Back in July, Falling In Reverse and MBM Motorsports announced a sponsorship deal making the band the primary sponsor of the #13 NASCAR Xfinity Series car driven by B.J. McLeod at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 20th.
The promotion aimed to generate excitement for Falling in Reverse's single, "All My Life" featuring Jelly Roll, released earlier that summer. As part of the partnership, they offered fans a chance to win an actual Falling In Reverse racecar through a sweepstakes.
In a post titled "I won the racecar" the winner posted five photos of the car sitting by the curb outside of his house, with over 100 comments from Falling In Reverse fans weighing in on the new prize.
Even though he was excited to have won, the original poster user expressed a bit of uncertainty about what to do with the car, given the unexpected tax implications after signing a 1099 for the car, valued at $40,000. So, what is the lucky fan going to do with it?
He says:
"Not to sure yet lol. Had to sign a 1099 for the value of the car @ $40k so ima have to lay upwards of $10k in taxes now."
One commenter sought to clarify the laws surrounding taxes on the car by asking, "Why do you have to pay taxes for something you didn't buy? Is that a local tax law or federal?" to which the winner responded:
"Sweepstakes law in USA apparently. Federally anything you win in anything they count it as "income" can't accept the prize without signing a legal document to receive a 1099. Really stupid rules but it is what it is. That's the government for ya. Can't run from taxes but calling it income is absurd idk why they can't just do a different tax rate."
Despite concerns from some fans about the high tax bill, the winner was undeterred, indicating plans to hold onto the car, unless he could get someone to buy it at its tax value, saying he would sell it, "if someone offers me $40k then by all means that would pay off the taxes and my remaining car loans."
He wasn't the first winner selected, as three others passed on the opportunity before he got his hands on the car. He said in one comment, "I was apparently the 4th winner others turned it down." So, it seems as though he knew what he was in for, though his wife may not:
"Yeeeeaaah I'm just a life long fan. Been a fan since ETF in middle school and got made fun of listening to Ronnie in highschool but never gave a damn so this is the biggest statement to myself this means a lot to me. I feel blessed. Taxes will suck but well I can't complaine for what I signed up for! I def can afford that out right but I'll figure something out lmao thank you though!!
(Also don't tell my wife about the taxes she doesn't know yet 🤷♂️😂😂)"
Overall, he remained optimistic about the situation and is considering various ideas from some of the posters, one suggesting, "Start a business, where you visit every FIR [t]our stop with the car, maybe it as well as the money spent traveling can be a tax write off."
The winner then responded:
"I'll actually look into that lol. Buddy of mine said make a nascar LLC take out a business loan and have some fun doing whatever since I have a what should be running professional nascar."
But first, he had to get the car running, and the gas wasn't cheap.
He explained some of the issues he ran into:
"Well the battery was dead. Found it behind the rear wheel and got it charged, I live next to a racetrack so I got gas at $14 a gallon LOL but the ignition system is completely different than anybody else's I can find on YouTube so I'm going to find someone at the racetrack to hopefully help me out. I'm definitely looking for advice though.
And no not street legal it's a legit nascar. I'm sure I can find a hot smog and throw in some head lights and tail lights add some mirrors I might be able to get away with it but we'll see. Race track might not even let me race it because they even have their own rules for specs on the car for safety reasons unfortunately. My best bet is risk in in my city to drive it or find a big empty open space."
One commenter encouraged him to put it in a garage to protect it from the elements. The original poster agreed, saying "Yeah gonna move it once I figure out how to get it running."
After that, someone asked, "They [g]ave away a 40k car that doesn't run?"
The winner clarified:
"They gave away a 40k car with no instructions or details. I can't say whether it starts or not but for the 5 days I've had it now… no it hasn't started. And I've worked in a lot of cars but never a nascar so I'm just hoping the nascar team can get back to me. Kinda shitty but I've been a fan of Ronnie since ETF when I was in middle school so this is very special for me no matter what."
The car holds an engine that could produce 600-700HP. Nevertheless, due to the unique nature of it being a racecar, it isn't exactly street legal and requires specialized knowledge to run it, so the winner did face some challenges in fully enjoying his prize at first.
He explained:
"I have a neighbor who has built and sold these back in the day. The engine itself will put out anywhere from 600-700HP and since this was built by a professional nascar team the labor and everything that would've went into this car he says would've cost well over $100k. So I'm not complaining I'm really just happy I got the ronniemobile lmao. I'm still in a joyous bliss over wining so I know reality probably hasn't hit me yet for what I got myself into but I'm optimistic! I'm planning on holding onto it for as long as I can but if they valued it at $40k and if someone offers me $40k then by all means that would pay off the taxes and my remaining car loans. End of the day they didn't fuck me over because they told me exactly what would happen if I were to accept the prize taxes are on me and I'm okay with that. Just wish they would get me some instructions already for what is all in this car and why it won't start."
Even with the hefty tax bill, the fan remained optimistic and was excited to own the car anyway:
"If you zoom into above the hood you'll see the dent Ronnie made sitting on it next to jelly roll"
After initially having difficulties getting it started, he tried reaching out to the team that built the car and it sounds like he was able to get in touch with the party, who gave him some advice on how to get it running.
A few days after the initial post, he updated fans in the Reddit thread by proclaiming:
"She Lives!!!! Yes we drove it around the city lmfao talked with nascar dude who built it and this car is a beast! Greatful as hell."
He also shared a video on X, tagging Ronnie Radke and Falling In Reverse, though it seems like his post didn't get much traction with only 179 views at the time of posting.
With the video, he commented:
"I won the fucking racecar. I'd like to thank @RonnieRadke and the NASCAR team who made this happen. After the thousands of hours of music I've enjoyed over the years of falling in reverse this makes me feel like a god damn popular monster 🤘🤘🔥 love ya Ronnie thank you from the family for this once in a life time one of a kind experience.🤘see you at Aftershock.
@FIROfficial"
As a long-time Falling In Reverse fan, he says winning the prize meant the world to him, and he thanked Radke for the once-in-a-lifetime experience, even after one commenter joked, "You're going to look like the world's biggest asshole driving that thing. Lol. And I mean that with all the love. Congrats."
He took it all in stride, saying:
"Nothing new my friend said 'I'm literally not suprised at all you won it you asshole.' With love of course LOL I'm a very big fan so this simply means the world to me. Thank you! 🤘🤘🙏"
If you want your own 1:24 diecast model of the racecar, they're on sale over at Lionel Racing.
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