{"id":1617,"date":"2026-06-20T08:05:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T08:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1617"},"modified":"2026-06-20T08:05:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T08:05:12","slug":"from-football-to-nascar-former-punahou-standout-gilman-gains-traction-on-pit-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1617","title":{"rendered":"From football to NASCAR: Former Punahou standout Gilman gains traction on pit road"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – From delivering a hit to life in the pit, former Punahou safety Alaka\u2018i Gilman has shifted into a new lane of his athletic career as a front tire changer for the Hendrick Motorsports pit crew.<\/p>\n

Read more New legislation directs military to strike new lease deals on state lands<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cNASCAR is not something we watched back home,\u201d Gilman told Hawaii News Now.<\/p>\n

After a football career that included Stanford and Utah \u2014 plus a tryout with the Los Angeles Chargers \u2014 Gilman said he was approached by Hendrick Motorsports.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever you\u2019re done playing in the NFL or if it doesn\u2019t 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,\u201d Gilman said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Gilman said he didn\u2019t grow up interested in cars, but that didn\u2019t deter the Hendrick team. NASCAR has seen a rise in the recruitment of former football players for pit crews.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I had no clue what he was talking about, I had no idea even like where to even begin,\u201d Gilman said. \u201cNow it\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the cars speed up, teams are looking to make up seconds anywhere they can.<\/p>\n

\u201cPit stop times are getting faster and faster and nowadays your race is almost won on pit road,\u201d Gilman said.<\/p>\n

Read more Police warn of rising gas thefts on Kauai<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt some point that will come to an end, whether you like it or not, whether it\u2019s 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,\u201d Gilman said. \u201cThere are so many lessons there that taught me, throughout this, that helped me throughout the transition process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gilman\u2019s commitment is already paying off. He earned his first NASCAR Cup Series win at Talladega Superspeedway in April.<\/p>\n

Gilman said he hopes his journey shows others back home there are opportunities beyond the football field.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanna do this to give other people the opportunity who are just like me, another local Hawaiian braddah who doesn\u2019t possibly think that there\u2019s other opportunities out there outside of football when there is,\u201d Gilman said. \u201cThis industry is so unique, so interesting that, in a way that it translates directly to football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more World Cup fans in Hawaii celebrate Team USA\u2019s 2-0 win over Australia<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former Punahou safety Alaka\u2018i Gilman is now a Hendrick Motorsports front tire changer, making the jump from football to NASCAR.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFrom football to NASCAR: Former Punahou standout Gilman gains traction on pit road - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=1617\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From football to NASCAR: Former Punahou standout Gilman gains traction on pit road - 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