Trackin’ Trucks: Raphael Lessard Wins at Talladega
Raphael Lessard earned his first Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series victory on Saturday, October 3rd at Talladega Super Speedway during the Chevrolet Silverado 250.
Lessard, who drives the No. 4 Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports, held off 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne by .330 seconds after a multi-truck accident on the final lap froze the field and the event ended under caution.
“Oh my gosh, that was awesome,” Lessard told FS1. “This is amazing. I can’t believe it. This is my second superspeedway race and to win my first Truck Series win here is amazing.”
“I don’t know who was behind me, but he gave me a heck of a push.” Lessard said, “I can’t thank him enough because he’s part of this win too.”
Chander Smith finished third, while Ben Rhodes and Codie Rohrbaugh rounded out the top five.
Jordan Anderson, who finished second in the season opener at Daytona, came home sixth. Brett Moffitt finished seventh, Matt Crafton eighth, Kaz Grala, who subbed for Natalie Decker, wound up ninth, and Derek Kraus rounded out the top-10 finishers.
The series Playoffs was cut from 10 drivers to eight with the elimination race at the 2.66-mile track. Christian Eckes' hopes ended after being involved in the last-lap crash, while Todd Gilliland was eliminated after suffering a blown engine midway through the event.
A Look Ahead Into The Playoffs
The Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series have a bye week before returning on October 17th at Kansas Speedway.
Zane Smith advances into the Round of 8 despite being caught up in an early crash that ended his day. He finished 33rd.
Matt Crafton also advances after finishing eighth.
Can Z. Smith or Crafton punch their ticket early? Smith has an average finish of 7.5 while Crafton holds an 11.2 average with 21 starts.
Here are the full standings for the Round of 8:
Don’t miss the Clean Harbors 200 on October 17, 2020 at 4 p.m./ET on FOX.
