Since making his Xfinity Series debut in 2009, Blake Koch hasn’t exactly set the NASCAR garage on fire. As a matter of fact, until 2016 he had been considered more of a journeyman driver, just there to fill the seat when the situation called for it. But despite running a full 2015 with TriStar Motorsports and having a few promising runs, LeafFilter (Koch’s sponsor) owner Matt Kaulig left TriStar Motorsports at the end of the season and formed his own team, Kaulig Racing, with Richard Childress Racing assistance. He landed Koch as his driver, and 2016 has seen the 30-year-old driver grow exponentially behind the wheel.
How much has Koch grown? After eight events he holds two top-10s and sits 13th in points. He’s had the speed in his No. 11 Camaro, as shown at Bristol where he posted the fastest speed in practice. He’s been steady in qualifying, where he has yet to qualify outside the top-25 and has a season-high qualifying effort of eighth at Fontana. In the season opener at Daytona, he started and finished ninth, cementing that things were indeed changing for him and the LeafFilter crew.
He’s a solid guy with a new, decent team and loyal sponsorship that has stuck with him since 2014. A power-based win is out of the question for the crew thanks to the dominance of Cup drivers in XFINITY, but don’t count out places like Road America, where he led with six laps to go last year before being sidelined by a faulty battery. For that matter, don’t count out any of the short tracks this season, as Koch has had strong runs this season at Bristol and Richmond, the latter of which he finished a career-best eighth.
Kaulig Racing is a small team, and as with all new teams, there will be hiccups. At Texas, fellow competitor Jeb Burton cut a tire and was drilled by Koch’s No. 11. Issues at Bristol relegated Koch to his worst finish of the year, 37th. He’s only gotten three lead lap finishes this year. Of course, there are struggles for a team currently trying to find their place in the sport.
But look at his 2015 season after three races. Not a single lead-lap finish and not a finish better than 19th. As a matter of fact, for the entire 2015 season, Koch had only five lead-lap finishes, with only three of them on road courses. It’s a given, Koch is doing more with his new team in 2016 than anything that was ever done at TriStar Motorsports.
Koch’s best chance for success is now, and there’s no argument that he’ll make the most of his opportunity. With RCR assistance and the full backing of the Kaulig group, Koch will set a number of career-highs before the season wraps up in November.
