James Bickford showed Saturday night he’s a fast learner. And a fast driver.
The Napa, California, driver in just his seventh NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race, passed former champion Greg Pursley with four laps to go in the NAPA Auto Parts/Toyota 150 at State Line Speedway en route to capturing his first career win.
Bickford, who turned 16 in March, is the cousin of four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon. His previous best finish was a fourth-place run at Iowa Speedway in May.
Pursley finished second — .725-seconds back of Bickford’s No. 6 Interstate Plastics/Sunrise Ford on the quarter-mile oval — and Brandon McReynolds was third. Braeden Havens, who won the 21 Means 21 Pole Award earlier in the day, finished fourth and David Mayhew rounded out the top five.
Rookies Nicole Behar and Jairo Avila finished sixth and seventh, respectively, followed by Dylan Lupton, Thomas Martin and rookie Darrell Midgley.
Lupton was running fourth on Lap 134 when Pursley and Mayhew got together and collected Bickford’s teammate, Lupton, who was leading the race. Pursley assumed the lead, while Mayhew blended back in seventh and Lupton ninth. Three laps after the race’s final restart, Bickford made his winning move.
Pursley was able to increase his points lead to 27 points over Lupton and 34 over McReynolds. Mayhew is five points behind McReynolds, while Bickford rounds out the top five.
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