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OFFICIAL RELEASE - NASCAR Whelen EURO Series: Alon Day’s rising star was recognized on Tuesday during an official ceremony in Tel Aviv, Israel in which the two-time NWES Junior Trophy winner and NASCAR Next driver was recognized as Israel’s Athlete Of The Year in the motorsports category.
Israel’s Ministry Of Culture and Sports rewards every year the best athletes in different categories, with olympic sports, paralympic sports and other sports among them. 2016 marked the first year motorsport was included in the selection and Day is the first ever driver to receive the award.
“It is a huge achievement for me and for the Israeli motorsport movement to win this prize for the first time ever. It shows that people are watching me, watching NASCAR and becoming more and more interested in motorsports,” said the Ashdod-native, who was voted both by a selected committee counting for the 51% of the votes and the fans, who expressed their preferences through an online poll. “And more than that, it rewards my hard work and this is the biggest lesson I have learned. Hard work pays off.”
Day’s career literally took off since he joined the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in 2015. He won two consecutive Junior Trophies and amassed six wins, four pole positions, 12 top-5s and 18 top-10s in just two seasons. Thanks to his success in Europe, Day was the first driver coming from outside North-America to be selected for the NASCAR Next program and in 2016 he competed in four NASCAR races in the US, impressing in his NASCAR Xfinity Series at Mid-Ohio.
The Israeli is currently at work on his 2017 program and sees the award he just received as great opportunity both for him and for all the young drivers in Israel looking of a professional career.
“I definitely hope that this award will open the door for many drivers in Israel to follow me, achieve great results and develop motorsport in Israel,” concluded Day.
OFFICIAL RELEASE - NASCAR Whelen EURO Series.