Alon Day Returns To Xfinity Series Competition With Sam Hunt Racing

Alon Day will make his return to the Nascar Xfinity Series in late August at Portland International Raceway. Nascar’s first Israeli-born racer will pilot Sam Hunt Racing’s second entry as Day will make his debut with the Toyota-backed team.

“I’m very thankful for the opportunity to go back racing in Xfinity again with SHR, especially after such a rollercoaster year for me, from the low of the crash in Chicago to the recent success I’ve had in ARCA,” Day, the winningest driver in Nascar Euro Series history and a four-time champion, said.

Chicago-based Jet Support Services Inc., which began to partner with Day last year, will continue its support of the Israeli racer and serve as the primary sponsor of the No. 24 Toyota.

“Alon has been tearing up the racetrack in his last two ARCA Menards Series races this season, with a second-place and third-place finish, respectively,” Neil Book, president and CEO of JSSI, said. “As Alon builds on his remarkable success this summer, we are proud to stand behind him as he continues his streak of excellence on the track and makes a significant impact off the track.”

JSSI has sponsored Day in a pair of ARCA Menards Series races this year with powerhouse Venturini Motorsports. Day finished second and third, respectively, in his first two races in the No. 25 car. He’ll also compete in the ARCA race at Portland that coincides with the Xfinity Series event, along with the preceding event at Watkins Glen next weekend.

But to compete at Lime Rock Park in June, Day had to safely maneuver throughout a warzone to get to America. Iran was firing ballistic missiles at Israel in the midst of the 12-Day War. To safely leave the country, he had few choices and ended up taking a boat to Cyprus, a roughly 30-hour ride in the Mediterranean Sea. Fortunately, he made it to Cyprus and took a flight to America.

“I’m truly lucky and grateful to have JSSI believing in and trusting me throughout this whole journey in Nascar,” Day said. “And I will give everything I have to achieve the best possible results in Friday’s ARCA race and, especially, in Saturday’s Xfinity race, and to bring the JSSI Toyota home with the strongest finish we can.”

Day attempted two Xfinity Series races last year with Alpha Prime Racing. During practice for his first attempt at the Chicago Street Course, a radio malfunction prevented him from hearing his spotter, leading to a collision with the stalled No. 7 car of Justin Allgaier. He later qualified for Watkins Glen, where he hovered around 20th for much of the race before a brake failure ended his day in 36th.

Day first roared onto the Nascar national series scene in 2016, when he competed for a win at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in an old Carl Long-owned Dodge. He was in the top five until he was hit late in the race, and his strong showing attracted enough attention for him to make his Cup Series debut in 2017 at Sonoma with BK Racing. Ever since, he’s focused mostly on racing in Europe with an occasional race in America.

“It’s extremely exciting for us to have Alon drive one of our Toyota GR Supras at the upcoming Portland race,” team owner Sam Hunt said. “Alon is great to have around, and more than deserving of the opportunities and recognition coming his way. He’s an extremely talented road racer, but more importantly a great human. His path to be here is that of a true journeyman, and we are proud to partner with JSSI to provide him with this opportunity in the Xfinity Series.”

Hunt’s No. 24 car is a part-time entry, which has been driven by Corey Heim, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Truex, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Patrick Staropoli and Kaz Grala this year. Heim has the car’s lone top-10 finish, with an eighth-place finish at Bristol. Meanwhile, the team’s full-time No. 26 car of Dean Thompson has a top five and five top 10s through 21 races and sits 15th in the regular season standings.

The Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland is on Aug. 30 at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW.