Christy Georges-Barnett, a 63-year-old veteran race car driver won over $1 million in Las Vegas recently. She spent only $25 on a slot machine at Caesars Palace casino and hit the jackpot. In a video shared by the hotel, Georges-Barnett can be seen looking shocked over her huge winnings as she paced in front of the slot machine, with her hands over her head. Raising her hands in the air, she exclaimed to her husband, Sherman Barnett, “It's a million dollars! It's a million dollars! Oh my God!” The exact amount she won was $1,185,599, as can be seen in the video.
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Georges-Barnett fell in love with racing at the age of 20, when she bought her first dirt bike. Since then she has been an icon in the racing world for more than 40 years. She has won over 450 races, including 35 championships, as per her Facebook page. Her list of accomplishments includes - a 4-time Dirt Track Pro Stock Track champion, a 4-time Open Wheel Dirt Modified Track champion, and a 2-time 3-wheeler Flat Track champ (250cc). Moreover, she is the only woman in U.S. history to have won a UMP Dirt National Championship.
Additionally, she also holds the world record for the fastest woman in NASCAR at Bonneville Salt Flats, where she reached an impressive speed of 208mph in 2007. In an interview with KLAQ radio, she revealed, “A gentleman here locally had a friend who had a NASCAR Busch team in Indiana. For two years they hired a NASCAR driver to try and qualify for the Brickyard 400 race. They named the team Race El Paso, allowing people to pay to sign their names on the cars as sponsors.”
{{/usCountry}}Additionally, she also holds the world record for the fastest woman in NASCAR at Bonneville Salt Flats, where she reached an impressive speed of 208mph in 2007. In an interview with KLAQ radio, she revealed, “A gentleman here locally had a friend who had a NASCAR Busch team in Indiana. For two years they hired a NASCAR driver to try and qualify for the Brickyard 400 race. They named the team Race El Paso, allowing people to pay to sign their names on the cars as sponsors.”
{{/usCountry}}"The third year they decided to try and break the land speed record at Bonneville," she continued. “They called me and asked me to drive it because they wanted a local driver and a female. I ended up doing it and we let people sign the car and got local businesses to sponsor,” Georges-Barnett added. However, she donated the money raised from the event to a children's literacy program.
Georges-Barnett's husband, Sherman also shares her passion, participating in stock cars, Super Trucks, Modifieds, Xmods, and Late models. Despite her spinal surgery in 2019, she still continues to race every weekend. She competed in all 20 events at the Johnstone Supply Southwest Super Truck Track Championship, winning 10 of them in October 2022.