Raphaël Lessard (pronounced "less-ard"; born July 5, 2001) is a Canadian professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Pinty's Series for Ed Hakonson Racing. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driving the No. 24

Chevrolet Silverado The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from th ...

for

GMS Racing Petty GMS Motorsports, also known as GMS Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series, is an American professional stock car racing team formed by Richard Petty and Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. and operated by GMS Racing. In the NASCAR Cup Series they field ...

. He has also driven for Venturini Motorsports in the

ARCA Racing Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three nation ...

, and

, Kyle Busch Motorsports and DGR-Crosley in the Truck Series.

Racing career

Early career

Lessard started racing in an old

Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Hond ...

, winning his first race on the day of his twelfth birthday. He then ran Quebec sportsmans and

super late model A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.) The precise definition ...

s in Canada before moving to America.

CARS Tour

2015

His first American racing experience came in the CARS Super Late Model Tour, driving the 2015 season for

Toyota Racing Development Toyota Racing Development (also known by its abbreviation TRD) is the in-house tuning shop for all Toyota, Lexus and formerly Scion cars. ''TRD'' is responsible both for improving street cars for more performance and supporting Toyota's racin ...

and David Gilliland Racing.

2016

In 2016, at age 15, and in grade 10, he became the second non-American to win the CARS Super Late Model series championship, the other being Mario Gosselin, also a Canadian from Quebec, who accomplished the feat in 1997. It was Lessard's first championship. He won four of ten races during the season, including the season finale at Southern National Motorsports Park. Lessard continued with

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

and David Gilliland Racing to run

late model A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.) The precise definition ...

racing in large events like the Winchester 400, Snowball Derby and various PASS Late Model, CRA Racing Series and

events.

2017

To start off 2017 he was disqualified from an April PASS race for intentionally wrecking other drivers, illegally passing under yellow, and inappropriate actions by his crew.

ARCA Racing Series

2017

He debuted in the

in 2017 driving for Venturini Motorsports. He made the top ten in his second start at

Winchester Speedway Winchester Speedway is a half-mile paved oval motor racetrack in White River Township, Randolph County, just outside Winchester, Indiana, approximately northeast of Indianapolis. It seats 4000 spectators. It is also known as the "World's Fas ...

NASCAR

Truck Series

2019

On February 15, 2019, it was announced that Lessard will drive three races in the No. 46

Toyota Tundra The Toyota Tundra is a pickup truck manufactured in the United States by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota since May 1999. The Tundra was the second full-size pickup to be built by a Japanese manufacturer (the first was the Toyota T100), but th ...

for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Lessard started 7th and finished 14th in his Truck Series debut at Martinsville. In June, he joined DGR-Crosley's No. 17 truck for the

Iowa Speedway Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretch ...

and

Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi- track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville, in Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. The facility features a , 10-turn road course; a ad ...

races.

2020

In 2020, Lessard joined KBM for the full Truck season in the No. 4 Tundra. Despite missing the playoffs, he won his first career Truck race at

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...

when he was leading as the caution came out on the final lap, becoming the first French Canadian to win in a NASCAR national series.

2021

Lessard lost his KBM ride to John Hunter Nemechek in 2021 and subsequently moved to

to drive the No. 24. The plans initially outlined a 12-race schedule before it was increased to the full season. However, funding troubles forced him out of the truck after seven races.

Xfinity Series

2022

Lessard was scheduled to drive the No. 87 for SQR Development on a part-time basis in the

NASCAR Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to ...

throughout the

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

season but would later be released from the team before the season even started due to Lessard taking issue with a sexual harassment case involving team-owner J. C. Stout. Pinty’s Series 2019 Lessard would make his Pinty’s Series debut at Autodrome Chaudière. He would go onto to win in his Series debut. 2021 Lessard would sweep the first two races at Sunset, making him a perfect 3 for 3 in his Pinty’s Series career.

Personal life

Lessard's father was a race car driver but sold his cars to help move Raphaël's racing career.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Camping World Truck Series

K&N Pro Series East

Pinty's Series

ARCA Menards Series

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points

References

External links

Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lessard, Raphael 2001 births People from Chaudière-Appalaches Racing drivers from Quebec NASCAR drivers Living people ARCA Menards Series drivers Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers