Jeff Gluck

USA TODAY Sports

Our series of weekly NASCAR driver interviews continues with Blake Koch, who drives the No. 11 car for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series. Koch is currently 11th in the series standings and in position to make the inaugural Xfinity Chase. Koch heads to Iowa Speedway this weekend with four straight top-15 finishes.

Q: What is an errand or chore in your daily life people might be surprised to learn you do yourself?

A: I cook breakfast for my kids. Although that’s not a big deal, because it’s just waffles in the toaster with peanut butter and syrup.

But I just moved into a new house that has a pool, and I love to clean my pool. I am the pool guy. I scrub the walls and I do the chlorine and make sure the water levels are right. You could probably do it once a week, but I’m out there every day messing with it. I just love cleaning the pool and making sure the color is good.

Why do you like that so much?

Before I had the pool, I used to like to take care of the grass at my old house. I was just proud of my grass. I mowed my own yard, fertilized it, weed-controlled it. I had the greenest grass in the neighborhood.

So when I moved to this new house, it had a lot of grass and a pool. I was like, 'Man, it’s going to be more expensive to hire a pool guy than it would be to have someone cut the grass. So I’ll just be the pool guy.' And I got hooked on it. I love it.

Q: If you could do any race over again, which race would you choose?

A: Man, I learn so much every race. I could pick something every week. But if I had to pick one race, it would probably be Homestead in 2013. I got to drive the No. 99 car for RAB (Racing) and I qualified second.

Before that, I would drive for a lot of underfunded teams and would qualify 25th to 30th. So when I was starting on the front row, I had no idea everybody held it wide open all the way through Turns 1 and 2. I got down into Turn 1 and I lifted a little bit and I got passed by like five cars. (Laughs) If I could redo that situation, I think I could hold my own a lot better now.

That was like the biggest weekend of my career until this year, and I had Chris Rice – who is now my crew chief here at Kaulig Racing -- and it was my home track. I wish I could have stayed up there a little longer than just the front straightaway.

Q: The longest race of the year is 600 miles. How long of a race could you physically handle without a driver change?

A: I absolutely think I could handle 1,000 miles – I would just need a lot of electrolytes and a lot of food. In my car, I tape an AdvoCare Rehydrate Gel pack to my seat. I have two of those just for an Xfinity race. At halfway, I’ll just pull one off and take a 100-calorie gel shot and drink some water. Then with 20 laps to go, I’ll just eat the other one and get some energy and I feel great after the race that way. If you race too long without consuming the amount of calories your body needs, you’d just be drained and it would take awhile for your body to catch up. I could do 1,000 miles with like 15 of those gel packs.

How do you unwrap the gel pack to eat it while you’re driving?

You know how on packets there’s like a slit and you just tear it off? Well, I put the tape right on top of the slit. So then when I grab it and pull it, it’s ready to eat. It works, and I love it.

Q: Let’s say president of NASCAR was an elected position voted on by the drivers – and you decided to run. What would one of your campaign promises be?

A: I would have more Friday night Xfinity races and Saturday night Cup races. I’d do the majority of them like that, except for like the Daytona 500 and Memorial Day weekend, things like that. I feel like everybody likes to be home on Sundays – even the race fans. You go to the track, have a good time, then leave Sunday morning, go home and get ready for work on Monday. I think I’d get some votes off that.

Q: At the start of this year, exactly 1,160 drivers had ever raced in the Xfinity Series. Where do you rank among those 1,160?

A: Wow, I would have thought there would be more than that. That’s really cool. This is my sixth year and I’ve made 160 starts, but I was excited just to make one NASCAR start. That way I could tell my grandkids one day: “I was a NASCAR driver. I made a start.” So the fact I’m still in the sport? It’s just a miracle, a dream come true.

Where do I think I rank? I honestly feel like my career is just starting. I’ve been around for a long time, but the opportunity I have with Kaulig Racing and my sponsor – LeafFilter Gutter Protection – I feel so optimistic about the future. It’s hard to put a number on it, but I’d say I’m in the upper half. I think that will keep getting higher as the years go on.

