Blake Koch’s Final Surge Stopped Short at Talladega

Looking to repeat with another career-best finish this weekend, Blake Koch showed speed early on, posting the seventh and 11th fastest times in Friday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) practice sessions at Talladega Superspeedway.
 
Tackling the 2.66-mile oval in single-car qualifying, the West Palm Beach, Fla. native recorded another track-best qualifying effort, capturing a 13th-place starting spot for Saturday afternoon’s Sparks Energy 300.
 
Knowing that there would be a competition caution on lap 20, Koch decided to spend the start of the 113-lap race getting a feel for the handling of his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ Chevrolet Camaro.
 
When the competition caution occurred, crew chief Chris Rice played the strategy card right away, electing to keep Koch on track while the rest of the leaders pit, capturing a point for leading a lap. Coming to pit road the next time by, Koch received four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment to help better his already fast Chevrolet Camaro.
 
Lining up 29th for the restart on lap 26, Koch tried to make the high line work, but couldn’t find any takers to help him make it to the front of the pack. Maintaining his position out of harm’s way, Koch was able to miss a spin by the No.25, bringing out the yellow flag for the second time on lap 32.
 
Coming down pit road under caution, Rice made the call for fuel only for the No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ Chevrolet Camaro. He would make the same call, just 5 laps later when the caution flag would be displayed once again on lap 41.
 
Despite only half of the 113-lap race complete, intensity picked up within the main pack of cars, leading Koch to make the decision to fall to the back of the group to stay clear of any incidents. Maintaining a solid spot within the pack, Rice brought the LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ Chevrolet Camaro down pit road for the final time, under green on lap 76 for right side tires and fuel only.
 
Once green flag pit stops cycled through, Koch found himself within the top-15 just as the caution flag waved twice more, on lap 85 and 105. Restarting both times within the top-10, Koch weaved his way through the lanes, trying to make it to the front of the pack. However, another caution on lap 111 sent the Sparks Energy 300 into overtime.   
 
Restarting 11th on the first green-white-checkered attempt, Koch set up his strategy by getting a big run coming off of Turn 4 on the last lap. Just as he moved up to the high lane, the No. 22 of Joey Logano spun and slid up the track as well, leaving Koch with no place to go to avoid him snd unofficially scored with a 24th-place finish to winner Elliott Sadler.    
 
Quote:
“I’m fine and it’s all because my team does such a great job in making sure my car is safe. The guys at Kaulig Racing™ worked hard all day to put me in position at the end of the race. They got me to where I needed to be. I had a big run on the last lap and decided to make a big move to gain a few more spots. Unfortunately it didn’t work out. We’ll rebound though and be ready for the next superspeedway race.”

Kaulig Racing PR