Sports
Israeli NASCAR driver Alon Day to pay homage to hostages at upcoming race, slams rise of antisemitism
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.
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 dangerous.
“The pro-Hamas protests on the streets, especially in the streets of Chicago, which is actually getting really dangerous. I was there for a couple of days, like a week ago, and I felt the need to check that I’m not wearing anything that can identify myself as Jewish,” he said. “I mean, this is how bad it is. Sounds like Germany in the ‘30s that I need to hide my Judaism.”
Day’s car will have a JSSI-branded wrap in blue and white – the colors of the Israeli flag. The car will also have the Hebrew word for life on it, חי, in tribute to those being held captive.
Alon Day, center, will drive for more than just a chance at Victory Lane on Saturday. (Goran Kovacic/Pixsell/MB Media/Getty Images/File)
JSSI CEO and Chair Neil Book said it was “shocking” to see students on American campuses express support for Hamas over the last few months.
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“It was shocking to me, not only to see that swell of hate and antisemitism in the United States, it was shocking that it came in response to the worst attack on Israel and the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” he told Fox News Digital. “I feel a little embarrassed from my own naivety. I did not forsee that kind of response from forces within the United States and around the world.”
Day said he hopes to educate those who don’t know what’s actually going on in the region.
“We want to educate a bit more people with what’s actually going on,” he said. “A lot of people don’t really know. They have comments. [But] it’s like me commenting on the United States and Vietnam, like doing something that’s not related to you, and you still have comments when you don’t have any clue [about] what’s going on and [not] even educated enough to have a comment on that.
Day said it was “crazy” to him to see people supporting Hamas, and he compared it to someone showing support for Usama bin Laden after Sept. 11.
He added that unless you were in Israel on Oct. 7 or live in the country in general, then you have no real idea about what’s happening in the region.
“A lot of the time, I think people are just missing it – education and just following TikTok, social media, that just brainwashed them,” Day explained. “I think the biggest example, in my opinion, is when you start seeing the LGBTQ or Queers for Gaza, for Palestine, whatever, it’s like chicken for KFC. This is how crazy it is.
Alon Day (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images/File)
“They don’t even know the meaning of being homosexual in Palestine. It’s not acceptable. You will be dead. This is just a small, small idea about how uneducated people [are] here.”
Day will be competing against some of the top drivers in the Xfinity Series, which may make it more difficult to see the Winner’s Circle come mid-Saturday.
Book said that having Day in Chicago, given the recent rise of antisemitism he’s seen in the city, and racing with the Israeli flag behind him is an achievement in itself.
“Having Alon just being here, racing with the Israeli flag behind him, I think he’s already wanted to achieve something just for being here,” Book told Fox News Digital. “But I know Alon. The guy’s a competitor. He does not race for second place.
“So, I think if you ask him, anything less than a victory is probably not ideal. But for me, I think just him being here means a lot. I’m thrilled that he’s here. I’m thrilled that he’s racing. And I’m excited to see him mix it up here on Saturday.”
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The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
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