By: Raphael Lessard Racing   
March 24 2019 

NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series in Martinsville - Saturday, March 23rd

Martinsville, Virginia - Raphael Lessard demonstrated his exceptional talent during his first NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck series race in his Toyota Tundra No. 46 FRL Express | Spectra Premium truck during his first visit to Martinsville Speedway yesterday (Saturday, March 23th).

Practice sessions (March 22nd)

Raphael Lessard adapted quickly on first time on the track on Friday morning's practice sessions for rookies. We could hear the exchanges between Raphael Lessard, his spotter who analyzed his driving and the truck’s behaviour, and his Crew Chief who also analyzed and looked for solutions to improve the truck’s handling issues, as described by the pilot. The trio was able to improve the truck and help the young driver find the correct groove enough for Raphael Lessard to set the second (2nd) quickest time of the session, and still on old tires.

"The three of us managed to greatly improve the truck during this first session, to adapt it to the cold tires and dusty track. We worked as a team from the start as we tried different shock and spring settings. I am now able to judge the effectiveness of a change in two or three laps instead of taking ten laps and wasting track time. I am now looking forward to getting into the action with the 31 other drivers at the first official test session this afternoon," said Raphael Lessard.

During the two 50-minute long practice sessions, Raphael Lessard once again demonstrated his ability to quickly learn how to manage the key variables: power, tire compound, sliding on corner exit , braking intensity and the quickest cornering trajectories, and found himself among some of the top-level drivers who unintentionally showed him how to go quicker still.

Raphael Lessard made the most of the almost two hours of testing, finishing 9th in both sessions, a result that caught everyone's attention, including Kyle Busch, the owner of his team, who is generous with his knowledge in helping the promising young driver.

Qualifying sessions (March 23rd)

Raphael Lessard’s quickest lap in the first qualifying session (Q1) moved him up into the second qualifying session (Q2). His speed in Q2 was quick enough to move him up to the third qualifying session (Q3) where the starting grid for the top 12 drivers is set. "In qualifying, I went from 19th out of 32 drivers in the first session (called Q1) to 10th in Q2 out of 24 drivers, to 7th in Q3 out of 12, and therefore my position on the starting grid."

Race – March 23rd

Starting from 7th place on the grid for 250 laps on the 0.5 miles flat turnstile, in the middle of the 31 other aggressive drivers - the order is considerable for the young Canadian driver. After only 10 laps in the race, the truck’s behaviour became mixed, moving from understeer on corner entrance and in the transition, to excessive oversteer on exit. Working with his spotter and crew chief, Mike Shelton, Raphael Lessard minimized the damage and kept the truck on the lead lap, finishing 14th overall.

Raphael Lessard's morale after the race is intact. "I learned a lesson from fighting with the truck: I now understand much better how to set up a truck for a race, for longer runs here and at similar short, tight or flatter tracks. We did our best during the practice, but I now have a better understanding of what I will need for any race."

Next Event

Raphael Lessard will be back on track on April 6th at Bristol Motor Speedway (Tennessee, USA) for a K&N Pro Series East race.

ABOUT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

Opened in 1947, this 0.526 mile paved and concrete circuit has tight bends with 12 degrees of inclination and long flat straight lines - it is rightly called the "Paper Clip"! The quick way to get around is the hotly contested inner lane, resulting in multiple bumps and scratches on each van after a race, and a good show.

ABOUT RAPHAEL LESSARD

Born on July 5th, 2001, in St-Joseph-de-Beauce, Quebec, Canada, Raphael Lessard is one of the hottest prospects in North-American racing today. Raphael made his debut as a race car driver in 2013, around local tracks in the Quebec City area. A quick learner, Lessard moved up the ranks through 2014, and in 2015 caught the eye of ex-NASCAR Cup Series driver David Gilliland. This led to Lessard running in last four races of the season on the PASS North Tour; an asphalt late model division, driving for David Gilliland Racing. In 2016, his first full-time season with Gilliland, Lessard won the CARS Super Late Model Tour Championship with four wins, eight top-five and nine top-ten finishes in his No. 99 Toyota Camry. He also became the youngest Canadian race car driver to win in a USA-based major stock car series. Since 2016, Lessard is part of Toyota’s prestigious driver development program (TRD). To this day, he is the only Canadian to be recruited into this program. Raphael Lessard Racing

HIGHTLIGHTS

2018 - Competed in 16 Super Late Model events for Kyle Busch Motorsports

• Earned two wins, seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes

• Won the U.S. Short Track Nationals at Bristol Motor Speedway

• Won the Red Bull 400 at Anderson Speedway

• Led 60 laps at the prestigious Snowball Derby in December, when a leak put him out of the race with 6 laps to go.

2017 - Competed in 20 Super Late Model and two ARCA Series events

• Earned two wins and eight top-five finishes in Super Late Model competition

• Captured one top-10 in two starts in ARCA competition

2016 – Competed in 10 races

• CARS Super Late Model Series Champion

• Youngest Canadian driver to win in a USA-based major stock series

• Four wins, eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes in the 10-race schedule

• Voted most popular driver in North America for 2016 by Speed51.com

• Named Top-10 Pavement Short Track Driver to watch in 2017 by Speed51.com

• Voted as the seventh-ranked driver in the United States by Speed51.com’s Short Track Power Ranking

ABOUT KYLE BUSCH MOTORSPORTS

Since debuting in 2010, Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) has quickly established itself as one of the most successful teams in all of NASCAR. Owned by 2015 Cup Series champion Kyle Busch and fueled by his passion for winning, his organisation holds the Gander Outdoors Truck Series records for most team wins (71) and most team wins in a single season (14 in 2014). In addition to collecting a series-record six Owner’s Championships, the organisation has produced two championship-winning drivers; Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).

KBM prepares a fleet of race-winning Tundras out of a state-of-the-art 77,000-square-foot facility in Mooresville (N.C.) Fans can keep up-to-date with all the latest KBM news online at KyleBuschMotorsports.com, by liking the team on Facebook (KBMteam) and by following the team on Instagram (KBMteam) and Twitter (@KBMteam).

ABOUT TOYOTA

Toyota (NYSE:TM), creator of the Prius hybrid and the Mirai fuel cell vehicle, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota and Lexus brands. Over the past 60 years, we've built more than 30 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than 44,000 people (more than 34,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold nearly 2.6 million cars and trucks (2.45 million in the U.S.) in 2016 - and about 85 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 15 years are still on the road today.

ABOUT FRL EXPRESS Inc.

F.R.L. Express Inc. is a general trucking company founded in December 2004 by François Lessard, specializing in general transportation in closed trailers, on short or long distances, in Canada and in the United States. Our team now employs about fifty logistics specialists as well as ten contracted truck drivers. We are proud of our business growth and evolution since our inception and recognize the hard work of every member of our team who contributed to our success. Our business priorities are taking care of our team members, providing flawless customer service, and ensuring complete customer satisfaction. We contribute to the success of our son Raphael Lessard and are very proud of his accomplishments.

2019 SEASON