13 years after losing a 'brand new car,' this Calgary man returned to The Price is Right stage

It's a moment etched into Trent Cherak's memory.

In 2010, the then 18-year-old Calgary student was told to "Come on Down!" at a taping of The Price is Right a game show produced in Los Angeles focused on successfully guessing the price of everyday items.

The grand slam of prizes slowly rolled into view:a brand new car. And after a near perfect round of the Lucky Sevengame, it was almost his. Until one guess went awry.

Cue the sad,losing horn sound effect.

The ill-fated moment has caused nightmares ever since.That is, until the game show contacted Cherakagain last summer.

"I'm so fortunate not to have been on the show oncebut to have had the opportunity to come back as a second-time contestant on a redemption special," Cherak said in an interview onThe Homestretch.

"It was just, it's remarkable."

WATCH | Trent Cherak attempts to win a caron The Price is Right in 2010:

Nearly 13 years after his original appearance, Cherak was called back to take part in The Price is Right at Night: Redemption, which aired on Jan. 4.

He didn't know it at the time, but he would be called up on stage again.His potential prize? A brand new car.

Unlikely friendship

Cheraksays he heard from the game show in the fall, and he was told he'd be one of 20 finalists returning for a second chance at The Price is Right glory.

Immediately after getting the news, he phoned Susan (Lee Ann) Skylstand.

She and her sister, Janet Ashford, were instrumental in getting Cherakonthe 2010 episode after he met them outside The Price is Right studio that day.

He hadtravelled to California to try to get on the show a dream since he was in Grade 4 and he saw thegroup of women waiting to audition for the program.

"He said, 'I'm just wondering if I could maybe just kind of jump in and be part of this fun group,'" said Skylstand from her home in California.

"And my sister, Janet she just grabbed him around his shoulders and said, 'Of course you can because you are now my Canadian son!'"

The group had a blast, even after losing the car. Cherak and Ashford began a long-distance friendship, travelling for visits and to audition forother game shows together, and they pledged to one day return to The Price is Right.

In 2020, Ashford unexpectedly died.

Cherak remained in touch with her family. He asked if Skylstand and her niece would join him for the redemption episode.

"I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?'" Skylstand said.

"So we went down there and spent the day together, laughing, having a good time, and it was really weird because I got a sense from Trent that he just knew he was going to win."

'It was like slow motion'

This time, after making it onstage (in the same Canada shirt and U of CDinos pants)and seeing the 2022 Ford Escape SE that could be his, Cherak faced the Hole in Onegame.

"It's one of their few games that's based on skill. You actually have to make a golf putt," Cherak said.

"It's infrequent that they play this game on the show, and then for me, being a golfer, I was just excited to be able to play that one."

WATCH | Promotional video for the 2023 episode shows Cherak on contestants row again:

To determine how close to the hole you can putt from, contestants have to place grocery items ranging from a can of tomato sauce to a tube of croissant rolls in order from the lowest to the highest price.

Cherak got four out of six, landing him about six feet away, he said.

"I take the back swing, the ball takes off and I'm thinking it's starting to drift left just a little bit. But it was like slow motion at that point," he said.

"The ball somehow drops in the cup and I'm ecstatic. The world stops for a moment, and I can't believe I've won a brand new car. I really can't."

LISTEN |Trent Cherak describes what it was like to win a brand new car:

Skylstand jumped from her seat when she saw the putt was good.

"You can call it what you want, but I know that [Ashford] orchestrated all of this for him, and we couldn't have been happier," she said.

Brand new car

When the episode aired, Cherak visited Skylstand's family in California to watch it together.

He says he's still got a lot of paperwork and U.S. taxes to work through before his new car will reach the Canadian border.

In the end, Cherak says, he's probably not going to keep it. He already has a car, and so he says he'll hopefully be usingthe funds for an even bigger prize: a house in Calgary.

His memories of the experience, though, are keepers.

"There's so much positive energy inside that studio.Everyone's rooting for everyone, and you're just there to have a good time," he said.

"I'm so grateful for that opportunity."