Blake Koch just continues to impress is his rookie season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Driving the Daystar Television Network No. 81 for MacDonald Motorsports, Blake has time and time again run with skill and patience beyond his years. Darlington was no exception as Blake earned the Sunoco Rookie of the Race award with an astounding 18th place result. Almost more amazing was Blake went the entire weekend without putting one “Darlington stripe” car in his first appearance at Darlington.
During the one practice session that the Nationwide cars had, Blake quickly learned the tricky 1.366 mile track nicknamed, “The Lady in Black.” Getting faster each time on the track, Blake ended the session 26th on the charts. The rain fell after practice, washing out qualifying completely. This would put Blake 26th on the grid for the race later that night, based on his practice speed.
Early in the race the Daystar.com No. 81 Dodge was quick with Blake moving up to 23rd before lap 10. During the middle stages of the race Blake was caught one-lap down before getting the free pass during a yellow on lap 90. The last 50 laps were very eventful for Blake as he raced hard to advance into the top-20. Blake continues to be a strong closer and brought the Daystar.com Dodge home in 18th place, winning Rookie of the Race.
The 18th place result moved Blake up another spot in the driver’s standings to 23rd, despite missing two races. MacDonald Motorsports remains 26th in the owner’s standings but now are just two points away from 24th. Another strong run for the No. 81 next week would propel them forward in the standings.
MacDonald Motorsports PR
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