Big news for a Florida racer

[sunshinestateracing1]

Just read the local Florida racer Blake Koch will get to race in the nation wide race this weekend at homestead, in the number 81 car.

way to go Blake

Robert

[Frasson118]

Another rich kid, whose Daddy buys his way towards the top.... WoooHooo!

Really, what has he accomplished? Did I miss some big win, or a Championship of some sort?

[Kerrmintor]

Another rich kid, whose Daddy buys his way towards the top.... WoooHooo!

Really, what has he accomplished? Did I miss some big win, or a Championship of some sort?

Amen Frasson, my exact thoughts.

[Kerrmintor]

I just looked up Blakes stats, his best finish this year in the Camping World West Series is 5th in Richard Childress Equipment, Hmmmmmm. There were more out of the top 10 finishes than in the top 10, Hmmmmmm

[Osmosis Jones]

Only in America.....

Taken from the Blake Koch website....

"Offenbach and the team saw the potential the West Palm Beach Florida native possessed with very little car racing experience and virtually no prior time behind the wheel of a fully equipped NASCAR."


I figure they saw more potential of some big sponsorship dollars.

To read on from the website:

"I like running up front," added (team owner)Offenbach. "With the knowledge that my crew chief Steve Portenga has, along with this entire GGRT/ RCR Development Team and our top notch equipment, I feel we have what it takes to win races next year and run for a championship."

If you're at bat in the big show you might as well swing for the fence, I guess. Koch DID have one top five finish in his rookie year so I guess a championship is within range.......(trying to keep a straight face as I type)...

And more...

"In addition to Koch, the Golden Gate Racing Team is proud to announce that longtime sponsor and team member Pat O'Keefe will be back behind the wheel of the second team car for a number of events. O'Keefe is the owner of Bay Bio Diesel with many years of modified and stock car racing experience."

Somewhere there's probably a connection here but I'm having trouble zeroing in on it......

"We are really pleased that Pat will be back next year," added Offenbach. "He is very important in making our whole program excel on and off the track."


No doubt.


Ojjy

[Edm]

Another rich kid, whose Daddy buys his way towards the top.... WoooHooo!

Really, what has he accomplished? Did I miss some big win, or a Championship of some sort?

You hit the nail on the head! I have watched him race a truck and late model at Orlando a couple of times. He has a really hauler $$$$$$$ thats about it. One thing I noticed when he brought the truck out, his hands were dirty and he was working pretty hard on the truck. Thats alot more then I can say about most rich kids.

[sunshinestateracing1]

No idea

I have no idea how much money his daddy has, but like EDM said, everytime i see him at a track he is allways working very hard on his own equipment trying to get it better and most of the time on his own with a few close freinds to help.

Just think it would be cool to see a florida kid do well at homestead

[Osmosis Jones]

True dat....

Yeah...it is always different to see a youngster actually doing the work on his ride to get it around the track. Not having to worry about the financial end of it helps tremendously, of course....and I can't remember the last time I saw a kid's friends helping out with anything other than ballast for the $15k pit buggy.....

He apparently has unlimited funding. His website says he's 24 years old and has only been racing cars for 2 years. Before that he raced motorcycles. Now he's got a Nationwide ride?

Does this sound eerily familiar to anybody else?........

[mr south 59]

I don't think anybody hit the nail on the head. Blake's father is not a rich man by any means. That is why they work on their own equipment when they race local. Blake did not drive Richard Chrildress equipment either. That big hauler is not Kock's either. That belongs to Harvick who he drove for last year. It is the show car hauler. He dad when out and found sponsorship for Blake to run the west series and he found it for Blake to run the East series and some Nationwide races this year.

Do any of you even know the Kock's or know any "real" facts about him or his family's finances. It don't sound like it.

[Kerrmintor]

I don't think anybody hit the nail on the head. Blake's father is not a rich man by any means. That is why they work on their own equipment when they race local. Blake did not drive Richard Chrildress equipment either. That big hauler is not Kock's either. That belongs to Harvick who he drove for last year. It is the show car hauler. He dad when out and found sponsorship for Blake to run the west series and he found it for Blake to run the East series and some Nationwide races this year.

Do any of you even know the Kock's or know any "real" facts about him or his family's finances. It don't sound like it.

Then his website is incorrect, it says on the website he was using Richard Childress equipment and has a picture of himself and Richard Childress. Im just going by the website as I have not heard much from him. It dont matter anyway, these kids getting these rides in Nascar way to early has hurt the Nationwide Series anyway. I applaud him for working on his own car and truck, but I still dont believe he belongs in the Nationwide Series, but Im old school.

