Justin Allgaier 'burned all nine lives' en route to Daytona runner-up

Justin Allgaier came out of Daytona International Speedway smelling like a rose on Saturday with a car that looked like it had been in the county demolition derby. 

The 2024 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series champion finished runner-up to Austin Hill in Saturday's United Rentals 300 after avoiding major damages in the slew of crashes the race featured. 

"If I was a cat, I think I burned all nine of my lives," Allgaier told CW Sports. "Maybe this is your cue to go to your local humane society and adopt an animal. I think I lived all those nine lives tonight."

Justin Allgaier comes up just shy of Daytona win

While Allgaier came up just shy of what would've been a monumental victory to kick off the 2026 season, he was smiling after he fortunately missed several wrecks. The only evidence to suggest his multitude of escapes from disaster was a plentiful amount of tape on the front of his No. 7 JRM Chevrolet.

"Really proud of our team at JR Motorsports," Allgaier said. "Damage repair, all the things we did, we were able to get up there. These last few laps were wild."

Saturday was also the first race for Allgaier's new crew chief Andrew Overstreet. 

Allgaier will start 40th in Sunday's Daytona 500 driving the JR Motorsports No. 40 in a one-off entry.