So with the morning sun welcoming an orange sky, Lightning and Todd rolled into Radiator Springs. It was quite peaceful but it didn't last long until the daily argument chimed in.
"Oh, for once, turn that garbage off. I'm saluting over here."
"I could say the same to you, man." Fillmore sighed. "Not everyone likes the music you play."
"I'm sorry, did you say something? Would you like to run that by my Boot Camp?!"
"Sarge!" Sarge turned his attention to Sheriff. "Would you both like to run this argument by the Impound Lot?"Lightning and Todd arrived at their first location; Ramone's House of Body Art. Ramone's had just flipped the Open sign when Lightning and Todd rolled in.
"Hey, what's up homie? What can Ramone do for you?
"This is Todd Marcus, a fellow Piston Cup racer. I'm going to be training before the next season begins, and needs a new look."
Ramone rolled around Todd, looking at what he was dealing with.
"I can give you a new look, dude. I'll give you the Champion look. Make others wish they you."
Ramone was as good as his word. Todd's normal red paint job was now a metallic midnight red with carbon black and white for the chequered flag. His normal white paint for his number was golden as well as his sponsorship. His name was written on his spoiler, which was the same model as McQueen's WGP spoiler. And later at Luigi's, Todd was given new tires. He did look very smart.
It was about two in the afternoon when McQueen and Todd arrived at the Radiator Springs Speedway. The track was at the base of a mountain, with two rock formations of Hudson Hornets. They rolled through the tunnel that ran under the track and up the slope into the middle of the track. They passed garages, sponsor tents, trailer spots and onto the pit row, and then onto the track the wrong way, where they had to turn around to go the correct way on the track.
"So, this is the training grounds for the Doc Hudson Racing Academy?"
"Yep, such great memories here. In fact, these are the same grounds where we formed the T-ROC series."
Todd looked all around at this massive track. There were blind corners, long straights, a huge pit row, a grandstand that could rival the Piston Cup tracks, many Piston Cup sponsorship logos and a winner circle. The two racers then saw two other cars. One looked like a hatchback but had Dinoco sponsorship logos on them. The other looked like a Le Motors Prototype but had had Re-volting sponsorship logos on them.
"Bonjuor McQueen. Is this Todd Marcus we heard about?"
"Indeed. Todd, I'm sure you know Raoul CaRoule and Shu Todoroki."
Todd was surprised. This was Shu Todoroki and Raoul CaRoule. And they were in front of him.
"Well, how about we take a practice lap around the track. Come on, Master Todd." Shu smiled. "Show us what you can do."
The four cars then lined up at the start line, waiting for McQueen to count them down. Once they heard "GO!", engines roared into life and sped off the line and down the straight. McQueen was in front with Shu behind him, Todd behind him and Raoul in last. McQueen manage to keep the lead through the chicane but lost it to Shu when he accidentally swung wide. Todd slipped in behind. Shu stayed ahead for most of the race, but then, just as they reached the final corner, Todd boosted ahead, and took the lead. The last corner was a very long and sloped one, but the finish line was 140 yards away from where the corner ended/the straight started. But just as he was about to win, a streak of black darted past and crossed the line. The car then suddenly started drifting victiously and then dissappeared in a cloud of its own burnt rubber.
As the dust settled, a black Formula Racer emerged from the dust. The car had orange flames on his sides and Nitroade sponsorship stickers on him too.
"Francesco?"
"The greatest racecar in the world, is here!" He exclaimed viciously.
"I have no time for your competitive games." McQueen replied bluntly. "Shu, Raoul and I are trying to help Todd before the next season begins."
Francesco drifted in front of McQueen. "Cool your turbocharger, McQueen. Francesco is also here to help the rookie. With Francesco's skills, and good looks, this Todd Marcus will be a proper racer by the end of the day."
McQueen was about to reply when Shu interrupted. "McQueen, it would help if Todd had an extra set of skills to fall back on." McQueen looked over at Shu, then at Francesco and then at Shu once more. "Alright. The three of you, go to Ramone's and change back to your paintjobs." Shu and Raoul nodded and sped off. However, Francesco decided to tease McQueen one more time.
"Thank god. Why do have these? Do you make Sally wear them when you are alone?"
This made McQueen look at Francesco with his unamused glare. Francesco chuckled cheekily as he drove off to Ramone's.
"One of the most important things an racer must remember is how to get out of any situation. Whether its being boxed in by your fellow racers or a very rough racer pushing you around, you must remember that anything can happen and you must be prepared. Today, its all about regaining control. Now, at any given time, on any track, you or another car will spin out. What you have to do, is regain control and get back on the track, before the pack passes you. The more cars that pass you, the more work you have to do."
Todd came down off the Butte with Raoul behind him. Raoul then slightly tapped him, causing him to spin.
"Turn right to go left!" McQueen shouted into his headset. "Turn right to go left!"
"What exactly does that mean?!" Todd replied as he skidded along the dirt. McQueen and Shu watched as Todd slamming into a cacti patch, cringing at the pain.
"Maybe, Master McQueen, you should say it in a such a way he would understand."
Todd then rolled slowly out, with a few scratch marks on his paint.
"Todd, try this. If you dig your front wheels in hard and leave your back wheels loose, you'll find yourself going the direction you want to go. Raoul, two of you go back to your positions."
Todd and Raoul then turned around and drove back to the end of the first corner.
"Better?" McQueen asked.
"Much better." Shu nodded.
Raoul then tapped Todd again and Todd spun out again. Todd then dug his wheels hard into the ground and left his back loose. At first, his back skidded uncontrollably but then he started to get the groove of it. He skidded through the dirt zone, before he stopped before the line and at the end of the bend.
"Nicely done. Now, we'll work on a few new tricks." Raoul added. "But for now, Shu has a few training exercises for you."
And indeed, he did. Shu put Todd through his paces. The first one was he had to pull Bessie from one marker on the home-straight on McQueen's track. Next, he had him swerve through a long line of traffic cones. Then, they took a break so Raoul could let him run two new tricks. The first one was he to jump over a car and land, facing the car you overtook. Todd was able to land, facing the right way but found it to land, facing the other way. Each time he tried to face towards Raoul, he kept landing on his side, causing Raoul to hit him. Eventually, he managed to land, facing Raoul, over and over again. The next trick he learned from Raoul was to move to a car's right hand side, turn around using your back tires and land on your front wheels, facing the other car. This took a while to master too, but Todd soon got the hang of it.
