Charlotte man wins NC lottery prize with $1 ticket and plans to start food truck

A $1 lottery ticket from a small town gas station is making a Charlotte man’s big dream come true.

Jose Naranjo says he intends to start a food truck with the prize money and will tour festivals, according to a Feb. 20 news release from the N.C. Education Lottery.

Naranjo beat odds of 1 in 962,598 to win a Cash 5 jackpot of $171,315, officials said.

“I thought it was a dream,” Naranjo said in the release. “I was speechless. I couldn’t believe it was reality.”

He got the ticket at a QuikTrip in town of Locust (Population: 5,992), and used a “specific formula” to pick his winning numbers.

“I chose my numbers based on the number of days in a week, the number of weeks in February, and a two for the month of February,” he said in the release. “And the other numbers were birthdays.”

Naranjo claimed his prize Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh, and it came to $123,364 after state and federal taxes, officials said.

That may be just enough money for a food truck, if he spends wisely.

Startup costs in the mobile restaurant business vary widely – from $50,000 to $300,000 – depending on whether it’s a truck or a food trailer, and it’s new or used, according to Best Food Trucks.

Locust is about a 25-mile drive northeast of Charlotte in Stanly County.

This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 12:09 PM with the headline "Charlotte man wins NC lottery prize with $1 ticket and plans to start food truck."