Hi! Here's the last chapter of COTSLOF part one! Honestly, I've been feeling a little unmotivated with this story, but I am going to try to continue it.

Chapter 4- My First Race

Like I said, that night I was convinced that I would never see Lightning McQueen again and the thought of that upset me just as much as Doc hitting me. So, as you can imagine, that night was a really rough one for me. It took Luigi ages to get me to calm down and go to sleep and only did so with the aids of ice cream, songs and stories. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. I had a nightmare later that night too. So, Luigi and Guido had to deal with that. I'm pretty sure they were awake anyway. It was a long night and my mood did not improve in the morning.

First, Doc removed my stitches (which hurt!) and then we all gathered at Flo's. I refused to look at Doc and so did Sally. I don't know when someone turned the TV on or who did it, but I remember at some point we found ourselves with the TV on. They were talking about Lightning (of course they were!) and that was the first of many times I saw myself on TV. (Boy, that week was full of firsts for me!)

"He broke the road! He had to stay here and fix it!" I shouted, pointing to the road.

"Why did you make a race car fix your road?!" one of the many reporters asked me. "Why couldn't anyone else here have done it?"

"He had to, he had to! He broke it, so he had to fix it!" I insisted, jumping up and down. "If he beat Doc in a race, he could leave, but he didn't! He fell into the cactuses!"

"Hey! Look!" I exclaimed excitedly. "That's me! I'm on TV!"

Now when I see myself on TV, it's more like, Oh, there I am again.

We didn't get to watch the TV for very long before Doc turned it off.

"We were watching that!" I protested before shrinking back. I didn't want him to hit me again.

"I need to talk to all of you", Doc informed us.

By then, we all knew that Doc had sent Lightning away, so nobody was particularly interested in whatever he had to say...

However, that changed the second he opened his mouth.

"So, last night, I did some thinkin'. The rookie has no pit crew, no crew chief and no friends. He's got no one to support him at this big race. So... what do ya say we head out to California to..."

I was the first one to okay the idea. "Yeah!"

Everyone laughed before also agreeing.

"Peet stop!" Guido added.

Not only that, but Doc apologised to me for hitting me. I smiled. Maybe things were different now that Lightning had arrived, but all was right in the world again!

"We're going to a race!" I shouted, jumping around as everyone else rushed to get ready. "We're going to a race!"

"Actually, kiddo", Doc began gently as he headed over to Ramone's to get back into his racing paint job, "I was thinking it would be best if you stayed here with Sally, Red and Lizzie." Those three were staying behind (I'm not sure why Sally was staying; I would've thought she would want to see Lightning).

"No!" I whined. "Why?!"

"It's gonna be loud, Fudge", he explained. "And there are gonna be a lot of people there. You could get lost."

I think the real reason he didn't want me to come was because he thought I was going to be in the way.

"But I really, really wanna go!" I pleaded, jumping up and down. "I wanna see the race! And I wanna see Lightning again! Please, Doc! Please!"

Doc was silent for a while. "I guess seein' a race would be a dream come true for you, huh?" He knew how much I loved racing.

I nodded.

"And I guess I owe you for hittin' you."

I nodded again. "Please!"

Finally, Doc decided, "If it's all right with Guido and Luigi, then I guess it's all right with me."

"Yay! Let's ask them!"

Guido and Luigi were as unsure as Doc and for the same reasons, but were also understanding of the fact that I really wanted to go to a real race. So, they let me come. I was over the moon! So, that was how I found myself at the Piston Cup tiebreaker race!

While everyone else was preparing, I wasn't sure of what to do. First, I helped my fathers pick out tyres. Then I decided to see if I had something I could wear to the race. However, all of my racing attire was Ferrari-related and Luigi told me there weren't any Ferraris in this race. I would have to make do with the clothes I was wearing: white T-shirt under a dark pink dress, white socks and white sneakers. It wasn't really a race day outfit, but my family insisted that I looked nice and I wanted to look nice for this race. Still, I made a mental note to get some racing attire I could wear to a Piston Cup race.

My next stop was Ramone's to watch him paint Doc.

"What are you gonna do, Doc?" Everyone else had been rushing around to do a different job for the race like my fathers being in charge of tyres and Sarge and Fillmore being in charge of fuel. However, I hadn't noticed Doc doing anything like that and I was quite surprised that he wanted to go to the race, considering how much he hated Lightning.

"I'll be the crew chief."

"I know what that means!" Even though Doc obviously knew, I had to explain it to him.

The Hudson Hornet nodded proudly. "That's right."

I beamed. "Have you ever seen the human ones on TV who do that?!" I wondered.

