Agnes Whitaker of Greensboro took the checkered flag Sunday in the NASCAR Powerball: The Chase promotion and will bring home the $1 million grand prize.
"Im speechless," Whitaker said. "It doesn't feel real right now."
Whitaker was standing in Victory Lane at Homestead-Miami Speedway with three other finalists when the $1 million drawing occurred live on NBC and she turned up as the winner.
"I saw the ball, and I was like 'Oh my god, that's number two! That's my number!'" Whitaker said, moved to tears.
As one of four finalists, Whitaker’s odds of winning the $1 million prize were one in four.
Whitaker’s luck started when she entered her Powerball ticket into the NASCAR Powerball Playoff: The Chase promotion in May. Twenty players were then picked to have a chance to win the $1 million prize. She survived a series of three elimination drawings to become a finalist for the top prize.
Whitaker and her husband William traveled on a VIP trip to Miami for the NASCAR Championship Weekend™.
"This is my first time going to a NASCAR race," Whitaker said. "Going to where the drivers are; it's amazing. I've never experienced anything like it."
Whitaker said she already knows how she will spend her winnings.
"The first thing I'm going to do is take a trip to Hawaii to visit my dad," she said. "He will be 92 in May...hopefully I get to see him for Christmas and if not, in May for his birthday."
Whitaker’s run marks the third year in a row that North Carolina had one of the four finalists in this promotion.
Players can buy Powerball tickets at any lottery retail location or through Online Play on the lottery’s website or the NC Lottery Official Mobile App.
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