RAPHAEL LESSARD RARIN' TO GO IN HIS FIRST RACE ON THE DAYTONA SUPER OVAL. The youngest Canadian driver and second Quebecer in full NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series

On November 14, 2019, Raphael Lessard Racing announced the participation of the young Quebec driver in the 23 races of the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck (NGROTS) series; at the wheel of the #4 Toyota Tundra prepared by Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM), the top team in the series. The adventure began on January 4, when Raphael Lessard moved to the United States. Since then, he has had a very busy schedule: intensive training, sessions on the Toyota Racing Development (TRD) simulator and preparatory meetings with the team. Raphael Lessard is excited to be racing at the prestigious Daytona International Speedway (Florida, USA) for the first time, on February 14.

Raphael Lessard works directly with the KBM & TRD team, and a simulator session awaited him at 8 a.m. on January 6. The session was aimed at gaining familiarity with the Toyota Tundra #4 and its suspension settings.

"We started with basic setups, before my crew chief, Mike Hillman Jr. and the team worked on various settings and on my driving on different tracks. I recorded increasingly competitive times throughout the morning", explained Raphael Lessard. Other sessions are planned throughout the season in preparation for various races.

Then it was off to his first fitness training session in the afternoon, where he met with his new personal trainer at TRD. Together, they developed an optimized training program based on Raphael Lessard's specific needs as an oval racer, as well as a specialized nutrition plan. Raphael Lessard firmly believes in the importance of such programs and enjoys training every day, as he has done for the past few seasons. Raphael Lessard must also study and understand race videos in order to better prepare himself for the particularities of each track, to understand race strategies and tactics that make the most of every situation.

As a full-time driver for the top team in this series, Raphael Lessard has all the talent and equipment he needs to shine throughout the season. In any case ... you won't want to miss the show!

To follow Raphael Lessard's races: https://cutt.ly/yrPEcul

Photo Credit: Nigel Kinrade Photography

The JBL and Mobil 1 designs to be used by Raphael Lessard over the season in the #4 Toyota Tundra.

ABOUT RAPHAEL LESSARD

Born on July 5, 2001, in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Quebec, Canada, Raphael Lessard is one of the most promising prospects in North American oval racing. Raphael made his debut in stock-cars in 2013, on local tracks in the Quebec City area. His exceptional talent quickly allowed him to climb the ladder and attract the attention of David Gilliland, a former NASCAR Monster Energy Series driver and now a team owner, in 2015. An agreement then allowed Lessard to participate in the last four races of the season in the PASS North Tour Series.

In 2016, his first full-time season with Gilliland Racing, Lessard won the CARS Super Late Model Tour title with four wins, 8 top five and 9 top drivers to win a major stock car series title in the United States. Since 2016, Lessard has been part of the Toyota Racing Development (TRD) prestigious driver development program. To date, he is the only Canadian to have been recruited into this program.

2019 Season

22 Races - 7 different types of vehicles:

• 6 podiums including 2 wins;
• 10 top-5s;
• 18 top-10s.

Several Series :

• 5 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck races: two top-10 finishes & fastest time in Dover;
• 3 ARCA races;
• 1 race in K&N Pro East;
• 2 races in NASCAR Pinty's, 1 victory;
• 5 races in NASCAR Late Model, 3 podiums;
• 1 race in Super Late Model, double track record;
• 2 races in Sportsman Dirt, 2 podiums;
• 2 races in LMS;
• 1 race in Pro Late Model.

2018 - 16 races - Super Late Model with Kyle Busch Motorsports

• Two wins, seven top-5s and 13 top-10s;
• Wins the U.S. Short Track Nationals race at Bristol Motor Speedway;
• Wins the Red Bull 400 at Anderson Speedway;
• Leads 60 laps at the famous Snowball Derby in December, before a mechanical problem puts him out of the race with only six (6) laps to go.

2017 - Competes in 20 Super Late Model races and two ARCA series races

• Two wins and eight top-5 finishes in the Super Late Model category;
• A top-10 from two races in the ARCA series;
• Voted the most popular driver in North America by Speed51.com;
• Voted as one of the top 10 drivers to watch in 2017 by Speed51.com;
• Named by Speed51.com Short Track Power Ranking as 7th best driver in the United States.

2016 - Participates in 10 races

• CARS Super Late Model Series Champion;
• Youngest Canadian driver to win a prestigious stock-car series in the United States;
• Four wins, eight top-5s and nine top-10s in 10 races.

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 two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch and fueled by his passion for winning, the organization holds the Gander RV & Outdoors Series records for most career wins (75) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). In addition to collecting a series-record six Owner's Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers; Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).

KBM prepares a fleet of race-winning Toyotas out of its state-of-the art 77,000-square-foot facility in Mooresville, N.C. Fans can stay up-to-date with all the latest KBM news online at www.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) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands. During that time, Toyota has created a tremendous value chain as our teams have contributed to world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 40 million cars and trucks in North America, where we have 14 manufacturing plants, 15 including our joint venture in Alabama (10 in the U.S.), and directly employ more than 47,000 people (over 36,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships (nearly 1,500 in the U.S.) sold 2.7 million cars and trucks (2.4 million in the U.S.) in 2019.

Through the Start Your Impossible campaign, Toyota highlights the way it partners with community, civic, academic and governmental organizations to address our society's most pressing mobility challenges. We believe that when people are free to move, anything is possible. For more information about Toyota, visit toyotanewsroom.com.

ABOUT FRL EXPRESS Inc.

F.R.L. Express Inc. is a general transportation company founded in 2004 by François Lessard. Its main field of activity over the last 15 years is general transport in closed trailers over short and long distances in Canada and the United States. FRL currently have about 50 employees in addition to about ten tow carriers. FRL owners are proud of the progress made in recent years thanks to the FRL team members and wishes to continue on this positive note. "Our employees, customer service and satisfaction are our priorities. We are all proud to be partners in the success and achievements of our son Raphael Lessard," state the proud parents.