DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Two more spots on the Daytona 500 starting grid have drivers attached to them. Justin Allgaier and Corey Heim will both compete in the Great American Race.
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This will mark Heim's first start in the Daytona 500 in his first qualifying attempt. It will be Allgaier's second consecutive start in the crown jewel race.
In the show. 😎
Driven by ambition, a strong qualifying performance from @CoreyHeim_ has him and the @robinhood team locked into his first Daytona 500! ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/ZRc9ExcI1z
— 23XI Racing (@23XIRacing) February 12, 2026
Eight drivers entered Wednesday night's qualifying session at Daytona International Speedway looking to lock into the Daytona 500 on speed. Only two could achieve this.
23XI Racing's Corey Heim put himself in the best position early. He posted a lap of 49.138 seconds, which put him inside the top three for most of the session. He began to fall down the leaderboard as more and more contenders completed laps, but he still remained the fastest of all the Open drivers.
Justin Allgaier posted the second-fastest time among the members of this group. He completed his lap at 49.201 seconds. He led Corey LaJoie (49.205), Anthony Alfredo (49.485), Chandler Smith (49.758), BJ McLeod (50.011), Casey Mears (50.011), and JJ Yeley (50.482).
Seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson drove an Open entry, but he already had a secure spot in the race through the Open Exemption Provisional.
Allgaier did not have a stress-free qualifying session. Sure, he was the second-fastest Open driver, but he only barely beat out LaJoie.
Justin Allgaier is locked in! @DaleJr and @EarnhardtKelley are with @ReganSmith. pic.twitter.com/I0tNewbhhf
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 12, 2026
If three Open drivers made the second round, they would have to run another lap. Two would lock into the Daytona 500, one would have to shift his focus to the Duel races.
A large portion of the qualifying session featured Heim, Allgaier, and LaJoie all inside the top 10. However, the leaderboard began to shift as more drivers completed their laps. This steadily moved Allgaier and LaJoie closer to the Round 2 cutoff bubble.
Once Kyle Larson completed his lap and knocked LaJoie out of the top 10, this secured Allgaier's spot in the Daytona 500. This removed the stress and made it possible for JR Motorsports to celebrate once again.
"It's hard to contain that emotion," Allgaier said after qualifying. "You sit out there and you watch car after car.
"And I said something, if you look at the draw, right, there's nothing worse than going out first and second and then sitting there until 25th knowing that if you're up there, you got to wait on somebody to knock you off. And it came down to the last guy."
Heim and Allgaier will still enter Thursday night's Duel races needing to race for a starting position in the Daytona 500. The remaining six Open drivers, however, will have to fight for the last two spots on the starting grid.
These races will begin at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday night. FS1 will provide coverage for the two qualifying races.
