Blake Koch

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Blake Koch
Koch at Road America in 2017
Born (1985-08-07) August 7, 1985 (age 39)
West Palm Beach, Florida
NASCAR Cup Series career
6 races run over 2 years
2014 position67th
Best finish67th (2014)
First race2013 Bank of America 500 (Charlotte)
Last race2014 Ford EcoBoost 400 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
213 races run over 8 years
2017 position11th
Best finish7th (2016)
First race2009 Kroger On Track for the Cure 250 (Memphis)
Last race2017 Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 10 1
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
10 races run over 3 years
2014 position109th
Best finish100th (2012)
First race2012 American Ethanol 225 (Joilet)
Last race2014 WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 (Texas)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
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

Koch racing at Road America in 2011

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 motocross 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]

Koch's 2015 Xfinity Series car at Road America

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.

Koch at Texas Motor Speedway in 2016.

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

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

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

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

NASCAR Xfinity 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 NXSC Pts Ref
2009 MacDonald Motorsports 81 Dodge DAY CAL LVS BRI TEX NSH PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP IOW GLN MCH BRI CGV ATL RCH DOV KAN CAL CLT MEM
17 		TEX HOM
24 		102nd 173 [26]
Day Enterprises 05 Chevy PHO
DNQ
2010 DAY CAL LVS BRI NSH PHO TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT NSH KEN ROA NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP IOW
22 		GLN MCH BRI CGV ATL RCH DOV KAN CAL CLT GTY TEX PHO HOM 115th 97 [27]
2011 MacDonald Motorsports 81 Dodge DAY PHO
27 		LVS BRI
30 		CAL
33 		TEX
25 		NSH
25 		RCH
27 		DAR
18 		IOW
21 		CLT
34 		CHI
27 		MCH
25 		ROA
14 		DAY
28 		KEN
22 		NHA
18 		NSH
27 		IRP
20 		IOW
28 		GLN
29 		BRI
23 		ATL
23 		RCH
27 		DOV
21 		KAN
25 		PHO
14 		18th 610 [28]
82 TAL
16 		DOV
43
70 CGV
38
52 CHI
27
81 Chevy CLT
18 		TEX
22 		HOM
23
2012 Rick Ware Racing 41 Ford DAY
17 		PHO
31 		LVS
18 		BRI
38 		31st 230 [29]
Chevy CAL
25
15 TEX
36 		DAR
34 		IOW
40 		CLT DOV
41 		MCH
36 		ROA KEN
41
75 RCH
39 		TAL
DNQ
MacDonald Motorsports 82 Dodge DAY
19 		NHA
The Motorsports Group 42 Chevy CHI
36 		IND IOW GLN CGV
41
SR² Motorsports 00 Chevy BRI
DNQ 		ATL
36 		RCH
37
Toyota CHI
36 		KEN KAN
36 		TEX
38 		PHO
39 		HOM
39
24 DOV
22 		CLT
2013 DAY
38 		PHO
16 		LVS
21 		BRI
25 		CAL
32 		TEX
24 		RCH
25 		MCH
22 		ROA CHI
27 		IND BRI
31 		25th 349 [30]
00 TAL
33 		DAR
22 		CLT DOV
40 		IOW
36 		KEN
34 		DAY
DNQ 		NHA
37 		IOW
38 		GLN
36 		MOH
40 		ATL
40 		RCH CHI
38 		KEN
39 		DOV
30 		KAN
37 		CLT
38 		TEX
36 		PHO
38
RAB Racing 99 Toyota HOM
11
2014 TriStar Motorsports 44 Toyota DAY
22 		LVS
20 		RCH
21 		MCH
24 		ROA KEN
19 		ATL
28 		KEN
25 		DOV
23 		PHO
18 		HOM
22 		24th 317 [31]
10 PHO
39 		BRI
40 		CAL
39 		TEX
40 		DAR
40 		TAL
40 		IOW CLT DOV
40 		DAY
DNQ 		NHA
39 		CHI
39 		IND
40 		IOW
38 		GLN
38 		MOH
35 		CHI
40 		KAN
36 		CLT TEX
39
Rick Ware Racing 23 Chevy BRI
35
TriStar Motorsports 91 Toyota RCH
38
2015 8 DAY
20 		ATL
22 		LVS
35 		PHO
25 		CAL
19 		TEX
32 		BRI
22 		RCH
24 		TAL
23 		IOW
22 		CLT
23 		DOV
30 		MCH
36 		CHI
22 		DAY
18 		KEN
22 		NHA
20 		IND
37 		IOW
24 		GLN
18 		MOH
24 		BRI
21 		ROA
21 		DAR
27 		RCH
19 		CHI
21 		KEN
40 		DOV
23 		CLT
33 		KAN
25 		TEX
21 		PHO
20 		HOM
18 		17th 646 [32]
2016 Kaulig Racing 11 Chevy DAY
9 		ATL
20 		LVS
26 		PHO
16 		CAL
12 		TEX
34 		BRI
37 		RCH
8 		TAL
24 		DOV
12 		CLT
14 		POC
15 		MCH
13 		IOW
13 		DAY
22 		KEN
14 		NHA
32 		IND
15 		IOW
13 		GLN
35 		MOH
12 		BRI
8 		ROA
18 		DAR
19 		RCH
15 		CHI
15 		KEN
11 		DOV
14 		CLT
12 		KAN
9 		TEX
14 		PHO
8 		HOM
20 		7th 2200 [33]
2017 DAY
15 		ATL
40 		LVS
12 		PHO
13 		CAL
12 		TEX
16 		BRI
9 		RCH
11 		TAL
31 		CLT
19 		DOV
32 		POC
27 		MCH
17 		IOW
25 		DAY
38 		KEN
23 		NHA
13 		IND
17 		IOW
8 		GLN
22 		MOH
11 		BRI
14 		ROA
7 		DAR
11 		RCH
11 		CHI
9 		KEN
17 		DOV
19 		CLT
25 		KAN
23 		TEX
13 		PHO
6 		HOM
16 		11th 2138 [34]

