Leesburg mechanic shop owner wins $1 million lottery ticket

By Audrey Carpenter

Jan. 1 was a very good day for Scott Nalevanko. That was the day he became $1 million richer.

Each year Nalevanko, 55, of Leesburg, buys several Virginia’s New Year’s Millionaire Raffle tickets to give away as Christmas presents. On New Year’s Day, when he heard that a $1 million winning ticket had been bought at the 7-Eleven at 615 East Market Street in Leesburg, he realized he needed to check the tickets.

“I found it!” he told Virginia Lottery officials. “When I saw that address, it had to be!” And it was. Nalevanko proudly claimed his ticket and got his picture taken holding a check for $1 million taken by the Virginia Lottery staff.

Nalevanko owns First in Motion mechanics shop at 9-B Fort Evans Rd. SE in Leesburg. He opened its shop in Great Falls in 2002, and then moved to Leesburg in 2006. Last year he celebrated over 39 years of import repair service.

He specializes in BMW, Mercedes Benz and imports and has been working as a mechanic since 1985 when he got his first job working at a Mercedes dealership.

Virginia’s New Year’s Millionaire Raffle had five $1 million tickets sold at the following locations:

• Paddy’s Steakhouse in Stafford
• Wawa in Fredericksburg
• 7-Eleven in Leesburg
• Food Lion in Manassas
• Harris Teeter in Arlington

Three of the winning tickets have not been claimed yet, according to the Virginia Lottery.