Press Release (For immediate Release) ______

. RAPHAEL LESSARD IN K&N PRO SERIES EAST AT April 6th, 2019: Auto 150 Zombie on the bowl of the legendary track

Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce (Quebec, Canada) - March 19th, 2019. After dominating his first race in the ARCA series earlier this month in Pensacola (Florida, USA), Raphael Lessard is adding another event to his calendar by competing on April 6 in the Zombie Auto 150 on the historic Bristol Motor Speedway oval (Tennessee, USA) in the K&N Pro Series East. The Bill McAnally Racing (BMR) team, based in California (USA), will prepare the car for Raphael Lessard.

The Bill McAnally Racing (BMR) team has been running and winning since 1990, having earned eight K&N Pro Series West titles with drivers such as and . The team founded by Bill McAnally has competed in multiple levels of NASCAR – including NASCAR Whelen All-American Super Late Models, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.

“We are excited that Raphael Lessard will be racing a BMR Camry at Bristol. He’s a talented young driver and we look forward to playing a role in his development”, said team owner Bill McAnally.

The K&N Pro Series also shares a few weekends with one or more other NASCAR series. Raphael Lessard’s K&N race will take place on Saturday afternoon, just after the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, and the NASCAR Monster Energy Series race will take place on Sunday afternoon. This strategic planning means that Raphael Lessard will be on track in front of all the major teams, of NASCAR management along with management from manufacturers and all the partners present, giving him some key visibility for his racing program.

"I really enjoyed the Pensacola ARCA race in the powerful and heavy car, and I do not expect any problems adapting to Bristol with a K&N car that is very similar to the ARCA in weight and power," said Raphael Lessard.

The four to nine degrees of banking on the short straight and 26 to 30 degrees in the four corners allow cars to run quicker in Bristol than on the other half-mile oval tracks. "I have raced twice at Bristol in Super cars, winning a qualifying race and in one race, and winning the second one. I really feel comfortable and love to drive on this high banked half-mile. The track always tilts inwards and helps you to stay on track. Diving deep into turns 1 and 3 takes your breath away," explained the young driver.

“Driving all out at Bristol means focusing on perfection. Because of the higher corner speeds due to the high banking, we stay on the accelerator longer than on other half-mile, using the banking and change of direction to slow the car down in the corners. We can also reaccelerate earlier when exiting the corner, as the banking pushes the car into the track and increases tire grip. You have to stay totally focused at all times," added Raphael Lessard.

"This race will be special for me in terms of experience and fun, a highlight of my season I am sure. I will attack until the end of the 150 laps, always aiming for victory with the team and our partners," said the determined driver.

K&N Pro Series East and West Series The K&N Pro Series East and West are the fourth level in the NASCAR hierarchy and specialize on short oval tracks, with 10 races scheduled on such tracks this year, in addition to a visit to the Monster Mile at Dover International Speedway (Delaware, USA), two visits to the one-mile oval of New Hampshire Motor Speedway (New Hampshire, USA) and one to the Watkins Glen road circuit (New York, USA). The series allows younger drivers, teams and their staff to qualify to run on NASCAR's largest tracks.

2019 SEASON DATE RACE SERIES TEAM START RESULTS Notes March 9, , KBR ARCA 6th 8th Led 83 laps on 250 2019 Florida, USA Development Martinsville March 23, Gander Outdoors Speedway, Virginia, 2019 Truck Motosports USA Bristol Motor April 6, Bill McAnally Speedway, K&N Pro East 2019 Racing Tennessee, USA Dover International May 3, Gander Outdoors Kyle Busch Speedway, 2019 Truck Motosports Delaware, USA Bristol Motor August 15, Gander Outdoors Kyle Busch Speedway, 2019 Truck Motosports Tennessee, USA

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Photo credit: Bruce Nuttleman High resolution pictures: https://bit.ly/2HERDHM

ABOUT RAPHAEL LESSARD Born on July 5, 2001 in Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce, Quebec, Canada, Raphaël Lessard is one of the most promising prospects in the North American race. Raphaël made his debut in stock-car 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 , a former NASCAR Monster 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 PASS North Tour series; a Late Model series on a paved oval, 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 series title with four wins, 8 top-five and 9 top-ten in his No. 99 and became the youngest Canadian driver to win a major stock car series title in the United States. Since 2016, Lessard has been part of Toyota Racing Development’s (TRD) prestigious driver development program. To date, he is the only Canadian to have been recruited into this program. Raphael Lessard Racing

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

2018 - Competed in 16 Super Late Model events for • Earned two wins, seven top-five and 13 top-10 finishes • Won the U.S. Short Track Nationals at Bristol Motor Speedway • Won the Red Bull 400 at Anderson Speedway • Led 60 laps at the prestigious Snowball Derby in December when a leak put him out of the race lead with 6 laps to go

2017 - Competed in 20 Super Late Model and two ARCA Series events • Earned two wins and eight top-five finishes in Super Late Model competition • Captured one top-10 finish in two starts in ARCA competition

2016 – Competed in 10 races • Won the CARS Super Late Model Series Champion • Youngest Canadian driver to win in a USA-based major stock car series • Four wins, eight top-five and nine top-10 finishes in the 10-race schedule • Voted most popular driver in North America for 2016 by Speed51.com • Named Top-10 Pavement Short Track Driver to watch in 2017 by Speed51.com • Voted as the seventh-ranked driver in the United States by Speed51.com’s Short Track Power Ranking

ABOUT FRL EXPRESS Inc. F.R.L. Express Inc. is a general transportation company founded in December 2004 by François Lessard. Its main field of activity is general transport in closed trailers over short and long distances in Canada and the United States and has been doing so for nearly 15 years. We currently have about 50 employees in addition to some ten contracted drivers. We are proud of the progress made in recent years and of all those who have participated and continue to participate in this success to this day. Our employees, service and customer satisfaction are our priorities. We are proud to be partners in the success and achievements of our son Raphaël Lessard.

ABOUT BILL McANALLY RACING (BMR) The veteran team owner enjoys an excellent reputation as one of the best teams in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, with eight titles, a NASCAR K&N Pro Series West record, and other regional NASCAR series wins. The team based in Roseville, California, USA, has won more than 90 races in the East and West divisions of the NASCAR K&N Pro series - the most important NASCAR series in terms of development.

MEDIA CONTACT: Mario Lachance, coordinator Raphael Lessard Racing Cell Phone : 418.369.9209 – E-Mail : [email protected]

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