Despite the high tension between Alon Day and Gianmarco Ercoli in the wake of the 2022 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season, the record-breaking four-time EuroNASCAR PRO Champion from Israel praised his Italian competitor. Day grabbed his fourth championship ring by winning the first final at Automotodrom Grobnik and finishing third on Sunday. He’s now the lone leader of the all-time standings ahead of Ander Vilarino. With 32 race wins on his tally, the winningest driver in EuroNASCAR history is for sure an expert in identifying talent in the series.
“Today it was karma, in my opinion, but one day he’s going to be a champion, no doubt about it,” said Alon Day about Ercoli’s campaign in the 2022 NWES season. The PK Carsport and CAAL Racing drivers clashed three times over the course of the season, the first of which resulted in a big penalty for Day and a retirement for Ercoli at Brands Hatch. The two also made contact at Autodromo di Vallelunga again, but this time, both cars stayed on track.
Ercoli had to win the last race of the season in Croatia and hope for Day to finish outside the top-5. In an attempt to maximize his chances of winning the title, Ercoli pushed Day towards the track limit on lap 1 while the pair was battling for second. The result: Ercoli took over second place, while Day was shuffled down the order to fifth. The Italian also took the lead in the race, but a contact with Giorgio Maggi in the penultimate lap bursted his dreams of becoming a EuroNASCAR PRO Champion.
The driver of the #54 Chevrolet Camaro won the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship back in 2015 and became the first EuroNASCAR 2 champion to win an EuroNASCAR PRO race back in 2018 at the Indy Circuit of Brands Hatch. Since then, Ercoli has been a perennial title contender in the top division of European NASCAR racing. By finishing third overall in the 2022 season, he finished inside the top-3 for the second year in a row.
Day, who’s the most successful driver in NWES history, sees a lot of talent in his former teammate and rival. The Israeli is sure that Ercoli will be on top of the championship standings someday. “Gianmarco did an incredible race, I have to give him credit for that. He made it from fourth to first,” said the 2022 NWES Champion about the Rome native. Ercoli will for sure try again to break the spell and win the title in the 2023 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series that will kick off on May 6-7 at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain.