Q: What do you think your reputation is – and is that reputation accurate?

A: I think my reputation is one of the nicest guys in the garage. I hear it all the time. And I am nice, and I truly do care about people – but I don’t like when someone tries to abuse that reputation. I can turn pretty quick. But I do forgive people pretty quick as well. If it’s a racing incident and they say they’re sorry, they’re forgiven.

I just don’t like to be taken advantage of, because I am that nice guy and do make it a point to be there for everybody. My dad always said not to mistake his kindness for weakness. And that’s kind of how I feel.

But the smile on my face at the racetrack all the time isn’t fake. I’m legit happy to be at the track every week and I can’t wait to get there. I think that shows through my personality.

Q: A famous chef wants you to invest in the new restaurant he’s opening, but he wants you to pick the cuisine. What type of food would your restaurant serve?

A: It would have to be a pizza joint, man – but my pizza joint would have to have macaroni and cheese, too. Those are my two favorite foods.

People are pretty judgmental about pizza. Like if you go to a regular restaurant, people might say something about the atmosphere. But that doesn't matter at a pizza joint. All that matters is having great pizza, so I think you can take pride in that.

I would take the In-N-Out burger approach and keep it simple. I wouldn’t have all the different sauces and all that stuff. I'd just have straight up pizza and straight up mac and cheese.

Q: What is the most daring thing you’ve done outside of racing?

A: Daring or stupid? (Laughs) Thinking back in my younger things, I did some really daring things that weren’t the smartest. One time, I did a gainer – that’s when you do a backflip, but facing forward – off a 50-foot bridge into an inlet in Florida. It was the area between the Intracoastal (Waterway) and the ocean. There’s a strong current, and by the time I surfaced, I was 50 feet from the bridge in this strong current – and it was going toward the inlet where there’s boat traffic. Luckily, I made it back to the side.

Q: In a move to generate more excitement, NASCAR decides in an upcoming race they’re going to require every driver to have a passenger in the car. You get to pick the passenger. Who do you choose?

A: I know she wouldn’t do it, but probably my wife (Shannon). She won the Better Half Dash last year, so she has confidence about racing. I remember going home after one of the practices this year and she was like, “How was it?” I was like, “We were pretty good. We were 12th.” And she’s like, “That’s good?!”

We’re so open and honest with each other, I’d love her to fully understand what’s going on and see what’s happening. We are going so fast every week, and to adjust your car to where it goes even faster? It gets tricky sometimes.

After she won the Better Half Dash, did she talk any smack?

No, but we had fun with it. And so did the fans and people in the garage. LeafFilter was like, “Hey, your wife got us to victory lane, so…” (Laughs) Actually, she did a good job of not trying to support the people who were joking around. But she does have the biggest trophy in our house. That Better Half Dash trophy is like six feet tall! It’s huge. I have to see it every day.

Q: How often do you talk inside the car without hitting the radio button?

A: A lot, actually. I know there are a lot of people listening. There are kids listening and people who look up to you and people scanning from home. So I’m really careful about what I say. And I’m also careful about what I say because I know how hard my team works and no one is trying to do bad. But as a human being, you get so hot and frustrated if your car isn’t handling good – so naturally, you have to let it out. So I just let it out and not hit the button. But if I have an in-car camera someday, it might expose some things people don’t normally see and hear.

Q: Who will win the Sprint Cup in 2021?

A: I’d have to say Kyle Larson.

Q: I’ve been asking each driver to give me a question for the next interview. David Ragan was the most recent interview, but you’re not going to believe his question. It was, “Do you ever pee in the shower? And how often?”

A: He asked that question? (Laughs) Um, probably every time I take a shower. For some reason, the answer is "Often."

I hope I’m not the only one who does that. But since he asked it, I’m sure he does it, too. I would never think David Ragan would have asked that question! (Laughs) That is funny!

And do you have a question for the next interview? It’s Clint Bowyer.

I want to know if he pulled the brakes on that dirt bike back to get less drag on the holeshot (when Bowyer went head-first into the safety padding during an exhibition race at the Atlanta Supercross event earlier this year).

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