Blake Koch Survives Fuel Pressure Issues in Las Vegas Showing

Climbing behind the wheel for the 150th time in his NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) career, Blake Koch began the weekend by posting the 19th and seventh fastest times in both of Friday’s practice sessions at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Continuing the consistency, Koch secured a track-best starting spot, for the third weekend in a row, of 17th for Saturday’s Boyd Gaming 300. 

Wanting to make his way to the front of the pack as soon as the green flag waved, Koch fought a “loose” handling No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ Chevrolet Camaro early on. Trying different lines to best suit his car’s setup, Koch was put a lap down by leaders as a long green flag run ensued.

Crew Chief Chris Rice called the West Palm Beach, Fla. native down pit road on lap 51, under green, for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment to try aid in the “loose” sensation. Returning to the track in 17th, Koch quickly started making his way through traffic, cracking the top-15 just as the caution flag flew on lap 73.

Playing strategy, Rice elected to keep Koch on the racetrack to take the “wave around,” making the 30-year-old driver one of only 15 cars on the lead lap. Determined to make his way through the pack, Koch was catching the competitors in front of him when he radioed to the team that he had lost fuel pressure on lap 105.

Bringing his LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ Chevrolet Camaro down pit road for service, Koch was forced to pull behind the wall for a few minutes until he could get his car to re-fire. Returning to the track, Koch was scored 31st, eight laps behind the leaders.

Despite continuing to fight fuel pressure issues, Koch began running lap times comparable to those in the top-10. Fighting to make up as much ground as he could in the remaining laps of the 200-lap race, Koch made his way up to 29th before the red flag was displayed for a multi-car wreck with 62 laps to go in the Boyd Gaming 300. Restarting 29th, Koch informed his team that his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ Chevrolet Camaro was “plowing tight in Turn 1 and 2.”

 

Making his way down pit road for the final time on lap 162, under green, for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment to “loosen” him back up, Koch was able to mirror the leaders’ lap times for the remainder of the race, crossing the finish line in 26th, nine laps down to race winner Kyle Busch. 
Quote:
“Something was wrong with our fuel system. We’re not really too sure right now what exactly the issue was. We ran out of gas even though we should have had plenty left in the tank. It just wasn’t picking it up. We had a fast car though, and made it better all day. We’ll learn from this weekend and keep a positive attitude as we move on to Phoenix.”

Kaulig Racing PR