Israel’s Only NASCAR Driver Is Having a Huge Summer

Alon Day is Israel’s first and only representative on the American NASCAR circuit.

At 33, he is the winningest driver on NASCAR’s European circuit and a four-time Euro Series champion.

But before he even made it to a racetrack in the U.S. this summer, he faced a much more arduous challenge. In early June, he was slated to fly to the U.S. in preparation for a race in the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Menards Series, a feeder series into the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup divisions. Instead, he found himself stuck in Israel during “the 12-Day War.”

Around three in the morning on June 13, air raid sirens rang throughout Israel as Iran launched retaliatory strikes. They woke up Day and his wife Gil Levin, who is five months pregnant. Reality quickly set in — it would be a major challenge to get to the U.S. for his next race. His options were limited: crossing into Jordan or taking a cargo ship to Egypt. Even with his French passport (he is a dual citizen), Day said his Israeli identity was too apparent to safely and swiftly move through Egypt and Jordan.

“I got a phone call on [June]16th from somebody from the marina saying, ‘Hey Alon, I’m going to Cyprus in two hours. You want to join?” Day told The Journal. Levin understood the gravity of her husband having to rush to the U.S. for a race. She’s a sports journalist for Israel’s Reshet TV.

“That’s how we met; she knows who she married,” Day said. “She just told me, ‘don’t think, just go, let me help you pack your stuff and just go.’”

Levin dropped Day off at the marina.

“We said ‘goodbye’ on the dock, like a Second World War soldier who needs to go to Normandy. It was a really emotional goodbye, going on a boat and knowing it was going to be a long trip.”

The voyage to Cyprus took 30 hours. From there, Day flew to the U.S., landing with barely any time to prepare. He was already running behind schedule, and he had to take drug and fitness tests and prepare for the June 28 race, with a racing team and pit crew he had never worked with before.

Day was in such a hurry to catch the ship to Cyprus that didn’t even have the time or space to pack his racing gear — no helmet with sponsors, and although he was racing for Venturini Motorsports, he had no racing suit. Neil Book, chairman and CEO of Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) sponsored Day and provided him with new gear. His Toyota Camry was in storage in North Carolina, but there was no time to paint new sponsorships on his equipment. Day’s helmet and suit were blank — he looked more like a SpaceX astronaut than one of the top competitors in auto racing.  When he raced in Europe with a Belgian team during his early years, he spent several years working with the same pit crew — mechanic, engineer and crew chief.

“They know me well, I know them well, we build communication in such a good way that we work through everything with every crisis that you throw on us,” Day said. “But here, I had to meet the people a week before the race. I’m Israeli with an Israeli accent talking to people the most southern accents you can ever imagine. It’s pretty tough sometimes.”

It worked out. On June 28 at the Lime Rock Park Speedway in Lakeville, Connecticut (about halfway between New York and Boston), Day and his new team were ready.

“I didn’t have time to really sit down and think about what I went through, and even when I got to the race,” Day said. “The race was a big success for me coming from such a long trip and dealing with all that s—  that I went through.” Day went on to lead for 19 of the 68 laps in the Lime Rock 100 and finished in second place.

On July 11, Day would race again, this time at the Sonoma Raceway in Northern California, in the General Tire 200 ARCA Menards Series race. Day finished in third place — only .156 seconds behind the winner.

Day knows that as a Jew and as an Israeli, his presence in American motorsports is a big deal. He’s found the racing community to be quite supportive, often asking about his military service and his take on what’s happening on the ground in Israel.

“I’m Israeli and I’m Jewish in a very southern sport,” he said. He appreciates it when people ask him questions. Day told The Journal that he feels safer as a Jew in North Carolina than in other parts of the U.S.

“I’m hearing stories from my friends about what’s going on in New York and Chicago. I feel like being Jewish in the U.S. is more dangerous than being in Israel sometimes.”

While he tries to be as professional as possible, “you cannot dodge the bullet of talking politics. People always ask you and you try to serve the country and my religion the best I can, to try to not make mistakes and say what actually is going on and try to speak. It gives a whole different story and color to this whole campaign because I’m not doing it only for myself this time. I’m doing it for a complete nation. And it’s a big thing. I feel like it’s a big thing for the first time that people are not asking me ‘how was the race,’ but asking me, ‘Hey, what’s going on over there?’ It’s a bit different, but it also gets me motivated.”

“You cannot dodge the bullet of talking politics. People always ask you and you try to serve the country and my religion the best I can, to try to not make mistakes and say what actually is going on and try to speak. It gives a whole different story and color to this whole campaign because I’m not doing it only for myself this time. I’m doing it for a complete nation” – Alon Day

This visibility comes with limits. Day said that an Israeli flag or a slogan like ‘Bring Them Home’ would be rejected by NASCAR’s branding rules, which prohibit controversial or political decals on cars.

“I don’t judge [NASCAR] on that, but I tried as much as possible to stay inside the regulations of what I can and what I cannot,” Day said. “Outside off track, I’m trying to be as much as I can, and do as much as possible on track. I still have the Hebrew letters “Chai” on the car and I have some place, I think I still have the yellow ribbon, if they didn’t tell me to take it down.” He still races with a yellow ribbon on his shoulder.

Day and Levin live in Kibbutz Kfar Raza, near the Gaza border. He has friends who died in the Oct. 7 attacks. He knows people who have been held hostage by Hamas.

“I’m here in a different role and I know that now I’m not only speaking as Alon Day, but I’m speaking a lot of time for the whole Jewish community and all of Israel.”

Born in Ashdod, to engineer Avi and French mother Maggi (hence, the French passport), Day grew up with three older brothers. That meant there was a lot of rock music in the house — Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine and Tool. It’s an influence he feels every race day — he gets focused and amped up by listening to metal band Disturbed, fronted by Jewish singer David Draiman. This fall, he will become a father. But until then, Day will compete again August 30 at the Portland International Raceway, driving the No. 24 Toyota for Sam Hunt Racing. It will be his first Xfinity start of 2025.