Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Pixar. All OCs belong to me.

Chapter 21 – Day 2 at Phillip Island

Day 2 at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Phillip Island, Victoria – Sunday, 17 April, 2016

"I'm glad you understand, Sal," Lightning said as the McQueen family ate their breakfast inside the hotel room they were sharing. "I just don't want you to think that I'm putting racing before my family. You mean everything to me." Lightning tickled Blaze under his front bumper, making the baby giggle.

"I would never think that, Stickers," Sally replied. "Racing is your career, and it's very important that you do your best. Beside, I'm happier watching you race from the safety of the lounge room at home; especially after the media's reaction to Blaze yesterday."

"Well, the alternative would be to get you a body guard for whenever you're at the racetrack, but I know you won't be impressed with that."

"You're right. I won't stand for that!"

As if he was agreeing with her, Blaze playfully grabbed his bottle of baby oil between both of his front tyres, forcing some of the oil to squirt out of the teat. The baby oil flew through the air, until it landed right on top of Lightning's bonnet.

"Oh, yuck!" Lightning exclaimed. Blaze giggled again.

"That's not 'yuck'," Sally said as she wiped the oil off Lightning. "Wait until he throws up on you."

"Urgh!" Lightning shuddered. "Oh, Chrysler! Is that the time? I need to get to the pits. I'll see you both later, okay?"

After kissing his family goodbye, Lightning hurried out of their hotel room. In the aisle, he caught up with Jamie, who was also making his way to the racetrack.

"What's wrong with you?" Jamie asked when he saw Lightning dry wretch.

"Do yourself a favour, and don't have any kids!" Lightning replied, gasping for air. "They're disgusting!"

"What did Blaze do?"

"You don't wanna know…"

Jamie raised his eyebrows in surprise, but he didn't press further. He decided to change the topic as they entered the lift. "Have you seen the headlines this morning?"

"I didn't even get to turn on the TV! What's happened?"

"Let's just say that Blaze is the main topic of conversation…"

"Oh, no!" Lightning groaned in disbelief.

"But there's worse…"

"What could be worse than that?"

"Your attack on that journalist."

"But I apologised to him! And I offered to pay him for any damages."

"The media don't care about that. It's a good story, so they'll do everything they can to hype it up. Brace yourself for the onslaught…"

Sure enough, as soon as Jamie and Lightning emerged from the hotel foyer, the media swarmed around them. Questions were shouted at them from all directions while Jamie and Lightning attempted to escape the mob, but it was useless. They were trapped. Jamie quickly phoned Leyland.

"Leyland, Lightning and I need back-up," Jamie said. "The media have us trapped outside the hotel. They'll be after Sally and Blaze next."

Lightning didn't hear Leyland's reply, but he guessed the team boss was livid. Someone stuck a camera in Lightning's face.

"McQueen, are you going to apologise to the journalist you injured yesterday?"

Lightning turned away. Jamie had been right. As usual, the media weren't interested in the truth. They only wanted a story that would make him look bad.

At that moment, the police arrived. It took some time, but the media were eventually forced to move on. Jamie and Lightning gratefully accepted the police escort to the racetrack, while another couple of police officers waited for Sally and Blaze to escort them to the racetrack as well.

…

About an hour later, Lightning found himself facing the officials. They'd already conducted their own investigation the evening before, when the news of Lightning's attack on the journalist had broken in the mainstream media, and now they wanted to hear Lightning's version of events.

"So, you admit that you lost your temper?" one of the officials asked once Lightning had finished.

"Yes. I think most racers would in that situation."

"Perhaps, but we're talking about you here. Luckily, your version collaborates with what the journalist told us last night. He won't be pressing any assault charges, but he would like compensation for his damaged camera."

"I knew he would, and I told him I was happy to pay it, once he knows how much it'll cost."

"Then, that's between you and him. In the meantime, we want you to do a press conference to clear your name. Otherwise, we could fine you for bringing the V8 Supercars into disrepute."

"I'll do the press conference," Lightning quickly agreed. "When?"

"Before the race starts this afternoon. That should give you enough time to plan what you want to say."

"Very well then."

…

Can this weekend get any worse? Lightning thought as he glanced out of the refuge that was the Redbulldozer pits. He frowned when he saw another media pack standing there, taking photos and footage of him. Yes.

Lightning had just qualified for the race in eighteenth. Jamie had done much better, qualifying in second. Shane and Craig had qualified in sixth and ninth respectively. Obviously, the media presence wasn't just having a direct effect on Lightning. For a fleeting moment, Lightning even considered pulling out of the race, but he dismissed the thought just as quickly.

I've started from worse positions before in the Piston Cup, he thought as few minutes later as he drove into the conference room. It's time to show the media that they can't get the better of me…

"Thank you all for coming," an official said to the media once he saw that Lightning had arrived. "The reason for the press conference is to clear up some issues surrounding the incident between Lightning McQueen and a journalist yesterday. Please save all questions till the end. I'll now hand over to Mr McQueen."

