Blake Koch Completes a Trifecta at the "Tricky Triangle"

Long Pond, Pa. (June 4, 2016)- Making his way to Pocono Raceway for the first time in his racing
career, Blake Koch made his first laps around the 2.5-mile triangle-shaped track during the two NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) practice sessions Thursday afternoon, posting the 19th and 12th-fastest laps in his No. 11 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet Camaro. However, rain washed out the remaining two practice sessions that were scheduled for Friday.

Returning to the track Saturday morning, Koch made it to the final round of qualifying for the fourth time this season, snagging a 12th-place starting position for the afternoon's Pocono Green 250.

Wanting to adjust to race conditions on a new track, Koch settled into a rhythm early on once the
green flag dropped on the inaugural NXS race at the "Tricky Triangle." Just as Koch radioed in that his LeafFilter Gutter Protection™ Chevrolet Camaro was "tight but loose through the dog-leg," the competition caution was displayed on lap 10.

Coming down pit road for four tires, fuel and an adjustment to "loosen" him up, the Kaulig Racing™ driver restarted the race 16th, but worked his way within the top-15 after only 25 laps.

With rain closing in on Pocono Raceway, pit strategy became a topic of discussion among the front runners as the yellow flag was displayed on lap 32. Crew chief Chris Rice elected to bring Koch down pit road for fuel only in anticipation of rain in the area.

Restarting 15th, the yellow flag would be displayed once again on lap 40, just 10 laps shy of the halfway mark. With tensions ramping up due to the unpredictability of the weather, Koch held his ground to maintain his top-15 running position.

Unfortunately the rain couldn't hold off any longer, causing the caution flag to come out one final time on lap 53. Despite NASCAR's efforts to dry the track, Mother Nature didn't cooperate, ending the Pocono Green 250 short of its scheduled distance and leaving Koch was a 15th-place finish, his third consecutive top-15 finish.

Quote:

"We qualified 12th, and finished in the top-15 for the third week in a row. Plus we're now 11th in the
point standings, back inside the Chase now. Those are the results we've been working towards. We probably could have finished a bit better had the race stayed green, but this was a 'big picture' race for us after a few of the drivers we're battling had issues. I'm happy with a top-15 finish after only my first start at Pocono (Raceway)."

Notes:

• Blake Koch was 19th and 12th in the two NXS practice sessions Thursday afternoon at Pocono Raceway. The final two practice sessions scheduled for Friday were cancelled due to rain.
• Koch qualified a track-best 12th Saturday afternoon and raced to a track-best 15th-place finish at the 2.5-mile triangle-shaped track.
• The Kaulig Racing™ driver jumped two spots to the 11th position in the 2016 NXS driver point standings, after the 12th race of the season, only 142 points behind leader Daniel Suarez, and within the Chase cutoff point.
• Kyle Larson won the Pocono Green 250 at Pocono Raceway followed by Erik Jones (second), Ty Dillon (third), Kyle Busch (fourth) and Joey Logano (fifth).