Will Lottery Winners Start a NASCAR Racing Team?

Everyone wants to get rich - and get rich quick.  Just hit the  lottery and you're on easy street.  A few dollars and you've got your dream.  But what would you do if it really happened?  Seven New York State workers made the news recently because they did it by hitting the State's Mega Millions jackpot for $319 million. They're known as the "Lucky 7". They will get to live their dreams.  Will any of them take their winnings to start a NASCAR team?  A lottery winner in Virgina did just that.  A laid off unemployed home builder by the name of Joe Denette won the Virgina Lottery Mega Millions jackpot of over $75 million in 2009.   He chose the lump sum option which gave him over $47 million with which he formed Joe Denette Motorsports.  In 2010 Denette sponsored a truck in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driven by Hermie Sadler which was also sponsored, maybe not surprisingly, by the Virginia state lottery.

From there Denette wanted to own his own NASCAR team.  Sadler hooked him up with Kevin Harvick Inc. to supply trucks for the new team and for 2011, fellow Virginian Jason White was hired to be the driver.  Gunbroker.com came along as sponsor of the number 23 truck.   The number 23 was Jason White's truck number from last year that they chose to keep.  Why?  How many lottery tickets Joe Denette bought when he hit the Lottery?  You guessed it:  23.

We don't have any idea what dreams our recent lottery winners here in New York have.  Maybe one them will start a NASCAR team.  If so, there probably is a good chance that their race car or truck will be numbered 7.  The "Lucky 7".