A Lap Around the Track with NASCAR's James Bickford: Meridian Speedway

On Saturday, September 5th, Interstate Plastics sponsored James Bickford and the rest of the NASCAR K&N West crew took on Meridian Speedway (Meridian, ID) for the first time in over forty years. After leading the race until lap 43, the Napa-native flew over debris from a previous collision, which caused a slow leak from the right-rear tire and resulted in an unforeseen 14th-place finish. Check out the details below:

Friday, September 4th
James and his dad Tom drove from Napa, California to Meridian, Idaho for the NASCAR K&N West NAPA Idaho 208 event. The event was K&N West Series' first visit to the quarter-mile oval since June 30, 1972.

Bickford recalled falling behind the rest of the pack during Friday's test session. "Brandon McReynolds, Ryan Partridge and David Mayhew were all in a league of their own…Probably two to three times faster than me." When Crew Chief Bill Sedgewick couldn't resolve the car's maintenance issues, Bickford's Sunrise Ford teammate no. 9 Ryan Partridge, 27, tested his car out and concluded that it was over-rotating. The team packed up and agreed to fix mechanical errors the following day.

Saturday, September 5th
9:00AM: The NASCAR K&N West garage opened at Meridian Speedway.

12:00PM – 12:45PM: After fixing mechanical errors from Friday's test session, James finished P9 in first practice. "Bill and I were so frustrated. We couldn't figure out what was wrong. We started out super loose on the corners, and then got really tight. We couldn't find a good balance."

1:15PM – 2:00PM: James finished P9 after second practice.

4:00PM – 4:15PM: James and his Crew Chief/Spotter Bill Sedgewick attended a meeting.

5:00PM – 5:30: Interstate Plastics sponsored James Bickford qualified P2 in the night's NAPA Idaho 208 event with a best lap of 13.113 seconds.

Regarding the position surge from final practice to qualifying, James said, "We just put up our base setup, made a few adjustments to the car and started fast tracking…It was crazy."

5:45PM – 6:25PM: James participated in a mandatory NASCAR autograph session.

8:00PM – 8:30PM: Driver introductions.

8:30PM: James started second on the grid in the NASCAR K&N West NAPA Idaho 208. He led the race for the first forty laps of the event.

The quarter-mile track traditionally serves as a hot bed for collisions. James explained:

"There were so many crashes. There was debris everywhere at all times on the track… With narrow tracks like Meridian, it causes a lot of debris to be funneled up in only a few spots, and when that happens… it’s impossible to dodge and you’re sitting there just hoping a piece of debris doesn’t hit the wrong part of your tire."

James was not immune to hitting that debris. No. 27 Gracin Raz bumped James' no. 6 car and knocked him into the wall, and James drove over remains from another collision, which caused a flat right-rear tire. Subsequently, he slowed down. Team Bickford was forced to enter the pit area under a green flag just to change the tire. As a result, he went down five laps, until he finished the race in 14th place.

Regarding his 14th-place finish, James said, "I was really disappointed, but I understand that flat tires happen… Other than that I think it was a really good race…. I was aggressive the whole time, which Bill [Sedgewick] was happy with."

The NASCAR K&N West NAPA Idaho 208 will be aired on Thursday, September 10th at 7:30ET on the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN).