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]

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.

Racing career

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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

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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

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NASCAR

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

Sprint Cup Series

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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

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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

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

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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

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(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

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  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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