[mr south 59]

Randy, I never said that I think that he should or shouldn't be there either. But here we go again with the "rich daddy" thing and it is just not true. Blake told me a few week ago that he had signed for 2010 with RCR. I'm pretty sure that his site says will say 2010 also. He drove for Harvick in '09. He really runs Golden Isle's(or something like that) equipment in the east and west series. He will be running RCR equipment in the Nationwide series. This is not his first Nationwide start either.

Just trying to get some of the facts right. I's not fair to Blake and his family when someone post their assumption but tries to make sound like a fact.

Good luck Blake

[Kerrmintor]

Randy, I never said that I think that he should or shouldn't be there either. But here we go again with the "rich daddy" thing and it is just not true. Blake told me a few week ago that he had signed for 2010 with RCR. I'm pretty sure that his site says will say 2010 also. He drove for Harvick in '09. He really runs Golden Isle's(or something like that) equipment in the east and west series. He will be running RCR equipment in the Nationwide series. This is not his first Nationwide start either.

Just trying to get some of the facts right. I's not fair to Blake and his family when someone post their assumption but tries to make sound like a fact.

Good luck Blake

I hope he does well too, the site does say he has driven all this year on RCR equipment and will again in 2010. I just think that many of these young drivers get brought up way too soon without proving themselves first. Heck, I pull for all the local drivers in all divisions. Now that I have researched Blake, I will now have another local driver to follow, I wish him all the luck in the world in the Nationwide Series and the Camping West Series in 2010.

[Osmosis Jones]

Fact Checking 101.....

Golden Racing Team owner Jim Offenbach and Richard Childress Driver Development are proud to announce the return of Blake Koch as the primary driver for the Golden Gate Racing Team in the 2010 NASCAR Camping World West Season. This will mark Koch's second season behind the wheel of the Golden Gate Racing Team - RCR #21 Chevrolet.

"We are pleased at Golden Gate Racing and Richard Childress Racing to have Blake back this year," said Childress. "Last season there were many bright spots where Blake proved he is up to the challenge of a champion for the 2010 season."

Koch was introduced to the Golden Gate Racing Team at the conclusion of the season in 2008. It was then he made an impressive drive in the season-ending event aboard the team's secondary car. Offenbach and the team saw the potential the West Palm Beach Florida native possessed with very little car racing experience and virtually no prior time behind the wheel of a fully equipped NASCAR.


Looks to me like he drove for GGR and Richard Childress Racing in 2009. I mean, according to HIS web site and all.


Occupation: Vice President of Salad Caps, a nutrition company; associate producer (father is producer Mark Koch) on Lionsgate movie, "The Perfect Game" to be released in 2009. - Driver profile from 6/08 Late Model Digest (also retrieved from his web site)

Try this link for his daddy:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...ucer_mark.html



So....going by information provided by his own website, and first hand, observational information provided by a guy I know (who actually paid him a compliment on his "hands on" work ethic around his racecars)....I still would have to agree with Frasson and probably 98% of the world and ask:



How does this kid wind up in a RCR Developmental program or even a Harvick owned ride or ANY type of racing class higher than a 4cyl bomber, with virtually no oval track AUTOMOTIVE racing experience?





pssstt....................................I think it was the money.

[Edm]

I don't think anybody hit the nail on the head. Blake's father is not a rich man by any means. That is why they work on their own equipment when they race local. Blake did not drive Richard Chrildress equipment either. That big hauler is not Kock's either. That belongs to Harvick who he drove for last year. It is the show car hauler. He dad when out and found sponsorship for Blake to run the west series and he found it for Blake to run the East series and some Nationwide races this year.

Do any of you even know the Kock's or know any "real" facts about him or his family's finances. It don't sound like it.

by the way, his name is Koch. That is a "real" fact.

[Winger]

I wonder what this RCR development program really is. A few years ago it was announced that Tim McCreadie would drive for RCR as a development driver. As far as I could tell, it looked like Tim was making decent progress making the transition to the asphalt cars. However, his deal ended when RCR could not get funding to keep him. However, funding was found to finance RC's grandchildren. I don't have a problem with that as it is family. But then an unknown/unproven driver is given the ride. Why? Because he brought funding with him? This type of program seems to have more reasons to exist than to develop drivers. I can only speculate what they might be. Can you?