Curtis Markham will serve as Matt Kenseth’s interim spotter this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing stated Tuesday.
Lorin Ranier was Kenseth’s spotter throughout Daytona Speedweeks. Kenseth led on the final lap of the Daytona 500 when he moved high to block teammate Denny Hamlin, they made contact, and Kenseth fell back to 14th while Hamlin won.
The team states the plan had been for Ranier to spot at Daytona because he had more recent experience doing so on a superspeedway and then have Markham, a former spotter for Hamlin, take over afterward. Markham will serve as Kenseth’s spotter until Chris “Crazy” Osborne returns.
Osborne and his family were injured in a Dec. 17 auto accident. The driver of the other vehicle was charged with driving while under the influence. Osborne suffered a compound fracture of his right leg that required nearly 25 screws from his kneecap to his ankle because the bone was shattered. No return date for Osborne has been announced.