Camping World Truck Series

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

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

(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

  1. ^ "Our Story | FilterTime | Blake Koch NASCAR driver starts air filter subscription service". Filter Time. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  2. ^ "About No. 81 « Daystar Racing". Daystarracing.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  3. ^ Blake Koch. "Blake Koch - NASCAR - Yahoo! Sports". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ a b Moring, Mark (August 7, 2012). "NASCAR Driver Blake Koch Takes a Stand for Jesus". Christianity Today. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
  6. ^ "Faith Costs NASCAR Driver Sponsorship". Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  7. ^ "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.
  8. ^ "Major Travis Kvapil and more news". Yardbarker. Fox Sports. October 10, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
  9. ^ Estrada, Chris (January 10, 2014). "NNS: Jeffrey Earnhardt, Blake Koch land full-time rides". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2014-01-10.
  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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Staff Report (2015-05-02). "NNS: Koch Picks Up Primary Sponsor". NASCAR. Retrieved 2015-02-17.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "Ryan Truex replaces Blake Koch at Kaulig Racing". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  15. ^ "NXS: Blake Koch Out at Kaulig Racing, Remaining Positive for the Future – Rubbings Racing". rubbingsracing.com. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ Albino, Dustin (4 December 2018). "Blake Koch Moving To JD Motorsports in 2019". Frontstretch. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ "God, Grace, and the Roar of Thunder".
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ Gluck, Jeff (March 29, 2012). "ESPN Declines To Air NASCAR Sponsor Commercial Due To 'Advocacy'". SBNation. Vox Media. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  23. ^ Pockrass, Bob (March 29, 2012). "Nationwide driver loses sponsor after ESPN rejects commercial". Sporting News. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  24. ^ "Blake Koch – 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  25. ^ "Blake Koch – 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  26. ^ "Blake Koch – 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  27. ^ "Blake Koch – 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  28. ^ "Blake Koch – 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  29. ^ "Blake Koch – 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  30. ^ "Blake Koch – 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  31. ^ "Blake Koch – 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  32. ^ "Blake Koch – 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  33. ^ "Blake Koch – 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  34. ^ "Blake Koch – 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  35. ^ "Blake Koch – 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  36. ^ "Blake Koch – 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  37. ^ "Blake Koch – 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  38. ^ "Blake Koch – 2008 Camping World West Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  39. ^ "Blake Koch – 2009 Camping World West Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  40. ^ "Blake Koch – 2010 K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  41. ^ "Blake Koch – 2010 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
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