By: Raphaël Lessard Racing
June 13 2019 

Plus the unveiling of the NASCAR Pinty’s #07 Société Louis Jacques | FRL Express car

Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Quebec – Raphael Lessard is pumped about his upcoming return to Iowa Speedway (Newton, United States) this Saturday, June 15, aboard the #17 Réseau Dynamique | FRL Express truck prepared by the DGR-Crosley team. The young driver from Canada won the “CARS Tour Championship” with DGR-Crosley in 2016. This will be his first start in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series with this team and his third start overall in the series.

The promising rookie driver was at Iowa Speedway last May 21 for a fruitful testing session on the 7/8-mile banked oval. “I went to the team shop last week to have my seat adjusted and had a chance to get to know the new team members, and especially Crew Chief Kevin ‘’Bono’’ Manion. He really knows his stuff, having worked with all the major team and often won over the years. I really expect a great race on Saturday,” added the excited driver of the #17 Réseau dynamique | FRL Express car.

Follow the action on Saturday, June 15, 2019, at 8:30 pm eastern time, on FS1 – FS2 (qualifying) & MRN

Horaire : Saturday – practice 9:30 to 11 am EST / 11:30 am to 12:55 pm EST

Qualifying – 5 :35 pm EST / Race – 8:30 pm EST

UNVEILING OF NEW COLOURS OF CAR #07 SOCIÉTÉ LOUIS JACQUES | FRL EXPRESS

JUNE 18, 2019 – 10h AM – Autodrome Chaudière

Raphael Lessard will take part in the third leg on the 2019 NASCAR Pinty’s Series at the Autodrome Chaudière (Vallée-Jonction, Québec, Canada) aboard a car prepared by Dumoulin Competition.

You are invited to the unveiling of the new colours of the NASCAR Pinty’s car

#07 Société Louis Jacques | FRL Express at the Autodrome Chaudière

on June 18 at 10 am EST

(71, route 112 Ouest Vallée Jonction)

Raphael Lessard will also test the car that day. “Running quick laps at Chaudière quarter-mile banked oval will certainly be beneficial for my race. I know the track’s idiosyncrasies better than any other driver in the race, as I started racing there aboard all types of cars and know how to take full advantage of all its bumps and asymmetrical banking. I am certain that the #07 Société Louis Jacques | FRL Express car and I will quickly become good friends with the track," added the confident driver.

2019 SEASON

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; a Late Model series on paved ovals, at the wheel of a David Gilliland Racing team car.

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 ten in his No. 99 Toyota Camry, and thus becoming the youngest Canadian driver 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.

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 - Competed 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 - Participated 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 RÉSEAU DYNAMIQUE

Working in the industry for more than 50 years, the Réseau Dynamique is a consortium of dealers and associates for the sale of International and Isuzu heavy trucks brand. We also offer after-sales service and the sale of parts related to these brands. We are proud of all our employees, because without them we would not be where we are today.

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.

ABOUT DGR-CROSLEY

DGR-Crosley is a race team owned by NASCAR veteran David Gilliland and Crosley Brands CEO, Bo LeMastus. The team specializes in driver development, competing full-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, NASCAR K&N Pro Series and CARS Tour, as well running select ARCA Menards Series and late model races with factory support from Toyota. In its first year of operation, DGR-Crosley won 7 of 14 K&N East races, securing a Driver and Owner Championship. The team operates out of two buildings totaling 55,000 square feet in Mooresville, N.C.

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.