All rights belong to Pixar and Disney. I have only utilised their ideas and channeled them differently.
A/N: I think the title says it all, but I wasn't so happy with how Cars 3 shifted the focus from McQueen to Cruz, especially considering the fact that Lightning still had the potential and stamina to succeed. He just needed a fresh perspective of things. Now that that's said, you all know how this version will end. Considering the fact that all of Doc's friends survived and that Doc was a well, doctor, I have decided to keep him alive in this version. (Yes, I know, that Doc Hudson was implied to have been dead before Cars 2 due to the death of his voice actor.) I welcome any suggestions and am happy to receive constructive criticisms.
Please PM me for any further queries.
"Alright. Alright. Bring it back, rookie." voiced Doc Hudson with a chuckle, as he watched Lightning zoom past him.
The squealing of breaks and the steady sound of McQueen's V8 engine edging backwards, were heard.
"How was I, Doc?" asked Lightning, his face shining with his signature smile. The exhaustion of running 200 laps in quick succession had tired him out, as evidenced by his shallow breathing.
Doc lifted an eyebrow, but said nothing. It was the off season, and Lightning had been having a lot of fun with Mater until the next series of the Piston Cup. A little bit of exhaustion was natural.
And who was he to deny Lightning some enjoyment amidst his busy life?
Lightning drove up to the electronic board that displayed his speed when he was running laps, next to which Sheriff was snoozing. Leave it to him to snooze through a medley of noises which would drive everybody else up the wall.
If it had been anybody else, Sheriff would have awoken and chased after them, guns drawn and siren wailing, but he had grown accustomed to Lightning's V8, and did nothing more than slightly stir whenever Lightning zoomed past.
He had even called Lightning's engine sound soothing, much to Lightning's amusement.
It had been a while, a really long while since Lightning had been on the receiving end of Sheriff's chase, but he remembered his first and last encounter with the Sheriff as clear as day, and he wasn't going to risk it again.
Slowly but surely, Lightning zoned out of his thoughts, and back into Doc's monologue.
"You aren't making the most efficient use of your skills. If you had drafted just two seconds earlier and turned just a little bit more tighter, you could have saved a few more seconds." chided Doc.
"Relax, Doc. I'm still the fastest racer on the circuit. I'm fine." voiced Lightning, with a roll of eyes.
"And you're still arrogant and self-assured." thought Doc, with a roll of his eyes.
"You may be the fastest for now, but you ain't the smartest, son." said Doc, quietly.
"What does that have anything to with racing?" asked Lightning, exasperated.
He had a long day and was just itching to get in a few hours of sleep.
Clearly, he wasn't in the mood for philosophy or soft breakthroughs. Doc gave it to him straight.
"Being the fastest racer won't guarantee that you will win." explained Doc.
"What's that supposed to mean? I thought you had faith in me!" interjected Lightning, his tone hollow, and face blazing. That is, if he could get any more redder.
"Leave it to Lightning to read through the lines inaccurately." thought Doc.
Doc started, his tone soft.
"One thing you gotta understand is that you ain't gonna be the fastest racer out there. Speed ain't gonna help you ride to victory always. That's when you gotta turn to the next best thing. Smarts."
"And?" offered, Lightning.
"That's why, I've decided to teach you how to draft. That's one of the tricks which you can use to your advantage, and with very little effort on your part." supplied Doc, his eyes twinkling.
"I've never had to draft before." said Lightning, a half-smile plastered on his face.
"That's when you had first entered the field and set the bar, Lightning. Now, you're old." exclaimed Doc, with a smile.
"The faster you go, the more likely it will be to end in the tulips." reaffirmed Doc with a chuckle, trying to bring back the pleasant atmosphere.
Doc was ready to force some advice into Lightning's thick head, but along came Mater, with his rusty but perfectly usable and useful hook tailing behind him.
"Hey there, buddy!" called Mater, a giant smile lighting up his face.
"Hey there, Mater. What have you been doing?" asked Lightning. Mater's smile was always contagious, and Lightning found himself smiling, as well.
"I've been helping Miss Sally set up the decoration for Radiator Spring's 80th anniversary." finished Mater, as his eyes glazed over after seeing something in the distance.
Lightning found patches of blue on Mater's person, leading him to wonder whether Mater had always been rusty. Lightning wasn't against rusty vehicles, though.
He couldn't imagine Mater without his rusty decor, however. It was as though the rustiness was a part of him. The funny part is, it probably was.
Lightning tried as hard as he could, but he could not imagine Mater in fresh baby blue paint, a jet black hook and without any dents.
Lightning wondered whether Mater thought the same as well, and his voice faltered as he tried to breach what he thought would have been a sensitive topic for Mater.
"Hey, Mater?" asked Lightning.
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever wanted to get your original paint job back?" asked Lightning, his voice ending in a whisper at the end.
"Not really. The process of losing paint was gradual. A scratch here, a scrape there, and before I could realize it, I started to rust. I suppose I was thinkin' about it for a while after I rusted, but not anymore." responded Mater.
Mater just continued speaking in his usual tone, and Lightning relaxed, understanding that Mater wasn't offended, and thanked Mater for telling him without asking too many questions.
He looked in the distance, and saw Interstate 40 and a large part of the South American landscape and countryside. The beauty of it never ceased to amaze him.
It was during this time that he didn't notice Doc driving up to him.
"Are ye done sightseeing, boy? With how your day was going, I thought it'd be fine if I gave you a break. That's not an excuse for you to waste the rest of it." continued Doc, annoyance lacing his speech.
"Aw, come on Doc! Cut me some slack." whined Lightning, digging his tires into the dirt in protest.
"As though I haven't been doing so, already." thought Doc, as he sighed internally.
"Back to the point we were discussing earlier, Lightnin'. You need to learn drafting and get an edge over the others before they can get an edge over you." stated Doc, firmly.
"I thought we went over this, Doc. I don't want to draft. It isn't necessary. I'll take care of it when the time and need arise." hissed Lightning, clearly enunciating each word.
"That's just the thing, boy! At this stage in your racing career, you never know which race may be your last! Wrecking or losing one race is all it takes for all the years of confidence to blow away. Just one race. You might end up hurting yourself more than you ever knew." snapped Doc, as smoke fumed out of his exhausts.
"You might end up hurting yourself more than you ever knew. Hmmm. Where have I heard that before?" stated Lightning, as he pretended to ponder upon what Doc had said.
"Oh, yeah! Maybe it was in 1954. The time the Hudson Hornet could still race." finished Lightning angrily, his expression mirroring that of Doc's.
"This isn't about me!" exclaimed Doc, as he tried hard to keep his anger under check.
"Oh, yeah? Trying to turn me into a carbon copy of your eminence?" asked Lightning, sarcastically. Even as the words escaped his mouth, he knew that it was the wrong thing to say.
That was the last straw for Doc.
"I'M JUST TRYING TO PREVENT YOU FROM SHARING MY FATE THAT PUT ME OUT OF THE GAME FOREVER." screamed Doc, with pain and anger that Lightning hadn't seen the likes of.
Lightning was temporarily out of words, as a concerned look filled his face. But, the damage was done.
"IF YOU WANT TO SPIN OUT IN THE INFIELD AND STAY OUT FOR A FEW RACES OR POSSIBLY YOUR ENTIRE LIFE, THEN BE MY GUEST!" roared Doc, as he spun around and drove furiously back to his garage.