Lucky Florida Powerball player gets second chance to win $1 million in NASCAR Powerball Playoff

C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
·4 min read
Win cash and a trip to the NASCAR Championship Weekend at the Phoenix Raceway in the NASCAR Powerball Playoff promotion.
Win cash and a trip to the NASCAR Championship Weekend at the Phoenix Raceway in the NASCAR Powerball Playoff promotion.

Somewhere in Florida, a person who lost the Powerball has a second chance at a million dollars.

In its first partnership with a major sports league, Powerball teamed up with NASCAR for the NASCAR Powerball Playoff to let 16 fans battle for their own championship while 16 drivers fight it out for the NASCAR Cup Series title. Anyone who bought a Powerball ticket between July 3 and 31, whether it won anything or not, was eligible to score increasing cash prizes and a VIP trip for two to NASCAR Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

Twelve of the initial 16 semi-finalists announced on Aug. 12 are moving forward after the first elimination drawing. One of them is Boca Raton man Marcelo Jo.

“As we said when we announced our partnership with Powerball in February, this relationship is going to allow us to bring winning opportunities to our loyal fans,” Daryl Wolfe, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, said. “This promotion is a perfect example of that, and as the excitement builds towards Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway, so will the excitement to award $1 million to one lucky lottery player.”

How does the NASCAR Powerball Playoff work?

In 24 states (including Florida), there were in-state contests and second-chance drawings throughout the 2023 NASCAR season. Each state got to decide how to select entries to add to a national pool of semi-finalists. Sixteen semi-finalists were drawn from that pool and were announced during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on August 26. Now they go head-to-head in a series of drawings that line up with the elimination rounds of the NASCAR Playoffs.

The four semi-finalists still in the Playoffs after the fourth drawing will win a VIP trip to NASCAR Championship Weekend in Phoenix, Arizona, for the final drawing for $1 million. All 16 semi-finalists will win cash prizes based on when they are eliminated.

  • Drawing 1: Aug. 12, Coke Zero Sugar 400, Daytona International Speedway. 16 semi-finalists advance.

  • Drawing 2: Sept. 9, Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Bristol Motor Speedway. 12 semi-finalists advance, 4 eliminated win $2,500.

  • Drawing 3: Oct. 1, Bank of America ROVAL™ 400, Charlotte Motor Speedway. 8 semi-finalists advance, 4 eliminated win $5,000.

  • Drawing 4: Oct. 11, Xfinity 500, Martinsville Speedway. 4 finalists advance and win VIP trip, 4 eliminated win $7,500.

  • Drawing 5: Nov. 5, NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race, Phoenix Raceway. One $1 million winner, Three $10,000 winners.

Don't throw away your Powerball tickets: You could win a VIP NASCAR trip and $1 million

Who are the semi-finalists in the NASCAR Powerball Playoff?

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The semi-finalists who survived the first elimination on Sept. 9 and will go on to the drawing Oct. 9 at Charlotte Motor Speedway are:

  • Misty Goad – Tucson, AZ

  • Marcelo Jo – Boca Raton, FL

  • Donald Pope – Michigan City, IN

  • Walter Held – Independence, KY

  • Richelle Abbott – Gardiner, ME

  • Stephanie Walker – West Point, MS

  • Joseph Medina – Franklin, NE

  • Peter Schmitz – Santa Fe, NM

  • Robert Wilkinson – Oakland Gardens, NY

  • Angela Tamba – Harrisburg, PA

  • Ronald Sewell – Columbia, SC

  • Barbara Wipf – Sioux Falls, SD

The four semi-finalists who have been eliminated in the first round and won $2,500 each are:

  • Clara Miller – Hammond, LA

  • Richard Day – Shoreview, MN

  • Eric Severance – Parshall, ND

  • Philip Lesiuk – Cumberland, RI

What do you get in the VIP NASCAR Championship Weekend?

The four finalists chosen on Oct. 11 at Martinsville will win:

  • Roundtrip airfare for two to Phoenix, three nights of hotel accommodations

  • Two Ally Curve Hospitality Club passes for both the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race on Nov. 4 and the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race on Nov. 5

  • Two passes for VIP experiences at Phoenix Raceway during the NASCAR Championship Weekend including NASCAR Cup Series VIP access

  • A NASCAR team hauler tour

  • An MRN radio booth tour, pace car rides

  • Victory Lane access

  • A welcome dinner

  • All meals, and ground transportation to scheduled events and activities

How were the semi-finalists chosen?

On Aug. 2, the Florida Lottery randomly picked 75 entries and submitted the first 50 valid ones to the Multi-State Lottery Association's national drawing. Those 50 semi-finalists were posted to flalottery.com and the app on Aug. 4.

On Aug. 12, the MUSL held a random drawing during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway to pick 16 players from all the participating lotteries. No more than one semi-finalist from any state was chosen to advance, and no state lottery was guaranteed to have a player in the Playoff.

When will the $1 million winner be announced?

The $1 million grand prize winner will be announced in a special drawing televised live from the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race on Sunday, Nov. 5, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR Powerball Playoff: Florida player advances to next round