Flashes from hundreds of cameras filled the room as Lightning drove onto the small platform at the front of the room. After he'd taken a deep breath to try and compose himself, Lightning spoke into the microphone.

"Thank you. As I'm sure you're all aware by now, this year marks ten years since I first entered the world stage as a racer. The events surrounding my rookie year in the Piston Cup are well documented, so I won't dwell on that. During these last ten years, I'm sure that those of you from the international media in particular, will have noticed how private I have become; especially in more recent years. I'm sure the reason is quite obvious. I don't care what kind of crazy lies you might come up with about me, but when it comes to my family, I will do anything to protect them from the world I chose to enter. I don't deny that I did lash out at a journalist yesterday, but how many of you would have tolerated having a camera within inches of your own face? Don't you understand just how stressful it is to have you lot following us around everywhere? Normally, I blame myself for a poor performance on the racetrack, but this weekend, I know exactly who to blame – you, the media. And it's gotten to the point where, unless you back off and let me do what I do best, I will hire a bodyguard to protect myself and my family from you. That's all I have to say. I will only answer three questions."

"Mr McQueen? Why didn't you tell the media that your baby had been built?"

"Why should I? If you'd bothered to look at my official website, you would've seen a full press release there with the announcement, including a request for the media to keep their distance from my family. Sally and I were planning to release some gorgeous photos of Blaze when we felt we were ready, but since the media jumped the gun, you will NEVER see those photos. And, I can promise you, it will be many months, maybe even years, before you ever see Blaze at a racetrack again. Next question?"

There was silence for a moment while Lightning's tirade sank in, but then someone bravely spoke up.

"Why won't you apologise to the journalist you injured yesterday?"

"Because, if you watch the footage in full, you'll see that I've already apologised to him. Also, he was completely uninjured. I only knocked the camera off its mount, and I will be giving him compensation for the damage incurred."

The silence lingered as the journalists looked at each other awkwardly.

"Well, if that's all, I have to go and get ready for the race," Lightning said quickly, before he hurried out of the room.

Outside, Craig was waiting for him. "That was good! Probably a little heavy-tyred towards the end there, but you had them in control the whole time."

"I learned from the best," Lightning replied, shrugging. "You told me that 'attack is the best form of defence'."

"It sure is. Now, let's get ready to race."

…

"That's it, Lightning! Keep pushing yourself!" Tony encouraged over the radio. Lightning was just coming to the end of lap thirty-three out of forty-five. He'd had an average start to the race, but had fallen back to twentieth a few laps earlier. Now, Lightning was trying to gain his original place back.

Lightning raced flat out down the home straight, trying to stay in front of Heimgartner and Bright, whom he was racing against. Halfway down the home straight, Lightning's weekend went from bad to worse when his front right-hand tyre suddenly burst.

"Ow!" Lightning yelped as Heimgartner smacked straight into the back of him.

"Sorry!" Heimgartner called as he raced on past.

Lightning only just managed to keep himself on the tarmac as his tyre disintegrated beneath him. "Tony!" he screamed in despair.

"Can you make it back to the pits?" Tony asked soothingly.

"Probably. But that's my day done."

"I'm sorry. Sadly, these things just happen. Take your time. They've just deployed the safety car."

Lightning limped pathetically back to the pits. Knowing that Sally and Blaze were watching on from the VIP section, he refused to shed any tears. Looking up, he saw Blaze pressing his front tyres against the glass safety barrier above the Redbulldozer pit garages. Blaze looked like he was about to burst into tears. Wanting to alleviate his son's fears, Lightning smiled, and he waved a tyre at Blaze. The baby Dodge Viper promptly waved back, but the worry never left his face.

Now I know why my mother didn't want me to race. I won't bring Blaze back to the racetrack until he's old enough to understand what's going on.

Jamie and Craig ended up producing the best results for the team, finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Shane finished in tenth, while Lightning finished in twenty-third place, or rather, last place, if you didn't count the three DNFs.

Perhaps this is a sign for me to return to the Piston Cup, Lightning thought sadly after the race was over. He smiled when he saw Sally and Blaze enter the pit garage. Grinning, Blaze bounced up and down on Sally's bonnet.

"Bubba!" Blaze exclaimed excitedly, and he pounced onto Lightning's bonnet.

"I get the feeling that Blaze would be better suited to being a stunt car than a racer," Lightning chuckled. "This kid love to jump!"

"Whatever he becomes, we'll be very proud of him," Sally said as she nudged Lightning's fender. "Are you tired?"

"Very,"

"Good. The hotel has a spa. I've booked it for tonight. Just the two of us…" Sally blinked seductively at Lightning.

"What about Blaze?"

"Craig and Elinor have agreed to babysit him tonight."

Lightning gave Sally a thankful kiss. "You always know how to make me feel better when I've had a bad day. Let's go." He focused his eyes on Blaze, who blinked back at him. "Come on, trouble. You're spending the night with your doting grandparents. And I wish them every amount of luck keeping you out of mischief!"