MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Seventeen-year-old Canadian driver Raphael Lessard will join DGR-Crosley for two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races this year.
Lessard will drive for the team at Iowa Speedway on June 15 and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, on Aug. 25 driving the Réseau Dynamique Toyota Tundra.
Lessard previously raced a super late model for DGR-Crosley co-owner David Gilliland in 2016 where he went on to win a CARS Super Late Model Tour championship after posting four wins and eight top-five finishes. Looking to get as much seat time as possible, the St.-Joseph de Beauce, Quebec native is racing in Truck Series, NASCAR K&N Pro Series and ARCA Menards Series this season.
“I’m super excited to work with Raphaël again,” said Gilliland. “He’s a great kid. He won a CARS Tour championship with us back in 2016, and it’s been really fun to watch his progression the past few years. He’s done a great job in his first two truck races with KBM. He’s put together solid races, ran all the laps and that’s what it takes to learn and get better at this level. We are looking forward to getting him over here in one of our Tundra’s and continuing to help him learn and grow.”
Lessard has two Truck Series starts ,which occurred this season with Kyle Busch Motorsports. In those two starts, he earned 14th and 11th-place finishes, respectively, at Martinsville Speedway and Dover Int’l Speedway.
“I am really happy to participate in these two additional truck races,” Lessard said. “The DGR-Crosley team has changed several personnel since I last raced with them two years ago. Things do look great, as Crew Chief Kevin ‘Bono’ Manion has an excellent reputation at all levels in NASCAR. In addition, I participated in a test session in Iowa and covered 100 laps, which will allow me to drive hard right from the start of the first practice session. I would also like to thank my partners, especially Réseau dynamique and the people who allow me to have great experiences like these two races.”