Israelis You Should Know: Alon Day

The Fellowship  |  July 14, 2017

Name: Alon Day

Age: 25

Known for: A professional racecar driver, Day is the first Israeli to compete in the IndyCar series, as well as in one of NASCAR’s top three series.

About him: Born into a Jewish family in Ashdod, Israel, Day began racing at the age of 10. For the boy’s bar mitzvah, Day’s father gave him a karting vehicle.

After high school, Day served in the Israeli military for three years, being recognized by the IDF as an outstanding sportsman. Accepted into the IAF pilots’ training course, he turned it down in order to race. But Day has said if he not for his professional racing career, he would have been a fighter pilot.

In 2009, at only 17, he won the Asian Formula Renault Challenge championship, then competed in the German Formula Three Championship for two years, putting up great results.

His career moved to North America in 2012, signing on with the IndyCar series.

Day made his NASCAR debut in 2015, scoring a top-10 finish at Valencia. He scored his first victory that same year at Magione.

In 2016, Day was named part of the NASCAR Next program, recognized as a successful young driver from around the worl. And in January of this year, Israel’s Ministry of Culture and Sports named him Israel’s Athlete of the Year in the motorsports category. This season, Day has also made his debut in NASCAR’s highest series, making him the first Israeli to compete in a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.