Osborne could return to No. 99

Carl Edwards left open the possibility his former crew chief, Bob Osborne, could return to Edwards’ No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing team in the future if Osborne’s health issues improve and the No. 99 still needs help in performance.

“If we don’t do any better here and Bob is up to it, we will probably put Bob right back in as soon as he is able,” Edwards said. “If this goes well and Bob is doing well in his new role and that is the best thing for him and Chad (Norris) is doing great then we will move forward with that.

“Nothing is in stone right now. It could be a whole difference scenario next week and we all know that.”

Notebook

Furniture Row honors shooting victims: Denver-based Furniture Row Racing is paying tribute to the Aurora, Colo., shooting victims in Sunday’s race at Indy.

A shooting rampage during a screening of the new Batman movie left 12 people dead and 58 wounded last week in Aurora, a suburb of Denver. The hood of driver Regan Smith’s Chevrolet will feature a ribbon with a memorial cross and the red and gold logo of the Colorado state flag.

The rear quarter panels of the car will list the names of the 12 people killed.

Leonard Wood to be honored: Trevor Bayne will run a special paint scheme in Sunday’s race hororing NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Leonard Wood. The No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford will have a throwback candy apple red paint scheme with a photo of Leonard and the HOF logo featured on the hood.

In 1965, Ford and Colin Chapman hired the Woods to service Jim Clark’s car in the Indianapolis 500. An internal device allowing fuel to flow more quickly from a gravity-based fuel tank developed by the Woods dramatically reduced pit times and was key in Clark’s victory.

Observations

• Outwardly, IMS officials maintain they remain pleased with their association with NASCAR. But so far, this year’s “Super Weekend” of racing at the Brickyard has been anything but in terms of drawing fans to the track. Even downtown Indianapolis has lacked any of the “buzz” or excitement of previous years in the days leading up to the Cup race. At some point, there has to be a point when the crowd gets so small in a 250,000-plus seat facility where the race loses its profitability. One wonders if we are approaching that cutoff point.

• It was more than four months ago Dodge unveiled the car it would be racing in the Sprint Cup Series in 2013. We’ve yet to hear what teams are actually going to be running it, however. The more weeks that tick off, the less the time new organizations have to prepare for the 2013 season. With no apparent engine builder and apparently no 2013 cars built yet, Dodge may already be sacrificing its performance next season.

Three things to watch

1 . It’s shaping up to be another good weekend for Hendrick Motorsports. All four drivers were fast in practice on Saturday and both Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson own multiple victories in the race.

2 . A Chevrolet has found its way to the Brickyard’s Victory Lane for nine consecutive seasons beginning with Kevin Harvick’s win in 2003. That’s the best manufacturer winning streak at a currently scheduled track.

3 . Paul Menard earned his first career Cup victory last season at Indy. He needs a repeat if he’s to have a chance to make the Chase this season.

Best bets

Jim Utter gives you three picks for your fantasy racing league:

Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano