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Welcome to The Official Website of Blake Koch
Koch and O'Keefe drive to impressive finishes in road course racing debut during Bennett Lane Winery 200 at Infineon
By Bill Sullivan, GGRT Media Relations
Photo by Pat Brandon
Richard Childress, Blake Koch, Jim Offenbach
SONOMA The Golden Gate Racing Team and Richard Childress Racing Development are proud to announce a weekend of great success in the Bennett Lane Winery 200 at Infineon Raceway.
With two drivers competing in their very first road course events, the checkered flag waved at the end of the day with primary driver Blake Koch placing 11th in the GodSpeaks.com #21 Chevrolet and Pat OıKeefe placing 18th in the Bay BioDiesel #31 Chevrolet. Both drivers charged from deep in the field to earn their
respective finishes.
³This is an owners dream, we ran in the top ten for much of the race and without a scratch on the either car,² said team owner Jim Offenbach. ³Both cars did well and I am proud of Blake and Pat. Not only was this Blakeıs first road course, it was Patıs first NASCAR Camping World West Road Course event this year
and he finished 18th respectively. Iım very proud of this whole team.
Koch qualified 23rd for Saturdayıs race and once again illustrated great patience throughout the day to carefully work his way through the twists and turns of the 11-turn road course in the hills of Sonoma. Despite an early misjudged pit stop, Koch became the highest finishing rookie in the race, earning the Sunoco
Rookie of the Race award for the second time this season.
³Iım really happy with the way our day turned out, I didnıt know what to expect coming into a road course with no experience at all,² said Koch. ³When I started the race I thought we had an ignition problem and came in which was unfortunate. Had I switched over the back up system I think I could have been in the
top ten. But Iım very happy with this finish. I have to thank Steve Portenga (crew chief) and God for all of their guidance here.²
A former driver himself, Portenga is known for his great communication with Golden Gate Racing Teamıs drivers and crew. Saturday was no exception as he walked Koch through every turn and twist over the radio. In the end he too was impressed with the outcome.
³Our mission was accomplished in Sonoma , we did exactly what we set out to do,² said Portenga. ³Blake was very careful, we had a good strong finish and we ended up moving up a spot in the point standings and taking the rookie lead over again. I was happy with both cars, Pat was out there to have a good time and he
did just that. He stayed out of trouble and moved up really well. Both cars came back from Infineon intact, Iım happy with the way these guys performed.²
Saturdayıs event was one of the few that take place during the year in which the Camping World West Series and the Sprint Cup Series compete on the same weekend. Itıs events like this that provide Richard Childress, President of Richard Childress Racing, an opportunity to watch his development drivers, such as Koch,
from the top of the pit box and view the teamıs progress in person.
³Blake proved he is up to any challenge we throw at him,² said Childress. ³I was impressed how he handled this tough road course.²
Following Saturdayıs success, Koch and the Godspeaks.com #21 Chevrolet are now eighth in the overall NASCAR Camping World West Series point standings. Seven races are complete in the 13 race campaign. Koch earned the Sunoco Rookie of the race award for the second time this season after becoming the highest finishing
rookie driver in Saturdayıs race.
Check Out Blake's Interview From
"The Good Sports Magazine Show"
Click Here To Download the MP3 File
Blake with team owners, Richard Childress and Jim Offenbach
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