'Wheel of Fortune' player declared champion of the NASCAR week after $100k win
"Wheel of Fortune" tonight's episode was the grand finale of NASCAR Week, featuring three returning contestants—Cindi Carrick, Tiffany Godshock, and Ray Kase—each paired with a NASCAR racing legend: Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Busch, respectively. Cindi, who had previously secured her spot in the finale by winning a total of $63,100, played intently to grab the championship prize, which included a VIP experience at the Daytona 500. She took the lead and proceeded to the bonus round of the finale, where she chose the "What are you doing?" category but was unable to solve the puzzle and lost out on the additional $50,000. However, it did not dampen the spirits of this racing fan since she was announced the champion of the NASCAR week, earning a significant grand total of $110,461.
The episode featured several rounds: The Toss-Up Rounds the contestants quickly solved puzzles to earn initial money. The Main Rounds: Cindi and Logano dominated the game by winning the "Same Letter" round, where they earned $5,850 by solving "Championship Champagne Celebration", and another impressive solve of a phrase earned them $26,350. Their winning streak continued with the Prize Puzzle Round; they won a luxurious trip to Italy worth $7,295 by solving the movie quote "I feel the need, the need for speed". They grabbed their chance to enter the bonus round by winning the Final Spin.
During the bonus round, host Ryan Seacrest welcomed Cindi's husband, "Terry, I know you already. We met earlier this week," he said. "Cyndi, so far $110,461. With that trip to the Daytona 500 added in there," Seacrest declared as the player got ready for the bonus spin. After receiving the standard letters R, S, T, L, N, and E, Cindi chose D, C, B, and A. The puzzle board then looked: _, A, _, _, L, _, N,_. Cindi couldn't guess the right answer when the 10-second timer went off; she fumbled with "Failing? Mail, no. March, no.
Ugh." "Tough to get there without another clue like the W, "Waffling," Seacrest said, revealing the correct answer after the time went up.
Cindi and Joey were crowned the NASCAR Tournament Week champions, winning a VIP experience at the Daytona 500 despite losing out on the bonus prize. The episode concluded with Cindi's total winnings for the week amounting to $96,745, which included the Daytona 500 grand prize. She walked away with a total of $110,461. However, fans criticized the tricky puzzle. "wtf is waffling for a bonus puzzle?!" u/Swhit24 called out on the official game show Reddit thread.
"Waffling" is a bonus puzzle when the producers decide they've already given away enough cash and prizes for the week," u/Master-Fee8859 hilariously criticized. "The Bonus round was really waffling," u/sy1971ofJapan made fun. "A recycled one. It was also done in 2014," u/RAS310, a previous contestant of the game show, revealed.
You can watch the NASCAR finale here.
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