Fast Facts: Blake Koch

credit: NASCAR Media

Xfinity Series driver Blake Koch got off to a late start in his racing career, but that hasn’t stopped him from climbing the NASCAR ladder all the way to a spot in the first-ever Xfinity Series Chase for the Championship. Learn more about Koch, who has advanced to the Round of 8, in this week’s Fast Facts.

• Blake Koch was born Aug. 7, 1985 in West Palm Beach, FL. His four-wheel racing career began after he graduated from Northwood University at 22, but prior to that he was considered by many to be one of the top 20 motorcross drivers in Florida.
• Koch made a smooth transition to race cars – so smooth that, after just 20 races, he landed a spot in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West with Richard Childress’ driver development team in 2009. Koch finished eighth in points and was runner-up for Rookie of the Year that season. He also made his Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series debut that year at Memphis Motorsports Park for MacDonald Motorsports, finishing 17^th.
• After competing part-time in the West Series in 2010, Koch raced full-time in the Nationwide Series in 2011 with MacDonald Motorsports, finishing 18^th in points and once again earning runner-up honors in the Rookie of the Year battle. Over the next few years, Koch raced for a number of teams, including Rick Ware Racing, The Motorsports Group, SR Motorsports, RAB Racing and TriStar Motorsports.
• 2014 found Koch racing close to a full-time schedule in the Nationwide Series with numerous teams before he settled in at TriStar Motorsports with sponsorship from LeafFilter Gutter Protection in 2015, finishing 17^th in Xfinity Series points. In 2016, Koch joined Kaulig Racing – formed by the owner of LeafFilter – and earned his first career top 10 finish at Daytona in February; Kaulig Racing has an alliance with Richard Childress Racing.
• Koch has also competed in the Sprint Cup Series (six races in 2013 and 2014) and the Camping World Truck Series (10 races from 2012-2014).
• Koch and his wife Shannon are parents of two children, son Carter and daughter Bailey.
• Learn more about Blake Koch and follow the rest of his season at www.blakekoch.com.