.com/wrenchman and voting for Osborne. "I didn't know I was nominated for this award, so I was pretty surprised when people showed up at the shop one day and wanted to take my picture," he said. "It's exciting, though." His profile on the Germain Racing Web site lists Hampton, N.H., as his home town, but Osborne actually has roots throughout the Seacoast. He was born in Portsmouth, grew up in Hampton and Hampton Falls, and graduated from Spaulding High School in Rochester (Class of 1990). So many Seacoast towns, so many options. Working on race cars is what Osborne always seemed destined to do, though. "As a kid I'd always take apart bikes and try to rebuild them better than they were," he recalled with a laugh. One of Osborne's grandfathers (technically his maternal step-grandfather), Graham Pretty, was a mechanic and used to own Pretty's Auto Repair on Route 1 in Hampton Falls, and Osborne spent a lot of time there. Osborne's maternal grandfather, Jack Marston, was also mechanically inclined. It was at Marston's house in Arizona that Richard Osborne first realized his son, Greg, had a passion for racing. "We had just gotten back to the house after going to the races at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix," Richard said. "Greg was 2 years old, and he spent an hour running around a big coffee table like it was a race track. Right then, I knew he was onto something." Richard admits he isn't mechanically inclined, but he loves racing and certainly exposed his son to it. Dad Osborne even worked as an official for many years, including a stint as race director for the now-defunct Busch North Series. As Greg grew, he built and raced go-karts — winning many trophies, his father proudly points out — rode around on ATCs, ATVs and dirt bikes, and as a teenager helped out at Lee Speedway and Star Speedway in Epping. By the time he was 18, he was working weekends for cars on the Busch North Series. Not long after that, his dream took him south, which has included stints with Felix Sabates Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc., and Michael Waltrip Racing. Due to the demands and hectic schedule that comes with a life in racing, he doesn't get back to the Seacoast nearly as often as he would like. Still, he is living his dream, something he knows few people get to do. "I'm really happy about the way things have gone," he said. "I have a great family and I enjoy working with my team." When Osborne does return to the area, his father and stepmom, Linda, still live in Hampton, as does his mom, Lisa Cole. Richard and Linda are recognizable to many people in the community as coaches. Richard was cross-country coach at Winnacunnet High School for 11 years and is now filling the same role at Hampton Academy, while Linda has been the field hockey coach at Winnacunnet for 24 years and counting. In case you're wondering, Richard remembers that day in 1994 when Greg made the announcement he was leaving. "Yes, I remember that day. He ate, and he ate a lot," he said with a laugh. When you're chasing your dream, sometimes you have to chase quickly, especially in the world of racing — even if that means having to eat and run on Thanksgiving. That's exactly what Greg Osborne did, and he never looked back. Mike Sullivan is a Seacoast Sunday columnist. His column appears every week, and you can also read him every Monday in Portsmouth Herald Sports. Sullivan can be reached at sullywrites@comcast.net. 
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