"Yeah, I have. We even had a couple of those back when I raced."

Perfect. "That looks like fun! I might wanna do that when I grow up. And work in the tyre shop and be an author."

Doc tried to hide a smile. "Really?"

"Yeah! It looks like fun!" I insisted. "But so does writing and the tyre shop! Luigi says I'm only five, so I don't have to decide right now."

"Luigi's right", Doc confirmed.

(Now, when I'm sixteen, I think all of you reading this know what path I ended up going down!)

"Did you have a crew chief when you raced?" I asked, eager to hear a little bit more about the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, hoping he wouldn't get mad at me for asking.

As it turned out, he was happy to answer all of my questions this time around. I guess he was trying to make it up to not just me, but all of us for hiding his past. "I sure did. Not a human one, though. He was a truck."

"Who was your crew chief?" I wanted to know.

"His name was Smokey." There was a moment of silence before Doc kept talking. "Wow. I ain't thought about him in a long time."

I wanted to ask Doc more questions, but he seemed kind of distracted.'

Finally, we were all gathered at Flo's, preparing to depart. I was so excited that I was bouncing up and down.

"It's gonna be hard to calm 'er down!" Doc commented with a laugh. "It's gonna be a long drive from here to California."

He was right. It was a long drive. We were all singing "Life is a Highway" by Rascal Flatts at the top of our lungs. I drove some pictures of the scenery, taking in all of the sights on my first ever adventure outside of Radiator Springs. I kept asking everyone if we were nearly there and must've driven them all crazy. At long last, though, we were there, pulling into the Los Angeles International Speedway.

Now, the race is another part of that week where my recount is exactly the most reliable one (I don't remember much of the drive I just described earlier; I just know I did all of that stuff because my family told me). Still, I'll try. Once we'd gotten in, thanks to the security guard, falling all over Doc, I saw that Doc was right once again: It was big and very loud. There were people- racers, their crews, members of the press- everywhere, coming from every which way.

"Hey! Move it, kid!" one of Chick Hicks's pitties barked at me, shoving me out the way as he and several of his buddies came through.

To make matters worse, they were followed by a bunch of reporters. By then, my family was gone. I couldn't see them at all. I remember crying.

The race started before I could be found, so even though I was afraid, I couldn't help myself from watching. I would've enjoyed it too if Lightning was doing well. He almost missed the start and seemed to be lagging behind. I don't know what was wrong with him; normally, he was super-fast! Why was he losing?! He was even losing to Chick Hicks! Over the week he'd been in Radiator Springs, I'd heard him complain a lot about Chick Hicks and what a jerk he was (over time, I learned that he was right!). I wanted him to beat the jerk!

The other racer in the three-way battle for the Piston Cup was Strip "The King" Weathers, who I noticed had the Dinoco sponsorship. If Dinoco was as great as Lightning made it out to be, then he had to be a good racer. He sure looked like a great racer! He was in the lead! Even though Lightning was my favourite, I did like The King.

"Fudge! There you are!" a familiar voice came from somewhere behind me.

"Sarge!" I shouted, running towards him and jumping onto his hood.

"Where've you been, soldier? We've been looking all over for you!"

"I've been right here! People got in my way, so I waited for someone to find me. And you did!"

"All right. Well, good thing you stayed in the one spot", Sarge told me. "Let's go!"

He carried me back to the pits.

"There is my little angel!" were the first words I heard when we got back to the pits. They came from Luigi, who cuddled me, making me feel a little better.

"(Where have you been?)" Guido asked.

I told them my story again, emphasising how scared I was, earning me more sympathy.

"Sssh... Sssh... You are here now, angel." Luigi kissed me gently. "Luigi's here... Luigi's here."

"And now, we can get back to work", Doc announced, driving up on top of the crew chief stand. "The rookie needs us."

"What does rookie mean?" I wanted to know. I thought I knew, but I wasn't sure.

Luigi explained and I was happy to note that I was right.

I looked around. Sarge and Fillmore had the fuel, Luigi and Guido had the tyres. "What can I do to help?"

"Whenever Lightnin' comes past", Doc told me, "you cheer as loud as you can, all right? You can do that, can't you, kiddo?"

I most definitely could do that! Not only that, but I wanted to do that too. So, I nodded and fixed my eyes on the race yet again.

About fifty laps into the race, The King was still in the lead. Chick was still second and Lightning was still in third. Although, not for long, maybe. Lightning was trying to overtake Chick.

"YES!" I cried excitedly.

However, Chick had other plans. He drove out in front of Lightning, stopping him from getting in front.

"NO!" I cried.

