Tire Rub Relegates Lessard to 18th-Place Finish in Atlanta

Raphael Lessard was relegated to an 18th-place finish in the Vet Tix Camping World 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in his first start at the 1.5-mile speedway. The young driver started in the 19th position. The Canadian teenager looked to score his first top-10 finish of the 2020 season before a tire rub in NASCAR Overtime relegated him to a 19th-place finish at the completion of the race. Due to the disqualification of the No. 13 announced after the race, Lessard was officially scored with an 18th place finish.
 
Stage One Recap: 
  • During the competition caution on Lap 12, Lessard radioed to his crew that he was loose in the middle of the corners. At the time of caution, he was running in the 13th position. Due to the limited number of laps, crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. kept the Mobil1 Tundra on the track.
  • Lessard would remain in the top 15 for the remainder of the stage and finish in the 13th position. 
Stage Two Recap:  
  • Before the start of Stage Two, Lessard radioed to the crew that his Tundra was way too free at the end of the run. He also told the crew the truck was running loose, but he was comfortable with it. The young driver brought his Tundra down pit road for tires, fuel and adjustments. He would restart in the 13th position.
  • During the fourth caution of the day on Lap 53, Lessard radioed the crew and said that he was still battling a loose race truck, but he did not want it tight. Crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. brought him down pit road for tires, fuel and adjustments. The young driver was told to maintain his pace as the stage end was less than five laps away. He would restart in the 11th position
  • The No. 4 Mobil1 team finished the second stage in the eighth position. 
Final Stage Recap: 
  • After pitting during the fourth caution, Lessard and the No. 4 Mobil1 Tundra team stayed out on the racetrack. During the previous run, Lessard said the truck was tighter on the bottom of the racetrack, had a four tire slide coming off the corner and the splitter was hitting the track in Turns 1 and 2. The young driver was told that he would be fine hitting the turns. He would start the second stage in the fifth position.
  • When the final stage went green on lap 67,Lessard worked his way up to the third position but began to fall back as guys with fresher tires moved toward. As the run progressed, the rookie driver was told to keep doing what he was doing.
  • On Lap 96, Hillman called Lessard down pit road for tires and fuel. After pit stops cycled through, Lessard was told that he was running top-five lap times with fresher tires.
  • Lessard was looking for a top-15 run, but the caution flew on Lap 129 setting up a green-white-checkered finish. He was sitting 13th at the time of caution. He was brought down pit road for tires and would restart in the seventh position.
  • During the final restart, Lessard suffered a tire rub and nursed the Mobil1 Tundra to the checkered flag in the 19th position.
  • Due to a tire violation found in post-race technical inspection on the No. 13 Truck, Lessard will be credited with an 18th-place finish.

KBM PR