Grand Valley grad competing in a different way

MICHAEL GRECO

MGRECO@STARBEACON.COM

After playing football at Notre Dame College from 2017-20, Cody Osburn headed out of Ohio.

The decision turned out to be a game changer.

“My head coach [Mike Jacobs] took a job down south, so I followed him,” Osburn said.

Osburn played at Lenoir Rhyne University in the spring of 2021, then graduated from the Hickory, North Carolina school the next year with a degree in business management.

But instead of entering the work world or trying to figure out defenses on the football field, the former tight end went in a different direction – a totally different direction.

Osburn, a 2017 Grand Valley graduate, signed on with RFK racing, in Concord, N.C., and has been a pit crew member in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2022.

“With the NASCAR next-gen car, the pit stops have grown increasingly over the past few years since it was introduced, as compared to the old ‘5 lug’ cars,” Osburn said. “This meant that teams had more pressure of finding guys that could compete at an even higher level before, so most teams have started recruiting high-end athletes, whether it be ex-NFL players, ex-college athletes, etc..”

Osburn said NASCAR teams conduct combines to find the next person.

“I had a trainer at LR that knew the coaches at RFK, which gave me a chance to try out with them,” he said. “I was very fortunate to almost immediately be signed as a Fueler for the upcoming year.

“Usually, it takes time to find yourself in a pit on Sundays, but with the new car and pit stops, I was able to pretty much get to the track right away.”

Osburn worked with Tod Gilliland’s No. 38 car in 2023 and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s 47 last season.

This season, Osburn is with Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 car.

“I really had no idea that pit crews in the capacity that I know now were even a thing,” Osburn said. “But as soon as I was introduced into the NASCAR world, I knew that it was something that I wanted to do. It allowed me to still compete at the highest level in sports and become a professional athlete.

“I had enough track experience, as well as the fact that I was performing at a very high level for my position. Kind of a daunting feeling being able to pit for the owner, but also join one of the best pit crews in NASCAR. But that’s also what I love about the opportunity, the chance to push myself that much harder in order to succeed and hopefully to be part of a championship-winning team.”

Osburn said the opportunity with NASCAR has opened a whole new world.

“You get to see so much of the country with all of the traveling and different tracks we race,” he said. “The people that I work with have become like family to me in such a short amount of time.”

Winning is important to Osburn, and that happened in October at Talladega, when Stenhouse Jr. took the checkered flag.

“I would have to say that was my favorite moment/experience to date,” Osburn said. “There are a lot of guys who will go their whole careers in the cup series and never get a win. It was very surreal. It was one of the biggest rewards. That’s what makes this sport so humbling in a way because you may go years without a win, but when

See OSBURN on B2

Cody Osburn is working as a fueler for RFK Racing, based out of North Carolina, in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Grand Valley graduate is pictured at the Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida in 2024.

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that one comes, you can’t explain the emotions with it.” Osburn said being a good pit crew member is parallel to being a great football player.

“We watch and study film, just like in football, in order to analyze every component that goes into your position and the pit stop as a whole,” he said. “It’s really being able to have the coachability and want to get better every day, whether it be in the weight room or out on the practice pad. In that way, it is very similar to the things I grew to know in football.”

Osburn will look to continue this career for as long as possible.

“Usually, guys can compete at a high level into their midto- late 30s,” he said. “The Fueler position is a tad different. Usually, once you’re able to get into a fueler position, they don’t tend to move you and your longevity is normally three-five years longer than other positions.”

But even though Osburn is based in North Carolina, he hasn’t forgotten his Ashtabula County roots.

During the holidays, he spoke to the undefeated Grand Valley boys basketball team.

“I was more than excited to do so,” Osburn said. “I kind of discussed my path after high school because I had no idea what was in store. I know it’s hard in high school to think about doing a certain thing or making it to a certain level, but there really isn’t anything in this world you can’t accomplish if you just put your head down and work for it.

“I was from a small school, so I know how it feels to have that feeling of possibly not achieving the goals that I had set for myself. I went from a small-town guy to a preferred walk-on at NDC, to becoming a starter that earned a scholarship, and finally making it to the ultimate level of being able to compete on Sundays with NASCAR. The journey would be no fun if it was a cake walk.”

Turk is proud of Osburn’s accomplishments.

“We knew back when he was in school he was destined for great things, but we had no idea this would be his path,” Turk said. “We are extremely proud of him.”