To make matters worse, a couple of seconds later, Lightning was really far behind and he nearly crashed into the wall. He had to hurry to avoid it and spun out onto the infield.

"What's he doing?" I wondered, confused.

"I think he is a little distracted, Fudgie", Luigi explained gently.

"By what?"

"I think he is thinking about us."

"Really?" I was flattered.

"I think so."

"Hey, kid!" Mack radioed to Lightning from beside me. "You all right?"

I didn't hear his reply, but when Doc got on the radio to tell him we hadn't come all this way to see him quit... I still remember the look on his face.

"I knew you needed a crew chief", Doc began, "but I didn't know it was this bad." There was a pause as Lightning spoke. "Well, I really didn't have a choice. Mater didn't get to say goodbye."

"GOODBYE!" Mater hollered into Doc's radio. "Okay. I'm good."

I remember that Lightning came into the pits and then the race went on for a while. Lightning was still in last place and nearly a lap down, but he was doing much better after knowing we were there. Although, I don't remember many of the details of that. The next thing I do remember is people beginning to notice Doc. The other pit crews were the first to start staring. Next thing I knew the cameras had shifted to Doc and I could see him on the big screen, sending the crowd wild. I smiled. I knew, even then, that Doc had finally gotten the big welcome he expected fifty years earlier.

Once again, I can't tell you all of the details of the rest of the race. The next thing I remember is Chick ramming into Lightning, causing one of his rear tyres to burst.

"Hey!" I shouted, horrified that he would do that.

"Can you get back to the pits?" Doc quizzed Lightning. Then he announced, "Hey. Got a yellow. Bring it in. Don't tear yourself up, kid."

"Yellow flag means caution!" I explained, even though everyone probably already knew.

Doc beamed at me. "That's right, kiddo."

"We gotta get him back out there fast or we're gonna be a lap down and we'll never win this race!" Mack wailed, voicing everyone else's concerns.

"Guido!" Doc barked. "It's time!"

My father took on an expression of determination, eager to prove himself to Chick's pitties, who apparently had been taunting him earlier, but I don't remember anything about that...

Of course, Guido did prove themselves to them. I'm not surprised. Guido is the fastest tyre changer in the world. I seriously think that someone should tell the Guinness Book of World Records about him. He was so fast in changing all four of Lightning's tyres that all of Chick's pitties' grilles fell off in astonishment. Not only did Lightning get out of the pits in record time, but he even beat the pace car out!

"Guido, you did it!" someone cheered as we all crowded around the forklift, who just smiled proudly.

"Way to go, Guido!" someone else added.

"(Go, Guido! I love you!)" I gave Guido a big hug and kiss, both of which he returned.

Before long, it was the final lap. Lightning was right behind The King and Chick. It was definitely going to be close.

"Come on, Lightning!" I hollered as loud as I could.

"This is it, kiddo", Doc informed him through the radio and told him what to do. "Go!"

So, he went, determined to catch up to the other racers. However, Chick wasn't having any of it. He did everything in his power to stop Lightning from getting in front of him. Chick tried to block him over and over again and even tried slamming him into the wall! But Lightning never touched any wall unless he wanted to. He managed to get out of the way and Chick hit the wall instead. Still, Chick wasn't done yet. He slammed into both of the other racers, leaving him and The King skidding across the track and Lightning out of control in the grass.

Yet what nobody knew was just how much Lightning McQueen had learned during his time in Radiator Springs. He drifted across the dirt just as Doc had done back by Willy's Butte. I remember being blown away as he left a trail of dirt behind him, which I thought looked like flames! I'm pretty sure Doc was impressed too and nobody could believe it when Lightning made it back onto the track. Even better, he was in first place!

"YES!" I screamed. "GO, LIGHTNING!"

"Float like a Cadillac", Doc began the quote that Lightning had used during their race.

"Sting like a Beemer!" Lightning finished.

"Go, Lightning!" I repeated, jumping up and down excitedly. Like everyone else, I was convinced that the Piston Cup was his. I don't think anybody was expecting the end of that race to turn out like it did, but it is a moment that has stayed with me for the rest of my life.

Since Lightning had claimed the lead, The King was now in second and Chick was in last place. Now, I'm sure a lot of you know that Chick Hicks is a car who never let anything stand between him and the checkered flag. He would do whatever it took to win. Even so- granted I hadn't seem him race to that day- I think what he did next was a new low even for him.

"I am not coming in behind you again, old man!" he groaned.

With those words, he performed the infamous PIT manoeuvre. He hit The King hard, sending him airborne. That was when Guido turned me away, holding me close to him and hiding my face, so I couldn't see what was going on.

