Raphael Lessard Ready For His First Race In 2019
Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce (Quebec, Canada) - March 6th, 2019. Raphael Lessard will launch his 2019 season in his #19 FRL Express/KBR car on a track where he recently excelled, the 0.8 km paved oval in Pensacola (Florida, USA). Raphael Lessard left his mark during his last visit to this track last December for the 200-lap classic "Snowball Derby," the most important race of the year in Super Late Model. After leading 60 laps towards the end of the race, he was forced to retire only six (6) laps from the chequered flag. Raphael Lessard is looking forward to transforming this moral victory into a visit to the top step of the podium this time out.
"This will be my seventh race at Pensacola, all in a Super Late Model. I feel comfortable on the track and I can drive hard almost easily. This will be my third race ever in an ARCA car that is 575 lb heavier and 150 hp more powerful than a Super Late Model. I am fortunate to have Jeff Stankiewicz as Crew Chief, as he won the ARCA championship last year and is doing the entire pickup season this year, two types of cars that I will race in this season."
ARCA Series Test - February 28
"During a test day at Pensacola last Thursday (February 28th), the rain forced us to wait until noon before going out on the track. My car pushed (understeer) during my first short runs. The team improved the car each time out and we ended up as the fastest of the six ARCA drivers on the track. I started out on used tires to get back into it and check out the car, then mounted a new set of tires and started pushing harder. We ended up quickest over the warm afternoon using 30-lap runs to understand how the tires fell off as they wore out.
By the cooler evening, other drivers were using up to four sets of new tires to try to beat my time from the slower afternoon session on used tires. One driver finally went 0.06 sec. quicker than me. Raphael stuck to older tires during the evening sessions in order to better understand the evolution of the tire grip as the tires wore out, and thus focusing on the race set-up rather than on qualifying."
"I am confident for the race, as my pace was great on my race set-up, and I quickly understood how to get the most out of the heavy and lazy car. The car is good and we will be in it for the win," said the young driver, always confident in his abilities.
Atlanta - NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck (February 22-23)
"In order to prepare for my three NASCAR truck races with the Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBR) team, I spent the whole Atlanta truck event attached to the KBR team. I was able to witness all the work and events carried out by the team, including testing, qualifying, racing, winning and podium, always listening to the conversations in person and over the phones. Kyle Busch is extraordinary, a real race surgeon who transformed my visit into a continuous training session. I also met a lot of important people from the team, from Toyota, and from NASCAR. Two extraordinary days," added the young driver.
How to follow the March 9 ARCA race.
Next weekend in Pensacola, the support of the KBR team, specialists in Super Late Model and ARCA series, will make it easier for Raphael Lessard to stay in the game and go for the win.
The race is scheduled to start on Saturday, March 9 at 8:00 p.m. (EST) on the https://www.5flagsspeedway.com/.
You can follow the race live on https://www.mavtv.com/
Read the complete press release here
Photo credit: Team KBR Development
