Koch earns 2nd straight Rookie of the Race award in New Hampshire

July 19, 2011 - PRLog -- LOUDON, NH –  Florida's Blake Koch continued his trek towards the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year title with another impressive run aboard the Daystar Television Network #81 Dodge in Loudon, New Hampshire Saturday afternoon. Taking to the Magic Mile for the first time in his racing career, Koch drove to his second consecutive Rookie of the Race Award with an 18th place finish in the New England 200.

"Loudon was a great point's weekend," said Koch. "I'm really happy with everyone on the Daystar team. This was another new track for me and we worked hard all weekend for this result. If we can keep this going we're going to have a great shot at winning the Rookie of the Year title. I'm not sure what it did to the Rookie standings just yet but we definitely closed in on it."

For Koch, the weekend started off with its share of challenges prior to Saturday's race with tough performances in both practice and qualifying where he timed in 25th on the 1.058 mile oval in the Granite State. It was then that the Daystar Racing Team and MacDonald Motorsports did what they do best when they tightened their belts and went to work on the #81 Dodge Challenger to perfect it in the early laps of the event to gain valuable track position.

"Practice and qualifying didn't go as good as we would have liked," said Koch. "But the guys worked super hard to improve the car during the race and get us that top 20 finish. I'm really happy with the way the weekend turned out."

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Following the guidance of his longtime spotter Chris Monez, Koch displayed great patience as he traveled around Loudon's unique surface for the first time in his racing career. Starting 25th, he later faded back as far as the 31st position and benefited from a series of well executed pit stops which began gaining him track position just when it counted the most.

With just 15 laps remaining in the race, Koch had rallied back into the top 25 positions and made the best of the final sprint to the finish. Advancing an impressive five positions during the final laps, Koch worked himself into the 18th position prior to the waving of the checkered flag.

Entering Saturday's race, Koch was just nine points behind Rookie of the Year point leader Timmy Hill. Hill finished 23rd in the event and now the contest for the coveted title is getting hotter than ever. Saturday was Koch's fourth top 20 finish of the season and marked his fifth Sunoco Rookie of the Race Award. The finish was the second best finish at Loudon for the MacDonald Motorsports team and the best finish in the last seven years. Previously, Kevin Lepage drove the team to a 15th place position in 2004.

Now, Koch will focus on carrying his recent strong performances into a third consecutive week as he heads to Nashville Superspeedway this Saturday for the Federated Auto Parts 300. Not only will Koch be blessed with the momentum of two consecutive Rookie of the Race Awards, he will be returning to a track he has already raced on this season.

Back in April of this year, Koch made his first start of his career at Nashville. He started 30th in the event and drove his way to 25th at the finish line. Throughout much of the 2011 racing season nearly every track Koch has competed on has been new turf for the rookie driver in his first season of NASCAR's Nationwide League. Prior to coming into the series Koch had raced in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and numerous events aboard late models and speedway trucks on the east coast.

"I feel better going into Nashville than I have ever felt all year long," said Koch. "I am finally going to a track for the second time. We are running the car we raced in Kentucky and that was a good car. Hopefully we can have another strong run for the third week in a row."
   
Koch proudly carries the primary 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 all 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.

As he makes his way back to the music city, Koch has a busy week ahead with a number of special appearances and outreach events. On Tuesday he is one of many drivers to appear at the NASCAR Hall of Fame where area race fans and customers can test their skills against Koch and other drivers in a "Beat the Pro" event aboard race simulators. Koch will then participate in an autograph session and a number of media interviews during the day before heading to Nashville.

On Thursday, July 21st, Koch will be speaking and signing autographs at the Nashville YMCA. Friday will mark a very special event for Koch and the Daystar outreach team as he appears at Camp Widjiwagen in Nashville where he will speak at the Camp Widjiwagen 8:30 a.m. Chapel Service.

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 Motor Speedway in the fall. You can also find up to date statistics, photos, unique videos, and new apparel; including brand new Daystar Racing hats just like the ones worn by the team. You can find Blake Koch and his Daystar Racing Team on Twitter (@BlakeKochRacing) (@DaystarTV) as well as on Facebook (www.facebook.com/BlakeKRacing) (www.facebook.com/DaystarTV).

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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.