Blake Koch at the Monster Mile
After rain cancelled qualifying and delayed the start of Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide race, Koch started 33rd in the event. Earlier in the day he turned the 21st fastest lap of the day in final practice, however, since he was driving the secondary #82 team car for McDonald Motorsports, he was forced to go to the back of the line up.
"The day had started out really good," said Koch. "We were fast in practice and ended up 21st but the first thing that bit us was when qualifying rained out. Since I was in the #82 car this weekend our practice speed didn't matter and 33rd wasn't a good start."
On the opening lap of the race, Koch was racing to the outside of Mike Bliss and his MacDonald Motorsports teammate Donnie Nuenburger. When Bliss made contact with Neunberger on the inside, it sent Koch's teammate into a spin towards the outside wall. Koch, with no place to go, did all he could do to avoid Bliss who was moving up on the track and then collided into Neunberger who had backed the #81 car into the wall.
The incident caused significant damage to both cars. Koch received the most damage to the Daystar #82 Dodge and was unable to continue the race. He ended his day with one lap complete and a 43rd place finish on the charts.
"We got caught up in someone else's mess on the first lap, but that's racing," said Koch, who still managed to end the weekend on a high note. "The weekend ended good when I got to share my story at a local church on Sunday morning. I always love the opportunity to do that."
Following Dover, Koch sits 23rd in the NASCAR Nationwide point standings. He remains in a closely contested battle for the Rookie of the Year title in which he is currently ranked third place among the competitive field. Next week Koch and his Daystar Racing Team will head to familiar ground as they return to Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa for the Inaugural John Deere Dealers 250 presented by Pioneer.
Blake Koch is proud to carry the sponsorship of the Daystar Television Network. This Emmy award winning faith based network is dedicated to spreading the gospel 24 hours a day, seven days a week around the globe through all media formats possible. Daystar is the fastest growing and one of two of the largest faith-based networks in the world today and can be viewed on all major and secondary satellites and cable systems. Daystar programming reaches over 200 countries, into more than 91 million homes in the United States, and 680 million homes globally.
To learn more about Blake Koch and his Daystar Racing Team, visit their official website at http://www.daystarracing.com. When visiting the site be sure to enter to win a day with Blake Koch at Texas Motorspeedway in the fall. You can also find up to date statistics, photos, unique video and new apparel on the site, all of which goes back to supporting the efforts of Koch and team Daystar. Blake Koch and the Daystar Team can also be found on both Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/
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Daystar Television Network is the fastest growing faith based network in the world, reaching over 91 mil homes in the US and 680 mil homes worldwide. The network features popular original programming, live events, and sponsors NASCAR driver Blake Koch.
Photo:
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