‘Wheel of Fortune’: NASCAR Fan Loses $59,000 as Fans Say Her Letter Choice Backfired

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A Wheel of Fortune contestant’s puzzle made a left turn when she decided to pick an uncommon letter. It backfired during the Bonus Round, and she lost out on taking home $59,000.

McKenzie Rowland, from Geer, South Carolina, played against Dan Geilston, from Aston, Pennsylvania, and Talbert Woodall, from Somers Point, New Jersey, on February 10. This week is NASCAR Tournament week, where the three highest winners will return on Friday to try to win a trip to the Daytona 500.

Rowland is a huge NASCAR fan. She even did her nine-month-old baby’s nursery in a NASCAR theme. Rowland watches NASCAR every Sunday with her husband, Kyle, who got her into the sport. She brought him with her to the show.

Both Rowland and Geilston, an avid baseball card collector, solved a toss-up. Rowland took a huge lead when she solved the “Before & After” puzzle — “Harrison Ford Bronco.” She landed on the Chicagoland Speedway trip, which put $11,950 in her bank.

Woodall, a man who lost his arm in a motorcycle accident 10 years ago, finally got on the board when she solved “Slower Traffic. Keep Right,” giving him $3,100.

Geilston won a trip to the Canadian Rockies when he solved “Staying Hydrated” during the prize puzzle round. This gave him $14,599.

Geilston put $4,000 more in his bank when he solved two of the three Triple Toss-Ups. Rowland solved the other one.

The final puzzle took forever to solve as the game show contestants kept guessing letters that weren’t in it. Rowland eventually solved “It Pays The Bills” for an additional $7,500. This put her in the lead with $19,450.

Woodall took home $5,100. Geilston had $18,599. Rowland advanced to the Bonus Round, where she chose “Phrase.”

Rowland was given “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” She picked “J,C,H, and A” to round out her puzzle. It then looked like “_HAT  A   _ _ N_   _ _ _ER.”

As the clock counted down, Rowland guessed “What a…” but she couldn’t figure out the last two words, which were “Kind Offer.” She would have taken home an additional $40,ooo, which would have given her $59,450. It is not clear if she will be back on Friday.

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WOF fans didn’t understand why she picked “J.” “The answer to today’s Bonus round. WHAT A KIND OFFER. The puzzle was unkind. The challenger made a rare attempt to include a ‘J’ in the letter combo, but it backfired,” a Reddit user said.

“A ‘J’ in that situation made no sense. J is, in most cases, going to be the first letter, and nothing there looked like a J word,” another replied.

“McKenzie probably thought the first word was JUST, though it didn’t have an S in it,” a fan said.