Montreal Canadiens’ ECHL affiliate to sponsor NASCAR Canada team

The Trois-Rivieres Lions, the ECHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, have sponsored Raphael Lessard’s entry in the biggest race of the NASCAR Canada Series season, the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.

The ECHL club is owned by Spire Hockey, with Spire Motorsports fielding a three-car team in the top division of NASCAR, the NASCAR Cup Series.

Lessard, who drives on a part-time schedule for Wight Motorsports in Canada, is the only Quebec-based driver to have won a NASCAR national series, having done so at the famed Talladega Superspeedway in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2020. The 23-year-old has won three NASCAR Canada Series races over his career, all coming within his first five starts.

The Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, more widely known as GP3R, currently hosts the NASCAR Canada Series each August, with this year’s race set for Sunday, August 11. The track is based in the downtown core of Trois-Rivieres, not too far from the Colisée Vidéotron where the Lions currently play.

The race is no stranger to hockey affiliations. Two-time race winner and local driver L.P. Dumoulin drives a car owned by long-time NHLer Marc-Andre Bergeron. Patrice Brisebois, a Stanley Cup champion with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, raced in the event seven times from 2009-15, with a personal best finish of 12th in 2013.

The Lions are set to begin their fourth season in franchise history after forming ahead of the 2021-22 season. Notable alumni include Vancouver Canucks goaltender Arturs Silovs, who went 6-3-1 in 10 starts back in 2021-22, as well as 2018 Canadian Olympic goaltender Kevin Poulin.