Chapter Seven: Doc's Challenge

As Sally drove out to Willie's Butte, she was filled with worry. What is Doc doing? If Lightning wins, which he surely will, Doc can't pull Bessie! The road will never be fixed, and especially seeing what Lightning did to it today, it is in worse shape than before! Sally made her way to the edge of the cliff overlooking the butte. The rest of t he town was already there, having ran out to the butte once the challenge was set. This is crazy! She looked down and saw Luigi and Guido in their full Ferrari fan wear on a lower ledge, closer to the small dirt track. Farther down, on the track, stood Doc and Lightning, along with Sheriff. Sheriff was setting down the rules for the race as Luigi and Guido cheered franticly. While Sheriff was reciting the rules, Sally watched as Stickers talked to himself, jumping around and psyching himself up. As if he needs to. Then once the cars understood the rules, Sheriff drove away, and Luigi came up to Lightning. They said something to each other, while Luigi's excited face quickly drooped. Luigi drove away, while Guido stayed by Stickers. He said to something to Guido, who then drove away to meet back with Luigi. This conversation got a roll of the eyes from Lightning. Ugh, jerk. Then Sheriff came back and said in a slow voice, "Gentlemen…start…your…engines!"

Doc's motor started with a feeble sputter. Lightning looked and rolled his eyes with a laugh, then started his own engine. The loud roar from the firing of his engine sent chills through Sally's frame. Wow! Wait, no! Sally, don't you dare start thinking like that! He's arrogant, self centered, and he ruined your road! So what if you just felt something…incredible?

"Miercole! Check that out!" Ramone said, amazed.

"Mmm-mmm," Flo said, speaking of Lightning's power.

Sally decided to ignore this, even though she was thinking the same thing.

"Great idea, Doc," she said, annoyed. "Now the road will never get done."

At this time, Sheriff moved and Luigi came out with the flag.

"Uno for the money, two for the show, tres to get ready, and cuatro to…I can't believe it!…GO!!!" Lightning sent up a cloud of dust as his back tires spun and he sped off down the track. The town cheered. Even Sally couldn't help herself.

"Yeah!" she said, full of awe. Only then, when the dust settled, did she realize only Lightning took off. Where's Doc? She looked back to the line, where the old blue car was still sitting.

"Doc, see the flag. See this flag? It means go. Here we go. Go!" luigi said, confused.

"Doc, what are you doing man?" Ramone questioned.

"Oh, dear. It's seems I'm off to a poor start," Doc said, sarcastically. "Well, better late than never. Come on, Mater. Might need a little help."

"Uh, ok," the tow truck said as he followed Doc onto the track.

"Do you got your tow cable?"

"Yeah, I always got my tow cable. Why?"

"Oh, just in case."

Meanwhile, Sally looked to the track where she found Lightning already half through the track. He was coming up to the third turn. It's all over, Sally thought sadly.

Then, all of a sudden, Lightning was sliding through the turn and going straight toward the large valley full of cactus. Oh no!, Sally thought, as she watched the red car slide down the cliff and out of sight. She heard the sound of his tires spinning in the dirt, but not getting anywhere. Then she heard Doc.

"Hey! Was that floating like a Cadillac, or was that stinging like a Beamer? Cause I'm confused!" Mater laughed a little and Doc continued. "You drive like you fix roads; lousy. Have fun fishing, Mater." Doc then drove through the rest of the course and crossed the finish line, which came with another cheer from the crowd. Sally felt so happy that the racecar hadn't won, though she was wondering if he was ok. She looked back to where Mater had just pulled Lightning out of the valley. He looked ok, except for a few pieces of cactus stuck to his body. He must be fine. Wow, Doc won! Now Stickers has to stay and fix the road!