West Point’s Stephanie Walker Claims $1 Million Prize

Mississippi player inaugural NASCAR Powerball Playoff™ Champion

Balloons, streamers, banners and cheers from Mississippi Lottery staff greeted Stephanie Walker today as she visited lottery headquarters to claim her $1 million prize as a result of being crowned the inaugural NASCAR Powerball Playoff™ Champion.

Walker, of West Point, won the $1 million grand prize in a drawing broadcast live from Victory Lane at Phoenix Raceway® Nov. 5 during pre-race coverage of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race™ on NBC.

“This is life-changing for me and my family,” said Walker.

Walker was one of four finalists who won a VIP trip for two to NASCAR Championship Weekend, Nov. 3-5, at Phoenix Raceway and entry into the $1 million drawing. The three finalists eliminated from the playoff have each won a $10,000 prize for making it to the Championship.

“Mississippi has been cheering for Stephanie for some time now,” said Mississippi Lottery President Jeff Hewitt. “This is an incredible win for her and our state. We were so happy to welcome her to headquarters to give her the top prize today!”

All finalists entered the national Powerball promotion through one of 24 participating state lotteries. Participating lotteries held in-state contests and drawings throughout the 2023 NASCAR regular season to form a national pool of entrants. Sixteen semi-finalists were then drawn from the national pool of 530 players to compete in a series of elimination drawings mirroring the elimination rounds of the NASCAR playoffs..