Israeli NASCAR driver crowned European champion

Israeli race car driver Alon Day was named champion of NASCAR’s European series on Sunday, becoming the first Israeli to win a NASCAR series.

Day, who finished fourth in Sunday’s race at the Circuit Zolder race track in Belgium, only needed to complete the first lap in order to take home the title after entering Sunday’s race in a commanding position in the rankings.

“It is such an amazing feeling! We were trying so hard the past three years to win this title, we won so many races but never the championship,” said Day, according to racing website Motorsport.com.

“Finishing the season like this is the sweetest thing I can ask,” he added. “We finally made it. I have no words right now.”

Prior to the completion of this year’s Nascar Whelen Euro Series, Day finished in second and third place respectively in 2015 and 2016.

In June, Day became the first Israeli driver to compete in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series — the sport’s highest league of competition, where he finished 32nd out of 40 at the Sonoma Raceway in Northern California.

Day, who was named Israel’s “Athlete of the Year” in 2016, grew up in Ashdod, where he learned about NASCAR from playing video games such as Grand Prix Legends.

In his early teens, Day became champion of the country’s only semi-professional motor sport league: go-karting. His father, realizing his son’s potential, sent him to compete in Europe. He began racing in Formula Three and was on a trajectory toward Formula One, among the top racing leagues in the world.

But a couple of years ago, Day decided to switch gears. He shifted from driving the Formula One open cockpit style of car to stock cars, the ordinary cars that have been modified to be raced in NASCAR.

It was mostly a business decision — the world of motor racing is driven by sponsorships. Since Israel’s business ties with the US are much stronger than those with Europe, Day recognized he had a greater likelihood of being sponsored to drive for NASCAR.

“It’s definitely much easier for me to get sponsorship here in the states than in Europe,” he said.

Unusually, Day has done most of his training on computer screen simulators, as Israel only got its first motor sport race track earlier this year.

The track — designed for car and motorbike racing — is located at Patzael in the Jordan Valley.

Agencies contributed to this report.