Blake Koch

Blake Koch (born August 7, 1985) is an American semi-retired 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.

Racing career

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 four wheels, Koch raced on two wheels and was considered one of the top twenty motocross riders in the state of Florida. Koch raced eight 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 eighth in the final point standings and finished runner up in the Rookie of the Year standings. In 2011, he made his first Nationwide Series race at Phoenix and finished seventeenth and on the lead lap. He earned four top-twenty finishes in 2011 and finished eighteenth in the final point standings.

Koch planned to compete for Rick Ware Racing in the 2012 Nationwide Series driving the No. 41. 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.

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. In October, he made his debut in the Sprint Cup Series, driving for Leavine Family Racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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. He also signed with Front Row Motorsports 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 as well.

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. Koch was leading with six laps to go in Road America when the battery died, resulting in a twentieth place finish. After the race, Koch described the race as the closest he had come to winning in his entire career.

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. Koch finished ninth 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-tens and qualifying for the inaugural Xfinity Series playoffs. Koch would finish seventh 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. 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 and as an analyst for the "Blake's Take" segment of NASCAR Race Hub.

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. 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.

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."

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 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 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 CLT38 TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 74th 01 2014 Front Row Motorsports 35 Ford DAY PHO37 LVSDNQ BRI CAL MAR TEX DAR RCH TAL KAN 67th 0 Go FAS Racing 32 Ford CLT35 DOV30 POC MCH SON KEN DAY NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH CHI NHA DOV KAN CLT39 TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM38

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 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 MEM17 TEX HOM24 102nd 173 Day Enterprises 05 Chevy PHODNQ 2010 DAY CAL LVS BRI NSH PHO TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT NSH KEN ROA NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP IOW22 GLN MCH BRI CGV ATL RCH DOV KAN CAL CLT GTY TEX PHO HOM 115th 97 2011 MacDonald Motorsports 81 Dodge DAY PHO27 LVS BRI30 CAL33 TEX25 NSH25 RCH27 DAR18 IOW21 CLT34 CHI27 MCH25 ROA14 DAY28 KEN22 NHA18 NSH27 IRP20 IOW28 GLN29 BRI23 ATL23 RCH27 DOV21 KAN25 PHO14 18th 610 82 TAL16 DOV43 70 CGV38 52 CHI27 81 Chevy CLT18 TEX22 HOM23 2012 Rick Ware Racing 41 Ford DAY17 PHO31 LVS18 BRI 38 31st 230 Chevy CAL25 15 TEX36 DAR34 IOW40 CLT DOV41 MCH36 ROA KEN41 75 RCH39 TALDNQ MacDonald Motorsports 82 Dodge DAY19 NHA The Motorsports Group 42 Chevy CHI36 IND IOW GLN CGV41 SR² Motorsports 00 Chevy BRIDNQ ATL36 RCH37 Toyota CHI36 KEN KAN36 TEX38 PHO39 HOM39 24 DOV22 CLT 2013 DAY38 PHO16 LVS21 BRI25 CAL32 TEX24 RCH25 MCH22 ROA CHI27 IND BRI31 25th 349 00 TAL33 DAR22 CLT DOV40 IOW36 KEN34 DAYDNQ NHA37 IOW38 GLN36 MOH40 ATL40 RCH CHI38 KEN39 DOV30 KAN37 CLT38 TEX36 PHO38 RAB Racing 99 Toyota HOM11 2014 TriStar Motorsports 44 Toyota DAY22 LVS20 RCH21 MCH24 ROA KEN19 ATL28 KEN25 DOV23 PHO18 HOM22 24th 317 10 PHO39 BRI40 CAL39 TEX40 DAR40 TAL40 IOW CLT DOV40 DAYDNQ NHA39 CHI39 IND40 IOW38 GLN38 MOH35 CHI40 KAN36 CLT TEX39 Rick Ware Racing 23 Chevy BRI35 TriStar Motorsports 91 Toyota RCH38 2015 8 DAY20 ATL22 LVS35 PHO25 CAL19 TEX32 BRI22 RCH24 TAL23 IOW22 CLT23 DOV30 MCH36 CHI22 DAY18 KEN22 NHA20 IND37 IOW24 GLN18 MOH24 BRI21 ROA21 DAR27 RCH19 CHI21 KEN40 DOV23 CLT33 KAN25 TEX21 PHO20 HOM18 17th 646 2016 Kaulig Racing 11 Chevy DAY9 ATL20 LVS26 PHO16 CAL12 TEX34 BRI37 RCH8 TAL24 DOV12 CLT14 POC15 MCH13 IOW13 DAY22 KEN14 NHA32 IND15 IOW13 GLN35 MOH12 BRI8 ROA18 DAR19 RCH15 CHI15 KEN11 DOV14 CLT12 KAN9 TEX14 PHO8 HOM20 7th 2200 2017 DAY15 ATL40 LVS12 PHO13 CAL12 TEX16 BRI9 RCH11 TAL31 CLT19 DOV32 POC27 MCH17 IOW25 DAY38 KEN23 NHA13 IND17 IOW8 GLN22 MOH11 BRI14 ROA7 DAR11 RCH11 CHI9 KEN17 DOV19 CLT25 KAN23 TEX13 PHO6 HOM16 11th 2138

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 Pts Ref 2012 Alger Motorsports 86 Ram DAY MAR CAR KAN CLT DOV TEX KEN IOW CHI32 POC MCH BRIQL† 100th 01 JJC Racing 0 Ford ATL35 IOW KEN36 LVS TAL MARWth TEXDNQ PHO36 HOM36 2013 FDNY Racing 28 Chevy DAY MAR CAR KAN CLT19 DOV TEX KEN IOW ELD POC MCH BRI MSP IOW CHI LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 101st 01 2014 SS-Green Light Racing 07 Chevy DAY MAR KAN CLT30 109th 01 MB Motorsports36 Ram DOV35 TEX GTW KEN IOW ELD POC MCH BRI35 MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR Chevy TEX32 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 Pts Ref 2008 Jim Offenbach 31 Chevy AAS PHO CTS IOW CNS SON IRW DCS EVG MMP IRW AMP AAS22 68th 97 2009 21 CTS11 AAS5 PHO7 MAD13 IOW9 DCS7 SON11 IRW8 PIR12 MMP9 CNS14 IOW20 AAS14 8th 1726 2010 AAS9 PHO28 IOW5 DCS3 SON29 IRW2 PIR6 MRP7 CNS10 MMP AAS PHO 13th 1223

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 Pts Ref 2010 Eddie Sharp Racing 6 Toyota DAY PBE3 SLM TEX TAL TOL POC MCH IOW MFD POC BLN NJE ISF CHI DSF TOL SLM KAN CAR 81st 220

Season still in progress Ineligible for series points