Blake Koch Preservers for Solid Run at Road America

Kicking off his weekend at Road America with the 15th and 20th-fastest laps in the two NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) practice sessions Friday, Blake Koch rebounded in qualifying. Laying down a lap Friday night good enough for a ninth-place starting spot in the Road America 180, Koch once again broke a track-best statistic for himself this season..

 

With the threat of weather looming at the 4.048-mile course Saturday afternoon, Koch knew track position would be at a premium when the green flag dropped. Battling hard early on, Koch maintained his top-10 running position until his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ Chevrolet Camaro got off course.

 

While he only lost one position on the track, the nose of Koch’s Chevrolet was covered in grass, blocking air to the engine and brake ducts. Hitting pit road under green on lap 9 for four tires, fuel and extra cleanup, the Kaulig Racing™ driver caught a break when the caution flag was displayed just 4 laps later, allowing him to catch back up to the rest of the field.
 
Trying to get back on the originally planned pit cycle, crew chief Chris Rice called Koch back down pit road two more times, both under caution, for four tires, a track bar adjustment and to top off on fuel.

 

Quickly getting to work maneuvering through the field, Koch worked his way up to just outside the top-15 when a light rain began to fall, bringing out the caution on lap 27. Hitting pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to help “tighten up” the “loose” No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ Chevrolet Camaro, Koch restarted 19th with 17 laps remaining.

 

Making his way up into the 13th position with only 11 laps left, Koch and the Kaulig Racing™ team would have a tough decision to make when the yellow flag would be displayed on lap 37. Playing fuel strategy, Rice elected to keep Koch on track and instructed him to save as much fuel as possible to make it to the end.

 

While this call allowed Koch to gain valuable track position, restarting seventh, the caution flag would wave two more times before the end of the race and call for a change to the plan.

 

Close to running out of fuel when the caution flag was displayed once again on lap 45, Koch was forced to hit pit road one final time for four tires and fuel. Restarting 30th with two laps of overtime left in the Road America 180, Koch was able to battle his way back through the field to score an 18th-place finish.   

 

Quote:
“It’s definitely not where we wanted to finish at all today. I went off the track early on and that kind of cost us track position. I also burned the brakes up on my car trying to get back to the front of the field after that. We finished the race though and we’re still in the Chase, that’s the main thing.”

Kaulig Racing PR