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SL man seeks $100K at NASCAR contest
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| NASCAR driver Kyle Petty, left, son of racing legend Richard Petty, was partnered with Sugar Land resident Edward Zalewski for NASCAR Smarts, a TV show that may lead Zalewski to a $100,000 prize. |
BY B.J. POLLOCK
bj@fbherald.com
A lucky NASCAR fan from Sugar Land is on his way to Texas Motor Speedway, north of Dallas, where he just may be $100,000 richer by Friday evening.
“I’ve been following NASCAR a long time,” said Edward Zalewski. “On Sunday afternoons I watch the races and every now and then, they throw a trivia question up, saying to log on to answer it. I did and about two months later, I got a call saying, ‘You won a trip to Charlotte (N.C.) to the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day’.”
Sponsored by Ask.com, The Official Search Engine of NASCAR, the national contest was designed to find the most knowledgeable fans in the sport.
“In Charlotte, they basically randomly selected three people to compete on the show NASCAR Smarts, a general NASCAR trivia show,” Zalewski explained.
After one of the three is eliminated, the other two compete on-air.
“I was fortunate enough to make it on the TV round,” said Zalewski. “When I participated in the show, my partner was Kyle Petty and I ended up winning.”
Two other contests were held around the country and the winners from those shows are joining Zalewski at Texas Motor Speedway for the finals.
“They’re going to stand the three of us up on stage and start asking us general NASCAR questions, and the winner of that one gets $100,000. So (Friday), I’m either gonna be enjoying a free weekend of racing or be $100,000 richer,” said Zalewski. “Either one is pretty good.”
The ultimate NASCAR fan, Zalewski visits the speedway pretty often; but this time, he said, “I get to do it on someone else’s dime.”
“There are so many aspects of the trivia they ask about, it’s ridiculous,” he said. “They could go in any direction they want.”
His wife Diane is going with him to cheer him on and one of their two sons, who attends Stephen F. Austin State University, plans to be there as well.
“I’ve been going there for a number of years, camping out and stuff, so I should have a fairly decent following, but I don’t know if that will make me more nervous. It’s kind of nerve-wracking,” Zalewski admitted.
The half-hour show will air on SPEED TV at 10:30 a.m. CST Sunday, prior to the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. In addition to the huge cash prize, the winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to this year’s Sprint Cup Champion’s Week in Las Vegas.
The show will likely be broadcast a couple more times over the coming weeks, Zalewski said.
“Of course,” he added, “there’s the possibility that I go up there and never make it to the TV broadcast.”
If he does, though, and wins the big money, he and his wife plan to buy one frivolous thing —maybe a hot tub for the back yard, he said — and put the rest toward their mortgage.
“It’s one of those things where you don’t want to plan too much ahead because you don’t want to count on it,” Zalewski said.
Out of the tens of thousands who began playing the game, it’s all come down to him and two others.
“It’s getting down to the nitty-gritty now,” he said.
“I’ve been following NASCAR a long time,” said Edward Zalewski. “On Sunday afternoons I watch the races and every now and then, they throw a trivia question up, saying to log on to answer it. I did and about two months later, I got a call saying, ‘You won a trip to Charlotte (N.C.) to the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day’.”
Sponsored by Ask.com, The Official Search Engine of NASCAR, the national contest was designed to find the most knowledgeable fans in the sport.
“In Charlotte, they basically randomly selected three people to compete on the show NASCAR Smarts, a general NASCAR trivia show,” Zalewski explained.
After one of the three is eliminated, the other two compete on-air.
“I was fortunate enough to make it on the TV round,” said Zalewski. “When I participated in the show, my partner was Kyle Petty and I ended up winning.”
Two other contests were held around the country and the winners from those shows are joining Zalewski at Texas Motor Speedway for the finals.
“They’re going to stand the three of us up on stage and start asking us general NASCAR questions, and the winner of that one gets $100,000. So (Friday), I’m either gonna be enjoying a free weekend of racing or be $100,000 richer,” said Zalewski. “Either one is pretty good.”
The ultimate NASCAR fan, Zalewski visits the speedway pretty often; but this time, he said, “I get to do it on someone else’s dime.”
“There are so many aspects of the trivia they ask about, it’s ridiculous,” he said. “They could go in any direction they want.”
His wife Diane is going with him to cheer him on and one of their two sons, who attends Stephen F. Austin State University, plans to be there as well.
“I’ve been going there for a number of years, camping out and stuff, so I should have a fairly decent following, but I don’t know if that will make me more nervous. It’s kind of nerve-wracking,” Zalewski admitted.
The half-hour show will air on SPEED TV at 10:30 a.m. CST Sunday, prior to the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. In addition to the huge cash prize, the winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to this year’s Sprint Cup Champion’s Week in Las Vegas.
The show will likely be broadcast a couple more times over the coming weeks, Zalewski said.
“Of course,” he added, “there’s the possibility that I go up there and never make it to the TV broadcast.”
If he does, though, and wins the big money, he and his wife plan to buy one frivolous thing —maybe a hot tub for the back yard, he said — and put the rest toward their mortgage.
“It’s one of those things where you don’t want to plan too much ahead because you don’t want to count on it,” Zalewski said.
Out of the tens of thousands who began playing the game, it’s all come down to him and two others.
“It’s getting down to the nitty-gritty now,” he said.
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alex wrote on Nov 7, 2009 8:48 PM: