From football to NASCAR: Former Punahou standout Gilman gains traction on pit road

News admin June 20, 2026 0 Comments

From football to NASCAR: Former Punahou standout Gilman gains traction on pit road

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – From delivering a hit to life in the pit, former Punahou safety Alaka‘i Gilman has shifted into a new lane of his athletic career as a front tire changer for the Hendrick Motorsports pit crew.

“NASCAR is not something we watched back home,” Gilman told Hawaii News Now.

After a football career that included Stanford and Utah — plus a tryout with the Los Angeles Chargers — Gilman said he was approached by Hendrick Motorsports.

“Whenever you’re done playing in the NFL or if it doesn’t work out for you, we see a lot of talent in you and we want you to come try out for us, work out for us and check out this new sport,” Gilman said.

Gilman said he didn’t grow up interested in cars, but that didn’t deter the Hendrick team. NASCAR has seen a rise in the recruitment of former football players for pit crews.

“Honestly, I had no clue what he was talking about, I had no idea even like where to even begin,” Gilman said. “Now it’s kind of leaning towards people who know a lot about cars to people who are athletes first and then they can teach them the skills of how to pit.”

As the cars speed up, teams are looking to make up seconds anywhere they can.

“Pit stop times are getting faster and faster and nowadays your race is almost won on pit road,” Gilman said.

Gilman said the transition was difficult, but he leaned on his family and lessons learned in football. He comes from a football family that includes his older brother, Alohi Gilman, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs.

“At some point that will come to an end, whether you like it or not, whether it’s on your own terms or not. And for me, it came quicker than I thought, but my entire life just being surrounded by the game of football,” Gilman said. “There are so many lessons there that taught me, throughout this, that helped me throughout the transition process.”

Gilman’s commitment is already paying off. He earned his first NASCAR Cup Series win at Talladega Superspeedway in April.

Gilman said he hopes his journey shows others back home there are opportunities beyond the football field.

“I wanna do this to give other people the opportunity who are just like me, another local Hawaiian braddah who doesn’t possibly think that there’s other opportunities out there outside of football when there is,” Gilman said. “This industry is so unique, so interesting that, in a way that it translates directly to football.”