Block, known by his initials "KB", was born and raised in Southern California, later San Diego, on November 21, 1967.
Block began his national rallying career in 2005 with the Vermont SportsCar team, driving a 2005 Subaru WRX STi. His first event was Sno*Drift, where he finished seventh overall and fifth in the Group N class. He ended the season third overall in the Group A class, fourth overall in the Rally America National Championship, and won the Rally America Rookie of the Year award.
In 2006, Block signed a sponsorship deal with Subaru alongside teammate Travis Pastrana, and the pair raced as Subaru Rally Team USA. He competed in the first-ever X Games rally event at X Games XII, finishing third to take the bronze medal, and finished second overall in the 2006 Rally America National Championship. In 2007, he placed second at the X Games XIII rally event, earning a silver medal, and third overall in the Rally America National Championship. He also entered rounds of the World Rally Championship that year, recording two top-five stage times in the Group N class at Rally New Zealand. By the end of 2007, Block had achieved 19 podiums and 8 overall victories in rally events.
In 2008, Block competed with a new Subaru WRX STi, winning the Rallye Baie-des-Chaleurs of the Canadian Rally Championship and Rally New York USA, and finished second overall in the 2008 Rally America National Championship with a dominant final-stage victory at the Lake Superior Performance Rally — more than one minute ahead of his next closest competitor.
In 2010, Block ended his partnership with Subaru and joined Ford to compete part-time in the World Rally Championship for Monster World Rally Team, driving a Ford Focus RS WRC 08 with long-time co-driver Alex Gelsomino. This made Block the first American driver to campaign in the World Rally Championship. He scored two points finishing 9th in Spain. That same year he also won the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood for the fifth consecutive time, breaking the record previously held by John Buffum.
In 2011, Block and Gelsomino rolled their Ford Fiesta RS WRC during the shakedown stage of the Rally de Portugal in Faro, Portugal; both men were unharmed. He finished 8th in France and 9th in Wales, scoring 6 championship points. In 2013, Block achieved a best-ever 7th overall finish at Rally Mexico. In 2014, with Castrol as sponsor, he competed at the WRC in Catalunya, Spain, but suffered a tire puncture on the last stage and finished 12th.
Block competed in the Global RallyCross Championship from 2011 to 2015, collecting six wins and 15 podiums, finishing runner-up in 2014, third in 2013, and fifth in 2012. He returned full-time for the 2018 Americas Rallycross Championship, claiming two podiums and ranking fourth in points.
In European rallycross, Block finished third in the Norway round of the FIA World Rallycross Championship in 2014 and won the Norway round of the European Rallycross Championship that same year. For 2016, he competed full-time in the World Rallycross Championship. At Hockenheimring he finished third in the Supercar Final for his second podium in the series. In 2017 he finished 9th in the championship standings, with a best finish of 7th at Britain and France.
Block's X Games finishes: 2006 — 3rd (Bronze); 2007 — 2nd (Silver); 2008 — 3rd (Bronze); 2009 — 7th; 2012 — 2nd (Silver); 2013 Munich — 2nd (Silver).
Block produced a widely-viewed series of gymkhana videos on YouTube. Notable entries include Gymkhana Three (2010, Ford Fiesta, filmed at l'Autodrome, France), Gymkhana Four: The Hollywood Megamercial (2011, Ford Fiesta, Universal Studios backlot), and Gymkhana Five (2012, Ford Fiesta, San Francisco), which drew 5.1 million views in its first 24 hours. Later entries included Gymkhana Seven (2014, Ford Mustang, Los Angeles), Gymkhana Eight (2016, Ford Fiesta, Dubai), and Gymkhana Nine (2016, Ford Focus). Gymkhana Ten (2018) featured multiple Ford vehicles. His final Gymkhana entries, Electrikhana (2022) and Electrikhana Two (2023), were filmed in Las Vegas and Mexico City using the Audi S1 Hoonitron. In 2009, Block performed gymkhana-style driving for the BBC show Top Gear at Inyokern Airport, California, with James May. In 2010, he co-founded Gymkhana Grid, an annual gymkhana race held worldwide, which he won in the all-wheel-drive class in 2014.
In 2005, Block participated in the Gumball 3000 Rally with DC Shoes associates, running three modified 2004 Subaru WRX STis. In 2006, he competed in the One Lap of America alongside Brian Scotto, finishing 45th overall in a Subaru WRX STi. In 2019, Block traveled to Ireland to compete in the Donegal International Rally driving an Escort Cosworth, but crashed out on SS2. In 2021, he raced in the Baja 1000 in the trophy truck class, finishing 4th. Block also held the world record for the fastest snowcat, a modified Ford Raptor called the RaptorTrax.
On January 2, 2023, Block died at age 55 in a snowmobile accident near his ranch in Woodland, Utah. The Wasatch County sheriff's department reported that his snowmobile upended on a steep slope and landed on top of him; he was declared dead at the scene. Following his death, the number 43 was permanently retired from the World Rally Championship and the American Rally Association in his honor. His daughter Lia Block began competing in the American Rally Association in 2022, winning the O2WD Driver's Championship in 2023, and joined the Williams Driver Academy in November 2023, with a 2024 season announced in F1 Academy with ART Grand Prix.
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