Blake Koch Rallies Through Roller Coaster Weekend in Iowa for Top-15 Finish

Starting out his weekend at Iowa Speedway posting the 13th-fastest lap in both of Friday afternoon’s NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) practice sessions, Blake Koch went on to qualify a track-best 19th for Sunday’s American Ethanol E15 250.

 

Trying to make up ground early when the green flag dropped for the 250-lap race, Koch found himself fighting a “loose center off” No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ Chevrolet Camaro, which prevented him from making many aggressive moves.

 

Managing to hold onto his position until the competition caution was displayed on lap 40, crew chief Chris Rice made the call to bring Koch down pit road for four tires, fuel and major adjustments to try “tighten” the Kaulig Racing™ driver up.

 

Restarting 15th due to a fast pit stop by his LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ team, Koch still had his hands full with a “loose on throttle” Chevrolet Camaro. Trying various lines around the racetrack, trying to find something that better suited his car’s setup, Koch was able to maintain his position within the top-20 until the caution flag would wave on lap 98, and again on lap 126.

 

Coming down pit road, under both cautions, for four tires, fuel and another round of major adjustments, Koch was able to restart within the top-15. Much happier with his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ Chevrolet Camaro after the last set of changes Rice called for, Koch continued his trek to the front of the field.

 

Unfortunately just as the Kaulig Racing™ driver made it to the top-10, contact with another competitor sent him spinning through the front stretch grass, bringing out the caution on lap 136. Able to bring his Chevrolet Camaro down pit road to the attention of his team, Koch got four fresh tires, fuel and was sent back on his way with no major damage.

 

Having to restart at the back of the pack, Koch quickly began his march to the front of the field, knocking on the door of the top-15 after only 10 laps. Working his way up to 14th, just as the caution flag flew once again, this time on lap 193, Koch came down pit road for fuel and a set of four tires that Goodyear replaced after the earlier spin.

 

Lining up 11th for the restart with 50 laps to go in the American Ethanol E15 250, Koch quickly realized that he had a tire problem when they went back green. Using tires that the Kaulig Racing™ team had no data for, Koch had the sensation of a flat rear tire. Just as the team began discussing bringing Koch to pit road, the yellow flag was displayed on lap 219.

 

Able to come down pit road one last time, Rice made the call to put 20-lap scuff tires on the No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ Chevrolet Camaro for the final 27 laps of the race. Restarting 14th, Koch was able to snag another position in the remaining laps to score a track-best finish of 13th at Iowa Speedway.

 

Quote:
“We had a pretty good car there through the middle part of the race. I was all the way up to the top-10 and just got spun out. It was really unfortunate seeing as we were having a good day. Not only did we spin, but also we lost a set of new tires because of it. It just got us off strategy. But we pulled out a top-15 finish for the fifth straight week in a row which is pretty cool.”

Kaulig Racing PR