Blake Koch
Blake Koch | |||||||
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![]() Koch at Road America in 2017 | |||||||
Born | West Palm Beach, Florida | August 7, 1985||||||
NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
6 races run over 2 years | |||||||
2014 position | 67th | ||||||
Best finish | 67th (2014) | ||||||
First race | 2013 Bank of America 500 (Charlotte) | ||||||
Last race | 2014 Ford EcoBoost 400 (Homestead) | ||||||
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NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
213 races run over 8 years | |||||||
2017 position | 11th | ||||||
Best finish | 7th (2016) | ||||||
First race | 2009 Kroger On Track for the Cure 250 (Memphis) | ||||||
Last race | 2017 Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead) | ||||||
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NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career | |||||||
10 races run over 3 years | |||||||
2014 position | 109th | ||||||
Best finish | 100th (2012) | ||||||
First race | 2012 American Ethanol 225 (Joilet) | ||||||
Last race | 2014 WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 (Texas) | ||||||
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Statistics current as of November 18, 2017. |
Blake Koch (born August 7, 1985) is an semi-retired American professional stock car racing driver and businessman. He last competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. He is also the founder of FilterTime, a residential air filter company that delivers the filters to consumer's homes on a regular basis.[1]
Racing career
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Nationwide_81_Blake_Koch_2011_Road_America_Bucyrus_200.jpg/220px-Nationwide_81_Blake_Koch_2011_Road_America_Bucyrus_200.jpg)
Koch began his racing career at the age of 22 after he graduated from college with an associate degree in Marketing and Business Degree at Northwood University. Prior to racing on 4 wheels, Koch raced on 2 wheels and was considered one of the top 20 motorcross riders in the state of Florida. Koch raced 8 years until the end of 2008 when he made the transition to NASCAR. In 2009, he started racing in the NASCAR Camping World West Series. He finished 8th in the final point standings and finished runner up in the Rookie of the Year standings.[2] In 2011, he made his 1st Nationwide Series race at Phoenix and finished 17th and on the lead lap. He earned 4 top 20 finishes in 2011 and finished 18th in the final point standings.[3]
Koch planned to compete for Rick Ware Racing in the 2012 Nationwide Series driving the No. 41.[4] Partway through the season Koch was switched to the No. 15 when Timmy Hill returned to Nationwide competition, and soon afterwards was forced to switch to a limited schedule due to a lack of sponsorship.[5] Koch lost the sponsor after the accompanying ESPN ad campaign was denied for "political and religious overtones".[6]
For 2013, Koch could not find a full-time ride, and was forced to start-and-park for SR² Motorsports, for which he had driven a limited start-and-park schedule late in 2012. Koch ran most of the season in the team's No. 24 and No. 00 Toyotas. The team ran full races on occasion.[7] In October, he made his debut in the Sprint Cup Series, driving for Leavine Family Racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway.[8]
Later in 2013, Koch finally caught a break, landing a ride with RAB Racing in the Nationwide Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he started on the outside pole.
However, again unable to find a full-time ride, Koch moved to TriStar Motorsports for the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series season, for the most part running the team's start-and-park entries which help fund TriStar's full-time teams.[9] He also signed with Front Row Motorsports to drive the No. 35 Ford in the Sprint Cup Series for a limited schedule of races.[10] He also ran a handful of races for Go FAS Racing as well.[11]
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ad/8_Blake_Koch_2015_Road_America.jpg/220px-8_Blake_Koch_2015_Road_America.jpg)
In 2015, Koch was finally given a full-time ride by TriStar Motorsports for the full Xfinity Series (formerly Nationwide Series) in the No. 8 Toyota with LeafFilter Gutter Protection as a primary sponsor.[12] Koch was leading with 6 laps to go in Road America when the battery died, resulting in a 20th-place finish. After the race Koch described the race as the closest he had come to winning in his entire career.
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/LeafFilter_Blake_Koch.jpg/220px-LeafFilter_Blake_Koch.jpg)
In 2016, LeafFilter owner Matt Kaulig left TriStar to start his own team, Kaulig Racing, with an alliance with Richard Childress Racing. Koch came over as well, running the full season in the No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet.[13] Koch finished 9th at the season opener at Daytona, his first top-ten of his career. Koch went on to have the best season of his career, scoring five top-10s and qualifying for the inaugural Xfinity Series playoffs. Koch would finish 7th in points, by far his best career NASCAR performance.
In 2017, Koch returned to Kaulig Racing for another full-time Xfinity season with LeafFilter.
