N’WIDE: Koch Continues TriStar’s 2014 LASTCAR Dominance

SOURCE: Rubbin's Racin' Forums

Blake Koch picked up the 6th last-place finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career in Saturday’s Drive to Stop Diabetes 300 at the Bristol Motor Speedway when his #10 SupportMilitary.org Toyota fell out with a vibration after he completed 5 of the race’s 300 laps.

The finish was Koch’s second of the season, his first since Phoenix, two races ago.  It is the ninth consecutive last-place finish for TriStar Motorsports and the third in a row for the TriStar’s #10 team, which scored the last two LASTCAR Nationwide Series titles with teammate Jeff Green.

One week after Green’s last-place run at Las Vegas, Koch took over driving duties in the #10 at Bristol.  Koch timed in 34th in the opening practice, then 39th in the second.  He improved to put up the 24th-fastest time in qualifying with a lap of 121.898 mph, ranking him third of the twelve “go-or-go-homers” behind Cale Conley and Matt DiBenedetto.  Koch’s speed was more than enough to knock Martins Motorsports teammates Tommy Joe Martins and Willie Allen out of the field.

At the start of Saturday’s race, DiBenedetto, who timed in 16th, fell to the rear of the field, preparing for an early exit in The Motorsports Group’s #46 Chevrolet.  However, Koch still beat DiBenedetto to the garage area by a single lap, preventing TMG from scoring its first last-place finish since Richmond last September.

Rounding out the Bottom Five were Carl Long, giving the #93 JGL Racing team its second bottom-five finish in three races, Matt Carter in the first start of the season for Derek White’s  #13 Head Rush Clothing Toyota, and Tanner Berryhill in his family-owned #17 bwp Bats Dodge.

LASTCAR STATISTICS
*Despite TriStar’s streak, this is actually the team’s first last-place finish at Bristol since August 26, 2011, the night Jeff Green became the first NASCAR driver to score four consecutive last-place finishes in the same division.

THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #10-Blake Koch / 5 laps / vibration
39) #46-Matt DiBenedetto / 6 laps / electrical
38) #93-Carl Long / 11 laps / electrical
37) #13-Matt Carter / 18 laps / brakes
36) #17-Tanner Berryhill / 144 laps / engine

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Jeff Green, Blake Koch (2)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) #10-TriStar Motorsports (3)
2nd) #91-TriStar Motorsports (1)

LASTCAR N'WIDE SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (4)