CANAC ANNOUNCES MAJOR PARTNERSHIP WITH RAPHAEL LESSARD

Raphael Lessard Racing announces today that Canac, a Quebec-based group specializing in the distribution and retail sale of building products and hardware, has joined the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series team. The race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway (Florida) on March 20 will mark the beginning of the important partnership, with Raphael Lessard driving the #4 Toyota Tundra in Canac's colours.

The family business has been in existence for 145 years and is growing in strength with 30 well-established branches in the province of Quebec. Like its commitment to its employees, Canac wishes to support Raphael Lessard in his career development.

"Raphael is a young man from our region, and it is important for Canac to encourage the next generation of major sports in Quebec. We have always been racing fans and when we saw Raphael's performance, it confirmed that he has an incredible talent and that it is worth supporting him in his development as a race car driver," explains Jean Laberge, President of Canac.

"My father was a great fan of motor racing. Over the years, the Laberge family has partnered with legendary Quebec drivers such as Marcel Corriveau, Denis Giroux who both raced in Quebec and in the United States, as did the ever-popular Beauceron Langis Caron over his 50+-year career. For the past few years, we have also been supporting Mikael Grenier. Raphael Lessard is making his mark at a racing level that very few Quebec racers reach. As part of the partnership supporting his development, we are proud at Canac to contribute to making his dream come true," concludes Jean Laberge.

Since 2019, the Raphael Lessard Racing management team has been working hard in collaboration with its partners in order to ensure that Raphael Lessard races with the top Kyle Buch Motorsports team for years to come. The arrival of Canac at the beginning of a promising season (21 races out of 23 to go this season) greatly assists the process.

From North Carolina where he lives during the racing season, Raphael Lessard is brimming with enthusiasm with the addition of Canac as a partner. "It's awesome for our team and for motorsports in Canada. A Quebec company of this importance that adds its support to our racing program helps us reach our goals. For my part, I will certainly do everything I can to get the best results on the track and represent my partners in the most effective ways possible," said Raphael Lessard, the driver of NASCAR #4 Toyota Tundra.

The adventure with Canac has only just begun, and steps are already underway to develop other partnerships in association with Canac.

Next race:

Raphael Lessard will be on track this coming weekend at the very quick Atlanta Motor Speedway (March 13-14 - Georgia, USA). Follow the action on RDS (7:30 pm), FOX Sports 1 (1:30 pm), MRN and Sirius/XM NASCAR 90.

Photo Credit: Nigel Kinrade Photography

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.

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 drivers 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.

2019 Season - 22 Races - 7 different types of vehicles:

6 podiums including 2 wins

10 top-5s

18 top-10s

Several Series :

5 NASCAR Gander Outdoors pickup races: two top-10 finishes & fastest time in Dover

3 ARCA races

1 race in K&N Pro East

2 races in NASCAR Pinty's, 1 victory

5 races in NASCAR Late Model, 3 podiums

1 race in Super Late Model, double track record

2 races in Sportsman Dirt, 2 podiums

2 races in LMS

1 race in Pro Late Model

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 - Competes 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 - Participates 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 CANAC, Leader in Renovation for Over 145 Years

CANAC is the first independent hardware and building materials store chain to open in Quebec City. Its expertise of over 145 years of experience allows CANAC to perpetuate the spirit of the hardware stores of yesteryear in a modern environment, with qualified personnel trained by its continuing education centre accredited by Emploi-Québec. CANAC serves both individual customers and contractors and offers aggressive prices that defy all competition.

Since its acquisition by Groupe Laberge in 1985, the company's expansion has focused on opening new modern hardware stores and on renovating existing branches to better adapt them to the needs and expectations of consumers. Today, CANAC has 30 branches and employs more than 3,400 part-time and full-time workers.

ABOUT KYLE BUSCH MOTORSPORTS

Since debuting in 2010, Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) has quickly established itself as one of the most successful teams in all of NASCAR. Owned by 2015 Cup Series champion Kyle Busch and fueled by his passion for winning, his organization holds the Gander Outdoors Truck Series records for most team wins (75) and most team wins in a single season (14 in 2014). In addition to collecting a series record six Owner's Championships, the organization has produced two championship-winning drivers; Erik Jones (2015) and Christopher Bell (2017).

KBM prepares a fleet of race-winning Tundras out of a state-of-the-art 77,000-square-foot facility in Mooresville (N.C.) Fans can keep up-to-date with all the latest KBM news online at KyleBuschMotorsports.com, by liking the team on Facebook (KBMteam) and by following the team on Instagram (KBMteam) and Twitter (@KBMteam).

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.

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.