Chris Bream, Dash 4 Cash Contestant Supportive Despite Defeat

Chris Bream (pictured right) was paired with Ryan Truex

An opportunity of a lifetime happened for four fans in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Friday night. Four fans were randomly selected to fly out to Charlotte for the Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage for three days and two nights to attend the Nationwide Series race, the final race in the Dash 4 Cash. The Dash 4 Cash eligibility was open to Nationwide Series contenders only, the highest finishing drivers at Daytona, Iowa, Richmond, and Charlotte were in contention for $100,000 and a qualifying spot in the following race. At the final event in Charlotte, Sadler, Stenhouse Jr., Truex, and Kenny Wallace remained.

Chris Bream from Austin entered the contest on Jayski.com and was picked. Bream and a friend were flown to Charlotte and treated with a weekend at the track. The other Dash 4 Cash contestants were from Texas and Florida.

Four drivers Sadler, Stenhouse Jr., Wallace and Truex raced for the cash and knew they could win for a fan. However, neither driver nor fan knew who would be paired until driver introductions just prior to the start of the race. At that time, the driver would pick a number from the box and would pair with the fan that picked the same number out their own box.

Bream was paired with Truex. When they met, Truex told Bream, "I hope I win the money for you."

"I said yeah me too," Bream joked.

At that time Truex was introduced to the crowd, Bream followed him and off they were for a lap around the track in the Toyota truck.

"Not many people can say they did that," Bream said with a smile planted across his face on Saturday.

Unfortunately, Truex struggled during the race and had engine problems, he was out of the race and Bream didn't win the money. "I was upset, but I enjoyed being here," Bream said.

He didn't have the chance to talk to Truex after the race but had he had the opportunity Bream would've told Truex that he supported him, "I'd like to show him I at least supported him. The whole race I was listening to his radio and he was struggling. He had engine problems." Bream added that he'd like to tell Truex, "Thanks for driving hard, it was nice meeting you, good luck with the rest of your career. He wasn't very talkative, he was a really nice guy, he was shy."

Sadler went on to win the Dash 4 Cash. He wanted to buy his wife an in-ground pool and last July, when he finished second (in the D4C race), he had to settle for buying her a kiddie plastic pool from the local department store.