News

Raphael Lessard - Richmond Raceway - Driver, No. 4 Mobil 1 | Canac Toyota

september 8, 2020

NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Overview (NGROTS)

Event: ToyotaCare 250, Race 16 of 23, 250 laps - 70/70/110; 187.5 miles

Location: Richmond Raceway in Virginia (0.75-mile D-shaped oval)

Date/Broadcast: Sept. 10, 2020, at 8 p.m. ET on RDS, FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90

**RDS and RDS DIRECT will present all races of the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series 2020 season.

Reminder: it is possible to vote for the "most popular driver of the NGROTS series" at this address: https://www.nascar.com/truckmostpopulardriver

Racing with Raphael

  • Raphael Lessard and the No. 4 Mobil 1 | Canac team head to Richmond Raceway, where the 19-year-old Canadian driver is coming off his fourth top-10 in the last five races. He is in his first full-time season in the NGROTS and is competing for Rookie of the Year honors with veteran crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. For the first time since 2005, the NGROTS returns to Richmond.
  • So far in 2020, Raphael Lessard has 15 starts with an average starting position of 12.7 and an average finishing position of 14.9. The Toyota Racing Development Driver's season-best finish was on the road course at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, where the rookie driver finished in the third position.
  • As the season has progressed, so have Raphael Lessard's finishes. Over the last nine races, he has posted an average finish of 10.3 compared to an average finish of 21.8 across the first six races of 2020. While he's moved up three positions to 12th in the point standings during that span, he still sits 66 points behind the cutoff line and faces a must-win situation on Thursday night in the final regular season race to make the NGROTS playoffs.
  • Raphael Lessard made five NGROTS starts in 2019, three of those with Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM). Across his five starts, he posted two top-10 finishes while recording an average starting position of 10.4 and average finish of 11.1. Raphael Lessard's strongest run came in his final start of the season at Bristol when he was running inside the top five with under 30 laps remaining before getting spun and relegated to a 12th-place finish.
  • While Raphael Lessard may be a newcomer to the NGROTS, Mike Hillman Jr. has plenty of experience. The veteran crew chief has 315 NGROTS starts under his belt, with 22 wins, 23 poles, 116 top-five and 174 top-10 finishes with drivers including Todd Bodine, Jeb Burton, Kyle Busch and last season, Harrison Burton. At Richmond, Mike Hillman Jr. has one NGROTS start, a runner-up finish in 2005 with Todd Bodine. Across 63 short track starts, the veteran crew chief has collected 16 top-5s, 29 top-10s, and one pole.
  • The world's leading synthetic motor oil brand, Mobil 1, features anti-wear technology that provides performance beyond our conventional motor oils. This technology allows Mobil 1 to meet or exceed the toughest standards of car builders and to provide exceptional protection against engine wear, under normal or even some of the most extreme conditions. Mobil 1 flows quickly in extreme temperatures to protect critical engine parts and is designed to maximize engine performance and help extend engine life.
  • CANAC is the first independent hardware and building materials store chain to open in Quebec City. Its expertise of over 145 years of experience allows CANAC to perpetuate the spirit of the hardware stores of yesteryear in a modern environment, with qualified personnel trained by its continuing education centre accredited by Emploi-Québec. CANAC serves both individual customers and contractors and offers aggressive prices that defy all competition. Since its acquisition by Groupe Laberge in 1985, the company's expansion has focused on opening new modern hardware stores and on renovating existing branches to better adapt them to the needs and expectations of consumers. Today, CANAC has 30 branches and employs more than 3,400 part-time and full-time workers.

Raphael Lessard, Driver Q&A

With finishing in the top-10 in four of the last five races, do you feel like you're at the point where you can go out and compete for a win Thursday?

"We need to win to make it into the Playoffs on Thursday night at Richmond. I feel like it is going to be a place that fits my style really well. I just can't wait. We've been really good the past few races. We've been doing what we've needed to do, which is finishing in the top-10 and top-five. We have been running up front. It's been really good to be competitive. Now, I feel like we're ready to compete for wins. That's what we want to do. We are going to go for it and do whatever it takes. We're really excited for this weekend."

What would it mean to get your first truck series win in a race sponsored by Toyota?

