Chicago's Radio Contest With a Growing Cash Prize
Chicago's classic rock station 97.1 The Drive (WDRV) is running a What's That Noise contest on the Sherman & Tingles morning show — and the cash jackpot keeps climbing every time a caller gets it wrong. The game plays twice each weekday morning, at 6:45 AM and 8:45 AM Central. When you hear the mystery sound (the "Sounder"), be the designated caller at 312-642-9378. The DJ replays the sound for you, and if you name it correctly, you take home the jackpot.
How the Jackpot Grows
The jackpot starts at $100 — and here's the fun part: every wrong guess adds $25 to the pot for the next round. Once somebody nails it, the jackpot resets to $100 and a brand-new sound goes into play. One warning from the official rules: your guess has to match the station's answer exactly. Close doesn't count — the rules even give the example that a near-miss answer won't win while the precise one will. You get one guess per caller per round, but there's no limit on how many times you can call in or how many times you can win.
Who Can Play
You need to be 18 or older and live in the Chicago area: Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, or Will counties in Illinois; Kenosha County in Wisconsin; or Lake and Porter counties in Indiana. If you've won $599 or less from WDRV in the last 30 days, or $600 or more in the last 60 days, you're sitting this one out. The contest has been running since January 2025 and, per the station's rules, continues until a to-be-announced date in 2026 — so check 97.1 The Drive for the current jackpot before you call. This October 2026 contest is a classic listen-to-win setup, and the growing pot makes every wrong guess good news for the next caller.
