Israeli NASCAR driver Alon Day to pay homage to hostages at upcoming race, slams rise of antisemitism

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Alon Day will be driving for more than just a chance at Victory Lane on Saturday as the NASCAR Xfinity Series race heads to Chicago for its street race.

Day, the lone Israeli driver in the NASCAR ranks, will pay homage to those still held captive by Hamas after its Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. Day will drive the No. 45 Chevy Camaro for Alpha Prime Racing and Jet Support Services Inc. (JSSI), and Setna iO will serve as two of the sponsors.

The four-time EuroNASCAR champion told Fox News Digital he has five friends who are among the 116 people still believed to be held captive by Hamas.

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Alon Day is presented with his championship ring during the NASCAR Touring Night of Champions at the Charlotte Convention Center on Dec. 8, 2017, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

"I think I’m more motivated than ever. I won four times, the European Championship, and I always did it for my own success," Day said. "Like all of us, we’re human. We try to be the best we can. We try to win [championships] for ourselves.

"I think this time something a bit [changed] in me – doing that not only for myself but actually for the whole country, for the hostages, obviously for the [Israeli] soldiers, for the Jewish community in general here in the United States – I’m motivated by something else, by the war, by friends that are still hostages. This is what actually wants me to push to do even better."

It’s the second year the NASCAR Xfinity Series will have the street race in Chicago.

Day, who is from Ashdod, Israel, said he believes the anti-Israel agitators made the streets of Chicago