A couple of seconds later, I squirmed in Guido's grip and the sight of the wrecked race car horrified me. It still does, but now, to some extent, I'm used to it (sort of; you never get fully used to that kind of thing). The King was covered in scratches and dents. It looked so similar to Doc in that newspaper article. Apart from scattered gasps, the entire stadium was silent.

If the crash was unbelievable, then there are no words to describe what happened next. It had even failed to escape Lightning's attention and the sound of squealing tyres made me cringe. Lightning had stopped right in front of the finish line. I'm pretty sure I was feeling the same confusion as everyone else when he let Chick shoot past him. I don't think anybody knew what he was doing, except for Doc.

Lightning reversed back, heading towards The King.

"What's he doing?" I whispered to Luigi.

Luigi didn't answer. He just watched Lightning as the whole stadium was. The rookie racer was pushing the retiring champion towards the finish line.

"I wanted The King to finish his last race", he told me later when I asked him about it. "That crash was no way to end a legendary career like his."

"Kind of like Doc!" I realised.

He'd smiled and nodded. "That's right. You're pretty smart for a five-year-old, Fudge-O."

I beamed with pride at that comment.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm proud of him for doing that, but I still feel like he deserved to win and Chick most definitely didn't. I guess it doesn't matter really. Whenever anybody remembers the race, guess what everyone remembers about it! Lightning was hailed as a hero and Chick was booed offstage and had things thrown at him when he received his trophy (I got to see that; it was hilarious!). It just goes to show that hard work, sportsmanship and caring are what real racing was all about. It was also the difference between winning and being a winner. I promised myself that I would try to remember that for when I became a racer. And I did.

"Hey!" two rusty cars called out to me and the rest of my family. "You're Lightnin' McQueen's pit crew?"

Duh!

Doc nodded. "Yeah we are."

"It's an honour to meet you all", one of them began.

"Especially the Fabulous Hudson Hornet!" the second one added. "I'm Rusty and this is my brother, Dusty. We're Lightnin' McQueen's sponsors."

"The Medicated Bumper Ointment!" I shouted excitedly.

Everyone turned to look at me in surprise.

"That's right", Dusty confirmed. "Who's this cute little girl?"

"I'm Fudge!" I introduced myself with a smile.

"Why don't you come and talk to us for a while?" Rusty suggested to all of us.

So, we all followed them and Mack back to their sponsor tent, chattering away about the race. However, when Lightning showed up, all of the attention was on him.

"You made us proud, kid!" Rusty declared.

"Congrats on the loss, me bucko!" Mack chimed in.

Lightning looked to Doc, who was smiling at him.

"You got a lot of stuff, kid."

Lightning returned the smile. "Thanks, Doc."

Finally, Lightning had won over an entire town of people who once hated him.

I decided to run to him for a hug. "You deserved to win!" I voiced my opinion, climbing up onto his hood.

"Hey, Fudge-O!" the stock car exclaimed, sounding genuinely happy to see me. "How's your head?"

"Better." It was partly better because I loved Lightning now. "Doc took out the stitches!"

"Oh, that's good!" After a pause, he added, "Hey. Sorry about pushing you into that wall."

"That's okay", I replied. I mean, I didn't think it was okay, but I wasn't really upset.

"No, it's not!" he insisted. "I was a jerk to a lot of people."

"Well, now, you're not", I insisted. "Now, you're nice." I hugged him. "I love you."

I can't put into words how happy I was when he hugged me back and told me, "I love you too, Fudge."

"Hey, Lightnin'!" a voice called out. It was Tex Dinoco, who I'm sure you all know I am very familiar with now. "How about comin' over here and talk to me a minute?"

"Okay, Fudge-O." Lightning put me down to my dismay. "I think Luigi wants you back now." He drove on over to Tex.

I didn't hear what was going on, but I later found out that he'd been offered the Dinoco sponsorship. However, he decided to turn it down because he wanted to be loyal to Rust-Eze, the company who had given him his big break. Even though he gave up everything he'd ever dreamed of that day, I'd never seen him so happy. Sure, I hadn't known him for very long, but I had a feeling that this was the happiest he'd been in a long time. He later told me that I was right.

I was the happiest I'd been in a long time too. Lightning stuck true to his promise and let me and Mater ride in the Dinoco helicopter (even though he turned Dinoco down, Tex was still happy to give us a ride)! That was awesome! Still, Lightning didn't stop there. The day after the race, he took us to Disneyland, which was a blast! You'd think that would be the best part, but it wasn't. The best part was that Lightning decided to make Radiator Springs his permanent home and set up his big racing headquarters there! We didn't have to say goodbye to him at all! Yay!

And the rest is history.

Next chapter is part two. Please review.