"It's the ToyotaCare 250 this Thursday night. It would mean the world to me to win this race because Toyota has been a huge part of my career. They've been helping me since the beginning. I'm really fortunate to have them helping me and being a part of the Toyota Racing Driver Development program. We're going to go there and win to make it into the playoffs."

How do you prepare for Richmond with no current truck series videos to watch and your crew chief not having a notebook that you can study?

"The truck series hasn't been at Richmond in years. My crew chief doesn't have a notebook about this place. I don't have a notebook about this place. I've never been there, but I have to go out there and do what I did at Darlington. Study a lot of videos, in-car cameras from the Cup and Xfinity series, ask a lot of questions, and spend time in the simulator. Hopefully, I am prepared when we get there. I know what I have to do to win. Darlington was another track where the truck series hasn't been at in years, and we did really well. I think it is going to be really good for us this weekend. I'm really excited. Hopefully we have a good Mobil 1 | Canac Toyota Tundra there."

Raphael Lessard Career Highlights:

  • Across 20 career NGROTS starts has produced one top-five, six top-10 finishes and an average finish of 14.0.
  • In 2019, Raphael Lessard posted 83 laps led, two top-five and three top-10 finishes across three ARCA Menards Series starts and one win, one top-five and two top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Pinty's Series. His Pinty's Series victory came at his hometown track, Autodrome Chaudiere in Vallee-Jonction, Quebec, on June 29 when he led a race-high 153 laps en route to the sentimental win.
  • Won two marquee events driving KBM's famed No. 51 Super Late Model in 2018: the Short Track U.S. Nationals at Bristol
  • Motor Speedway in May and the Red Bud 400 ARCA/CRA Super Series race at Anderson Speedway in July.
  • Overall in 16 starts for KBM in 2018 split across the CARS Super Late Model Tour, the Southern Super Series and the ARCA/CRA Super Series, posted two wins, three poles, seven top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 2018.Started seventh and led 68 laps in the prestigious Snowball Derby at 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla.
  • Captured the 2016 CARS Super Late Model Tour championship after recording four wins, one pole, 157 laps led, eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes across 10 races.

Raphael Lessard's No. 4 Mobil 1 | Canac Tundra:

KBM-035: The No. 4 Mobil 1 | Canac team will unload chassis number KBM-035, which has been raced 15 times. Most recently, Harrison Burton ran the chassis at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. In 2016, Daniel Suarez piloted the chassis to victory at Phoenix (Az.) Raceway.

KBM-035 Performance Profile:

Starts

Wins

Average Start

Average Finish

Laps Led

15

1

5.5

12.2

248

KBM Notes of Interest:

  • KBM has never raced at Richmond in the NGROTS. Kurt Busch picked up the organization's lone NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at the Virginia track on April 27, 2012.
  • Across 110 short track events, KBM drivers have collected 14 wins, 41 top-5s, 71 top-10s, an average start of 8.7 and an average finish of 9.6.
  • KBM holds the NGROTS records for most career wins (78) and most wins in a single season (14 in 2014). In addition to collecting a series-record seven Owner's Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers: Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).

Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 Toyota Tundra 2020 NGROTS Box Score:

Date

Site

Start

Finish

Laps

Laps Led

Status

Driver Pts./Pos.

2/14

Daytona

8

20

105/106

0

Running

24/14th

2/21

Las Vegas

8

30

90/134

0

Crash

39/18th

5/26

Charlotte

20

15

134/134

2

Running

61/15th

6/6

Atlanta

19

18

136/136

0

Running

84/15th

6/13

Homestead

14

11

134/134

0

Running

114/13th

6/27

Pocono

14

37

5/60

0

Crash

119/15th

7/11

Kentucky

13

13

71/71

0

Running

143/15th

7/18

Texas

16

12

166/167

0

Running

168/15th

7/24

Kansas 1

12

16

134/134

0

Running

189/15th

7/25

Kansas 2

16

11

134/134

0

Running

217/15th

8/7

Michigan

11

7

107/107

4

Running

247/14th

8/16

Daytona RC

10

3

46/46

3

Running

285/13th

8/21

Dover

5

19

198/200

0

Running

305/14th

8/30

WWT Raceway

19

6

160/160

0

Running

338/13th

9/6

Darlington

6

6

152/152

0

Running

377/12th

9/10

Richmond

9/17

Bristol

**Press Release prepared by Kyle Busch Motorsports

Photo Credit: Nigel Kinrade Photography