Alon Day grabbed his maiden Trans-Am TA2 podium at Road Atlanta, having recovered from a Practice crash and a 25th place starting grid position.
EuroNASCAR legend Alon Day was the star of the show during the second round of the 2026 Trans-Am championship.
Day showed his road course prowess with an amazing drive in Road Atlanta, going from 25th on the grid to third place in the 40-lap TA2 race.
Day entered Road Atlanta on the backfoot, having been forced to retire with just two laps to go in Sebring from accident damage caused by a mid-race contact with Noah Harmon.
Before the weekend, Day expressed his excitement to visit Road Atlanta for the first time in his career. He compared Road Atlanta’s flowing and highly elevated nature to Brands Hatch, a track where the 34-year old won five times during his time in EuroNASCAR.
“It’s a well-known track, and I’m very much looking forward to race there for the first time,” said Day to TeamSLR in their pre-race press release.
“It’ll be like Sebring as far as being the first time I’ll see the track, but at Sebring it was my first time with the car and the team. Now I’m going to Road Atlanta with a bit more knowledge of what’s going on around me and what I’m driving.”
“One of my favorite tracks in Europe is Brands Hatch. It has extreme elevation changes, such that you actually have vertical G-forces because you’re going down and up. I believe Road Atlanta is going to be the same way.”
“It’s a very fast track with a lot of elevation changes like a European-style track and it’s completely different from Sebring, which is very flat with a lot of concrete surfaces.”
“I think we’ll have a lot of fun. The last couple of corners, when you go up to the bridge and down to the hill to the start-finish line, I think it’s going to be very, very challenging, but very cool. Also turn one, such a high-speed corner going uphill, it’s going to be fun.”
Day then surprised the paddock by leading the first Practice session. He stayed in the top-3 positions throughout Practice, but things quickly went south when he crashed his No. 17 JSSI Camry in the final Practice session.
This left Day unable to take part in Qualifying, leaving him 31st and last in the timesheets. However, due to a quirk in Trans-AM TA2 rules, Day was allowed to start 25th behind Stanton Barrett, the last Pro class qualifier.
Day’s race on Saturday began with him gaining two places in the opening lap. By lap 6, he was already running in 16th position and he got into the top-10 positions right at the halfway mark.
A caution on lap 25, caused by Jim Gallaugher stopping at turn 1, gave Day the opportunity to gain more positions. Drivers such as Tanner Reif and Rafa Matos were passed by Day before the caution was waved again for Gian Buffomante’s stopped machine on lap 31.
Restarting from 6th, Day got past Sam Corey’s ailing machine and then passed Harmon and Ethan Tovo right before the race ended under caution due to Reif’s car stopping in the final few laps.
Day’s podium completes an all-international 1-2-3, as teammates Helio Meza and Andres Perez de Lara complete the roster to secure a TeamSLR sweep in Road Atlanta.
“I’m speechless,” said Day after the race to TeamSLR. “There are a couple of people I really need to say thanks to.”
“First of all, JSSI for giving me the opportunity to be here. Without them, I wouldn’t be here. And TeamSLR, I mean, they worked really hard.”
“Yesterday, we had a bad crash in practice and I couldn’t qualify, and so that’s the reason why I started from the back. Those guys, each one of them, they did a hell of a job giving me a fighter jet. That’s what it felt like.”
“It’s been a very emotional few weeks since Sebring. I was kind of stuck here while my family – my wife, my kid – are back home in Israel. That was just mental overkill for me. But today was a nice way to finish that whole journey, and now I’m flying back tonight.”
Day will be back on his No. 17 JSSI Camaro/Camry for the doubleheader at Sonoma on 23-26 April. He will be joined by EuroNASCAR PRO rookie Vinnie Meskelis, who will make his second Trans-Am outing in the iconic Californian road course.
Disclaimer: Credits for all photos are listed underneath each image.