The clock is ticking as Alon Day attempts to sign sponsors for the NASCAR Cup Series race at the Daytona International Speedway road course. The deadline for a last-minute deal is rapidly approaching for David Levin, Day’s American manager based out of Florida.
There is at least one team interested in signing NASCAR’s only driver from Israel, but in order to race, a chunk of sponsorship dollars is required. Plus, Day needs to travel from his homeland to America for the event, a challenge in of itself during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Daytona is something I’ve always thought about,” Day said while quarantining in Bulgaria. “It would be special to participate in the first NASCAR event at the road course.”
The rate sponsors need to pay, due to teams not entertaining sponsors in person, is actually significantly lower than it usually would be. The focus on air time is the key to sponsorship deals in NASCAR as fans are only allowed to visit a handful of tracks, based on how individual states are handling the pandemic.
If Day cannot put together a last-minute deal for the Go Bowling 235 at Daytona on Aug. 16, the focus will shift over to finding a sponsor for the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. The Bank of America Roval 400 is set for Oct. 11, which will be perfect for Day since the Whelen Euro Series is not competing that weekend.
— Forbes —