Blake Koch (born August 7, 1985) is an American professional
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
driver and businessman. He last competed in the
NASCAR Xfinity Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
, driving the No. 11
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...
for
Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Matt Kaulig, an owner of team sponsor LeafFilter. Kaulig Racing fields two Cup Series Chevrolet ...
. He is also the founder of FilterTime, a residential
air filter
A particulate air filter is a device composed of fibrous, or porous materials which removes solid particulates such as dust, pollen, mold, and bacteria from the air. Filters containing an adsorbent or catalyst such as charcoal (carbon) may als ...
company that delivers the filters to consumer's homes on a regular basis.
Racing career
![Nationwide 81 Blake Koch 2011 Road America Bucyrus 200](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/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
Northwood University (NU) is a private university focused on business education with its main campus in Midland, Michigan. Opened in 1959, more than 33,000 people have graduated from the institution.
History
Northwood University opened as North ...
. 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
The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racin ...
. He finished 8th in the final point standings and finished runner up in the Rookie of the Year standings. 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.
Koch planned to compete for
Rick Ware Racing
Rick Ware Racing (RWR) is an American motorsports team which currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and the NTT IndyCar Series.
History
The organizational roots of RWR date back to Ware & Sons Racing with ...
in the 2012 Nationwide Series driving the No. 41. Partway through the season Koch was switched to the No. 15 when
Timmy Hill
Timothy G. Hill (born February 25, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 56 Toyota Tundra for his own team, Hill Motorsports and part ...
returned to Nationwide competition, and soon afterwards was forced to switch to a limited schedule due to a lack of sponsorship.
Koch lost the sponsor after the accompanying
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
ad campaign was denied for "political and religious overtones".
For 2013, Koch could not find a full-time ride, and was forced to
start-and-park
Start and park is a term used in auto racing, particularly in NASCAR-sanctioned races, to describe the practice of racing teams starting races but pulling the car off the track after just a few laps in order to collect prize money while avoiding e ...
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. In October, he made his debut in the
Sprint Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...
, driving for
Leavine Family Racing
Leavine Family Racing (formerly Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing and originally Leavine Fenton Racing) was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. Owned by Sharon and Bob Leavine, the tea ...
at
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including th ...
.
Later in 2013, Koch finally caught a break, landing a ride with
RAB Racing
RAB Racing with Brack Maggard was an American professional stock car racing team that attempted NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Racing Series. The team was co-owned by Robert A. Benton Sr. and his ...
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
TriStar Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that used to compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The team competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series primarily during the early to mid 1990s, suspending racing oper ...
for the
2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series
The 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series was the 33rd season of the Nationwide Series, a stock car racing series sanctioned by the NASCAR in the United States. It began with the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway on February 22, and ende ...
season, for the most part running the team's start-and-park entries which help fund TriStar's full-time teams. He also signed with
Front Row Motorsports
Front Row Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team began running part-time in 2004 as Means-Jenkins Motorsports under a partners ...
to drive the No. 35 Ford in the Sprint Cup Series for a limited schedule of races. He also ran a handful of races for
Go FAS Racing
Go Fas Racing (doing business as Circle Sport-Go Fas Racing LLC, and often stylized as Go FAS Racing) is an American professional stock car racing team that formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. Founded by long-time crew chief Frank Allen ...
as well.
![8 Blake Koch 2015 Road America](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/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
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
(formerly Nationwide Series) in the No. 8 Toyota with LeafFilter Gutter Protection as a primary sponsor. 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.
![LeafFilter Blake Koch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/LeafFilter_Blake_Koch.jpg)
In 2016, LeafFilter owner Matt Kaulig left TriStar to start his own team,
Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Matt Kaulig, an owner of team sponsor LeafFilter. Kaulig Racing fields two Cup Series Chevrolet ...
, with an alliance with
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard ...
. Koch came over as well, running the full season in the No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet. 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
Ryan M. Truex (born March 18, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. Truex's older brother Martin was the 2017 ...
would take over Koch's No. 11 ride. 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. 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. He instead served as a driver coach for
Matt Tifft
Matthew Kenneth Tifft (born June 26, 1996) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, and current team owner. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 36 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports unt ...
and as an analyst for the "Blake's Take" segment of ''
NASCAR Race Hub
''NASCAR Race Hub'' is a daily NASCAR news program broadcast on Fox Sports 1 Monday through Thursday. Originally broadcast on Speed, the show replaced ''NASCAR Nation'' and ''This Week in NASCAR''. ''NASCAR Race Hub'' premiered on October 12, 200 ...
''.
After not driving at all in 2018, on December 4, Koch announced he would be joining
JD Motorsports
JD Motorsports, is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. It is owned and operated by Johnny Davis. It currently fields two Chevrolet Camaro SS teams: The No. 4 for Bayley Currey ...
in their No. 4 entry in the Xfinity Series in 2019, left vacant by
Ross Chastain
Ross Lee Chastain (born December 4, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing Team. He is the older brother of NASCAR Camp ...
. Koch's company FilterTime was announced as a sponsor of the team. 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.
Koch continued his driver coaching in 2019, working with
Harrison Burton
Harrison Brian Burton (born October 9, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 21 Ford Mustang for Wood Brothers Racing.
Racing career Early years
Burton's racing ...
.
Personal life
Born in
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...
, Koch currently resides in
Huntersville, North Carolina
Huntersville is a large suburban town in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. A part of the Charlotte metropolitan area, the population was 61,376 at the 2020 census, making Huntersville the 15th largest municipality in North Caroli ...
with his wife Shannon and their son, Carter and daughter, Bailey.
Koch is a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. Koch has spoken about his faith saying, "
od has
OD or Od may refer to:
Education
* Old Diocesan, a former pupil of Diocesan College
* Old Dunelmian, a former pupil of Durham School
Medicine
* OD or o.d., an List of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions, abbreviation used in medical pres ...
given me this platform that people listen to me and I feel like I have a great opportunity to tell people about
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
through that."
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"; despite there being no religious messages in the commercial. ESPN later issued a statement saying, "Koch’s personal religious beliefs played no role in our evaluation."
Koch is the founder and owner of FilterTime, a residential
air filter
A particulate air filter is a device composed of fibrous, or porous materials which removes solid particulates such as dust, pollen, mold, and bacteria from the air. Filters containing an adsorbent or catalyst such as charcoal (carbon) may als ...
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.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...
became a partner in the company in April 2019.
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Sprint Cup Series
Xfinity Series
Camping World Truck Series
K&N Pro Series West
ARCA Racing Series
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koch, Blake
Living people
1985 births
Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida
Racing drivers from Florida
NASCAR drivers
ARCA Menards Series drivers
Northwood University alumni
People from Huntersville, North Carolina