From the outset, Raphaël Lessard admits having suffered, Sunday at Pocono, the most serious accident of his young career.
The driver’s journey from Saint-Joseph-de-Beauce was abruptly interrupted on the sixth lap of the 60 laps of the NASCAR truck test when he lost control of his racing car and then hit the wall. The shock was brutal.
“It could have been serious,” he admitted, in an interview with Journal, but I’m lucky to have a team that makes very solid cars. I had never experienced such an accident. “
At the end of the phone, Lessard said he already suffered from stiff necks.
“I think it will be worse when I wake up tomorrow morning,” he continued. Fortunately, I can take advantage of our organization’s resources to recover for the next race. “
Passenger from his van
The good news is that this next step is only scheduled for July 11 in Kentucky. After taking off from the 14e place on the starting grid, Lessard had managed to keep his position when his swerve occurred.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” said the 18-year-old when he rolls into the peloton. Suddenly, the van number 24 [Chase Purdy] slowed down in front of me. I had no choice but to ease off, otherwise I would get into it. “
Lessard fell back towards the lower part of the track before hitting the edge which delimits the lawn.
“But this maneuver destabilized my van, which I did not expect,” he said. My front, added Lessard, rose and I was just a passenger. “
The sequence shows that he must have deviated from his racing trajectory otherwise it was Cory Roper’s racing car, to his right, that he would have hit.
Comrade Brew
“It’s my mistake,” Lessard said, hot, in front of the Fox network camera, after a short compulsory visit to the medical center. In his wake, he led Austin Wayne Self into the set.
This Pocono race, like the one that followed in the Xfinity series, was a veritable demolition derby, during which nine neutralizations were necessary. It was won by Brandon Jones, teammate of Lessard in the Kyle Busch Motorsports team. The other Canadian in this sixth round of the season, Stewart Friesen, finished eighth.
Too bad for Labbé
Speaking of the Xfinity series competition, they were four pilots in the running to win a $ 100,000 purse, including Alex Labbé. Unfortunately for the Saint-Albert driver, a loss of control at the end of the first segment ruined his hopes, he who practically never makes mistakes.
“I drove on a puddle of oil,” he said, like many others. I do not see anything else. It’s a shame, because I maintained a good rhythm and I kept the best for the end. I just had one of the most frustrating races of my career. “
Despite a battered car, Labbé was ranked at an honorable 17e place, rolling the same number of laps (91) as the winner, Chase Briscoe.
The $ 100,000 bonus, offered as part of the “Dash 4 Cash” promotion, was awarded to Ross Chastain, who finished second.
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