On January 9, 2018, it was announced that Ryan Truex would take over Koch's No. 11 ride.[14] Koch knew in the later stages of December that LeafFilter would not return in a large role and that he needed to find sponsorship to stay with the team. Kaulig has stated that he would like to retain Koch in a second car dependent on sponsorship.[15] Koch has stated that he has been contacted by teams in all three of NASCAR's national series and that he would be content with a full or part-time ride in any of those series.[16] He instead served as a driver coach for Matt Tifft and as an analyst for the "Blake's Take" segment of NASCAR Race Hub.[17]
After not driving at all in 2018, on December 4, Koch announced he would be joining JD Motorsports in their No. 4 entry in the Xfinity Series in 2019, left vacant by Ross Chastain. Koch's company FilterTime was announced as a sponsor of the team.[18] On January 31, 2019, Koch stepped down from the ride to focus on his FilterTime business after it was announced that Chastain was returning to the team.[19] Koch continued his driver coaching in 2019, working with Harrison Burton.[17]
Personal life
[edit]Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, Koch currently resides in Huntersville, North Carolina with his wife Shannon and their son, Carter and daughter, Bailey.[5]
Koch is a Christian. Koch has spoken about his faith saying, "[God has] given me this platform that people listen to me and I feel like I have a great opportunity to tell people about Jesus through that."[20]
Koch appeared in a commercial for the voting awareness organization Rise Up and Register; however, it was rejected by ESPN due to "religious and political overtones";[21] despite there being no religious messages in the commercial.[22] ESPN later issued a statement saying, "Koch’s personal religious beliefs played no role in our evaluation."[23]
Koch is the founder and owner of FilterTime, a residential air filter delivery service. The business was founded in 2017 after losing his ride with Kaulig Racing, formed for the purpose of funding his racing career. Dale Earnhardt Jr. became a partner in the company in April 2019.
Motorsports career results
[edit]NASCAR
[edit](key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Sprint Cup Series
[edit]NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | NSCC | Pts | Ref | ||
2013 | Leavine Family Racing | 95 | Ford | DAY | PHO | LVS | BRI | CAL | MAR | TEX | KAN | RCH | TAL | DAR | CLT | DOV | POC | MCH | SON | KEN | DAY | NHA | IND | POC | GLN | MCH | BRI | ATL | RCH | CHI | NHA | DOV | KAN | CLT 38 |
TAL | MAR | TEX | PHO | HOM | 74th | 01 | [24] | ||
2014 | Front Row Motorsports | 35 | Ford | DAY | PHO 37 |
LVS DNQ |
BRI | CAL | MAR | TEX | DAR | RCH | TAL | KAN | 67th | 01 | [25] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Go FAS Racing | 32 | Ford | CLT 35 |
DOV 30 |
POC | MCH | SON | KEN | DAY | NHA | IND | POC | GLN | MCH | BRI | ATL | RCH | CHI | NHA | DOV | KAN | CLT 39 |
TAL | MAR | TEX | PHO | HOM 38 |
Xfinity Series
[edit]Camping World Truck Series
[edit]NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | NCWTC | Pts | Ref | ||||||||||||||||
2012 | Alger Motorsports | 86 | Ram | DAY | MAR | CAR | KAN | CLT | DOV | TEX | KEN | IOW | CHI 32 |
POC | MCH | BRI QL† |
100th | 01 | [35] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
JJC Racing | 0 | Ford | ATL 35 |
IOW | KEN 36 |
LVS | TAL | MAR Wth |
TEX DNQ |
PHO 36 |
HOM 36 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 | FDNY Racing | 28 | Chevy | DAY | MAR | CAR | KAN | CLT 19 |
DOV | TEX | KEN | IOW | ELD | POC | MCH | BRI | MSP | IOW | CHI | LVS | TAL | MAR | TEX | PHO | HOM | 101st | 01 | [36] | ||||||||||||||||
2014 | SS-Green Light Racing | 07 | Chevy | DAY | MAR | KAN | CLT 30 |
109th | 01 | [37] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MB Motorsports | 36 | Ram | DOV 35 |
TEX | GTW | KEN | IOW | ELD | POC | MCH | BRI 35 |
MSP | CHI | NHA | LVS | TAL | MAR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chevy | TEX 32 |
PHO | HOM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
† - Qualified for Clay Greenfield |
K&N Pro Series West
[edit]NASCAR K&N Pro Series West results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | NKNPSWC | Pts | Ref | |||
2008 | Jim Offenbach | 31 | Chevy | AAS | PHO | CTS | IOW | CNS | SON | IRW | DCS | EVG | MMP | IRW | AMP | AAS 22 |
68th | 97 | [38] | |||
2009 | 21 | CTS 11 |
AAS 5 |
PHO 7 |
MAD 13 |
IOW 9 |
DCS 7 |
SON 11 |
IRW 8 |
PIR 12 |
MMP 9 |
CNS 14 |
