Raphael Lessard to display Camping World Colours At Las Vegas
Event: Bucked Up 200, race 3 of 22 (134 laps - 30/30/74; 201 miles)
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Nevada, United States - 1.5-mile trioval)
Race: Friday, March 5 at 9pm (EST)
Date | Broadcast: live on Friday March 5 at 9pm (EST) on RDS, Fox Sports Racing, FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR 90
** RDS and RDS DIRECT will broadcast the entire NCWTS season and other NASCAR races to be determined as the season progresses.
After opening his 2021 season with two promising races at Daytona (oval and road course), Raphaël Lessard and his Silverado Camping World #24 truck will be on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval track this Friday, March 5th.
Camping World, the largest seller of motorhomes and camping equipment in the United States (more than 200 sales and service locations) and the leading partner in the NASCAR truck series, just announced an exciting initiative related to this weekend's race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Every truck bearing the company's colours in the race will receive a bonus, depending on the results. Needless to say, Raphael Lessard will take full advantage of this bonus.
"I am happy to see Camping World come to the aid of the drivers in their series. Camping World has been prominent at all levels in NASCAR since 2006. This shows that investing in racing is a win-win situation for companies and racing, and I hope that other companies will follow suit. We have a fast truck and we are aiming for a result among the leaders," explained Raphaël Lessard.
Raphael Lessard reminds us that he had little knowledge about racing on a high-speed 1.5-mile oval when he first came to this track last year. Since then, he has learned a lot about how to drive in a tight pack, protect his position, overtake without wasting time, and use downforce and turbulence to his advantage. This time around, the much more experienced racer runs consistently with the lead pack and is always capable of finding himself in a position to do well at the end of a race. Raphael Lessard tells us about his preparation for Las Vegas.
"All of the people I work with at GMS Racing are satisfied with the work we have done in our first two races this season. As my Crew Chief Chad Walter says, we are on the right track and the wind will certainly turn in our favour in the coming weeks. The aerodynamic effects are complex in Las Vegas and I must pay particular attention to these factors during the race. Our race strategy so far this season has helped us achieve our current 7th place in the driver championship, thanks to the bonus points we earned in both Daytona races and despite two finishing results beyond 20th. Our goal remains the same: to accumulate bonus points during the races, while making sure we stay with the lead pack in position to secure a top-5 finish," explained the driver of the #24 Chevrolet Silverado as his confidence in himself and in his team continue to grow.
Raphael Lessard adds that he is very happy with the work accomplished by the team in the pits and with the effective communications with new Crew Chief Chad Walter and new Spotter, Tyler Monn. The advice, decisions and abundant feedback from both during the race helps him keep out of trouble and anticipate passing opportunities and incidents.
Raphael Lessard and the NCWTS
After five (5) races in NASCAR trucks in 2019, Raphael Lessard competed in all 23 races of the NCWTS in 2020, his first full season at that level. His first 10 races of 2020 served him well as he worked hard with a professional team, and against seasoned drivers.
He learned more advanced driving techniques from these experienced drivers as well as from his spotter: learning new track quickly without a pre-race test or qualifying session, watching their driving trajectories and test new ones for himself as the track changes over the course of the race, managing downforce and turbulence, overtaking more effectively and protecting your position in the race, adapting to handling defects and adjusting his driving during a run, communicating effectively with the team during a run to describe any problems, managing front/rear braking distribution during a run, managing tire wear to optimize their performance at the end of the race and working in unison with team members during a pit stop.
The effects of this learning were clearly visible over the second half of the 2020 season, as Raphael Lessard caught and worked his way to the leaders several times to put himself in a position to win, as he did at Talladega, and accumulating four top-5 and seven top-10 finishes over the course of the season.
Raphael Lessard career highlights
Right from his start on the track at age 11, Raphael Lessard has raced throughout the Eastern Canada and then on to the United States, establishing a solid reputation as a driver to watch along the way.
In 2020, the young Beauceron decided to leap into professional racing and competed in all 23 races of the NCWTS series (formerly the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Trucks Series). In 28 starts (five in 2019) in NCWTS trucks, Raphael Lessard has won one race, finished four times in the top-5 (two podiums), and nine times in the top-10, giving him an average finish of 14.5.
In 2019, Raphael Lessard led 83 race laps, finished twice in the top-5 and three times in the top-10 in three starts in the ARCA Menards Series. He earned a win, a top five and two top10 finishes in the NASCAR Pinty's series. His NASCAR Pinty's series win came on his home track, Autodrome Chaudière in Vallée-Jonction (Quebec, Canada), on June 29, after leading 153 of 300 laps on the way to an emotional win.
He also won two important Super Late Model Series races in 2018, including the U.S. National Short Track Championship at Bristol Motor Speedway in May, and the ARCA/CRA Super Series Red Bud 400 race at Anderson Speedway in July.
In 2016, Raphael Lessard won the CARS Tour Super Late Model Championship after recording four wins, one pole, leading 157 laps and finishing with eight top-five and nine top-ten finishes out of 10 races.
2021 Season - GMS Racing - NCWTS
Date | Circuit | Start | Finish | Laps | Laps Led | Status | Driver Pts./Pos. |
Friday, February 12 | Daytona | 5 | 23 | 99 | 12 | Running | 33 / 8 |
Friday, February 19 | Daytona (Road) | 12 | 26 | 51 | 5 | Running | 54 / 7 |
Friday, March 5 | Las Vegas |
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PhotoCredit: GMS Racing
ABOUT PARTNERS
Chad Walter takes over as Crew Chief and Tyler Monn will act as Spotter for Raphael Lessard in 2021. Chad Walter has won five (5) races in 208 Xfinity starts as a Crew Chief. He led Tyler Ankrum to a spot in the 2020 playoffs in his first season as an NCWTS crew Chief. Tyler Monn, while still below 30, impressed key staff at Hendrick Motorsports last season. This year, he moves up the ladder as Kyle Larson's spotter in the Cup Series as well as working with Raphael Lessard in NCWTS and making for an ideal scenario for the young driver's second year of development.
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 tractors-trailer outfits. 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.