Koch loses sponsor: UPDATE: Many Nationwide Series drivers will do almost anything to get their sponsors more publicity. #41-Blake Koch and his sponsor were even willing to pay ESPN for exposure. But ESPN rejected the advertisement from Koch’s sponsor, the Rise Up and Register Campaign, which is designed to educate people about the importance of registering to vote in upcoming elections. Koch said the network rejected the advertisement, in part, because of his religious activism. A devout Christian, the 26-year-old driver often speaks at churches on race weekends, at numerous religious outreach events and on television shows. “Their whole campaign was to run that commercial on ESPN, and they wanted to get in front of the NASCAR fans” Koch said about his sponsor in a phone interview Thursday. “They didn’t care about any other network. We found out Friday at Daytona (in February) that they weren’t going to air the commercials due to political and religious overtones, and they said particularly on (my) BlakeKoch.com website.” While the campaign’s website does not promote specific religions, it does include links to Koch’s site, which promotes his ministry and other religious programs. ESPN issued a statement Thursday, saying, “The spot did not meet our guidelines in regard to advocacy messaging. Blake Koch’s personal religious beliefs played no role in our evaluation.” The campaign, which Koch said is nonpartisan and not religion-based, has now decided to stop sponsoring the Rick Ware Racing car. Koch, who is 20th in the Nationwide Series standings, said he plans to continue to race.(Sporting News)(3-29-2012)
UPDATE: Barry Bennett the Executive Director of “Rise Up and Register” has confirmed to RaceTalkRadio.com that they will honor the remainder of the 20 races they agreed to sponsor Blake Koch this season. “Rise Up and Register” will be back on the car at Texas Motor Speedway.(3-30-2012)