IOW 20 |
AAS 14 |
8th | 1726 | [39] | |||||
2010 | AAS 9 |
PHO 28 |
IOW 5 |
DCS 3 |
SON 29 |
IRW 2 |
PIR 6 |
MRP 7 |
CNS 10 |
MMP | AAS | PHO | 13th | 1223 | [40] |
ARCA Racing Series
[edit](key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
ARCA Racing Series results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | ARSC | Pts | Ref |
2010 | Eddie Sharp Racing | 6 | Toyota | DAY | PBE 3 |
SLM | TEX | TAL | TOL | POC | MCH | IOW | MFD | POC | BLN | NJE | ISF | CHI | DSF | TOL | SLM | KAN | CAR | 81st | 220 | [41] |
* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
References
[edit]- ^ "Our Story | FilterTime | Blake Koch NASCAR driver starts air filter subscription service". Filter Time. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
- ^ "About No. 81 « Daystar Racing". Daystarracing.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- ^ Blake Koch. "Blake Koch - NASCAR - Yahoo! Sports". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
- ^ Adamcyzk, Jay (January 20, 2012). "Koch joins Rick Ware Racing". Jayski.com. ESPN. Archived from the original on January 15, 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
- ^ a b Moring, Mark (August 7, 2012). "NASCAR Driver Blake Koch Takes a Stand for Jesus". Christianity Today. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
- ^ "Faith Costs NASCAR Driver Sponsorship". Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
- ^ "Blake Koch Returning With SR² Motorsports". SPEED Channel. Fox Sports. February 7, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-02-14. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
- ^ "Major Travis Kvapil and more news". Yardbarker. Fox Sports. October 10, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
- ^ Estrada, Chris (January 10, 2014). "NNS: Jeffrey Earnhardt, Blake Koch land full-time rides". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
- ^ DiZinno, Tony (February 17, 2014). "Blake Koch gets Front Row Motorsports nod for Phoenix, Las Vegas". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
- ^ Knight, Chris (May 13, 2014). "Blake Koch Joins Go FAS Racing For Three Races; Return Set For Travis Kvapil". Catchfence.com. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ^ Staff Report (2015-05-02). "NNS: Koch Picks Up Primary Sponsor". NASCAR. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
- ^ "KAULIG RACING™ INC. TO JOIN NASCAR XFINITY SERIES IN 2016". Kaulig Racing. January 20, 2016. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
- ^ "Ryan Truex replaces Blake Koch at Kaulig Racing". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
- ^ "NXS: Blake Koch Out at Kaulig Racing, Remaining Positive for the Future – Rubbings Racing". rubbingsracing.com. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
- ^ "10 things we know about what Blake Koch is about to do every now and then". www.theoverseascharlottean.com. Archived from the original on 2018-01-14. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
- ^ a b Gluck, Jeff (22 February 2019). "The Driven Life: Blake Koch on the power of positivity and passion". JeffGluck.com. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ Albino, Dustin (4 December 2018). "Blake Koch Moving To JD Motorsports in 2019". Frontstretch. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ McFadin, Daniel (January 31, 2019). "Ross Chastain joins Kaulig Racing for three-race Xfinity deal; returns to JD Motorsports". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
- ^ "God, Grace, and the Roar of Thunder".
- ^ Diamond Joe's Media Rantz. "ESPN Blocks The Vote, Rejects NASCAR Driver's Ad Allegedly Due To "Religious Overtones"". Sportsrantz.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-17. Retrieved 2012-03-31.
- ^ Gluck, Jeff (March 29, 2012). "ESPN Declines To Air NASCAR Sponsor Commercial Due To 'Advocacy'". SBNation. Vox Media. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
- ^ Pockrass, Bob (March 29, 2012). "Nationwide driver loses sponsor after ESPN rejects commercial". Sporting News. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2008 Camping World West Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2009 Camping World West Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2010 K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
- ^ "Blake Koch – 2010 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
External links
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official website
- Blake Koch driver statistics at Racing-Reference