He'd never before heard hesitation in Storm's voice but there it was.

"This..." He stood with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "Better not be the track you're looking for..."

Storm was usually so confident, self assured to the point of aggravating. His body language had always been that of lazy boredom like he couldn't be bothered to put forward any more effort than he already was. Now though, Lightning noticed he was incredibly on edge. His back was ramrod straight and his feet planted shoulder width apart. He looked ready to bolt at any moment.

Lightning wasn't exactly comfortable either, he was only doing a better job of hiding it. Maybe that came with age.

No, experience. Life experience. That term at least made him feel better.

He had to agree with Storm on this one, though, and for once he wasn't afraid to openly admit to agreeing with the next-gen racer. This could not be the track he was looking for. He knew that the early days of Piston Cup had been a whole different ball game, that drivers had to be tough, rowdy and unafraid of rough driving. While he could certainly see a younger Doc holding his own and certainly leading the way when Piston Cup was first gaining its feet, but he could not place his mentor in a setting like this. Doc had always been too strategic, calculating and mindful, when it concerned the Hornet.

Thunder Hollow Speedway was no place for that.

He stood beside Jackson and they stared out at the activity surrounding the figure eight track.

Lightning looked down at the folded map page in his hands, brows lowered as he tried to see in the gathering darkness. "This isn't right-"

"You think?"

"-but Mack followed-..."

"Obviously there's something wrong with your map."

"It's from an atlas. It can't be wrong." He couldn't see them turning Thomasville Speedway in to this, though.

"I think it can!" Jackson gestured pointedly to their surroundings.

Wow he really was uncomfortable...

Lightning vaguely listened to the man up in a mock up 'press box' it looked more like a deer stand to him if he were being honest. He couldn't even see Mater fitting in here, which actually had him a little nervous at the thought.

He was startled from those thoughts when he felt a hand grip his shoulder roughly, he looked over toward Jackson, ready to make a smart remark when he realized it wasn't him. A man had come up behind the two and had Jackson's shoulder in a vice grip also.

"Rule number one!" He shouted animatedly, revealing missing and jagged teeth. "Gate closes, you race!"

"What?" Jackson looked to Lightning with wide eyes. "There is no way my car is touching that track!"

"Rule number two: Last car standin' wins!" The man continued without pause. "And rule number three: No cursing. It's Family Night!"

The man slapped their shoulders and left them there as the gates began to close.

They both broke rule three at the same time.

"You gotta let us out, we don't even have cars!"

"Oh honey, we can provide cars!"

Lightning glanced over his shoulder and fought down a wave of panic before shoving Storm forward. "Climb the fence-"

"What?"

"Just climb the fence, Jackson. Now!"

Lightning knew the kid was athletic but he was still surprised at how quickly Jackson was up and over that fence. He winced though, when the treadless sole of the Vans sneakers he wore caused him to slip and land in a large puddle in the gravel lot. Lightning vaguely noted that in different circumstances he'd be laughing, it was like one of those movies where the protagonist was climbing the fence to get away from the junk yard dog that was barking and snapping at their heels. Once his feet hit the ground, he grabbed Jackson under one arm and hefted him up before shoving him toward the truck as they ran.


He stood regaining his breath outside the trailer once they had stopped a safe distance away from the derby track. If he never saw the place again in his life it would be too soon. He glanced up in the gathering evening darkness to see Jackson had yet to change. He stood with the hood of his sweatshirt up as he glowered back at McQueen.

Then, he did something that completely took Lightning by surprise. The corner of his mouth turned up in actual amusement before he huffed.

If that wasn't weird enough, Lightning was completely at a loss when he actually started to laugh.

It wasn't the jeering, fake, laugh he used when goading McQueen, but an honest to goodness laugh that caused his stomach to hurt.

Lightning could only stare for a moment in shock, speechless.

"Your face-" Jackson choked out. "When the gate was closing-"

Lightning smirked, it probably was pretty funny. Jackson's expressions had been fairly amusing.

"I never want to see that place again-"

Shaking his head, Lightning went around the truck to the driver's side window and waited until Mack rolled it down.

"What even was that..."

"I dunno, Boss. The GPS said we were right there."

"Yeah, ok." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, turning his neck either direction to relieve the week's stress. It was only Tuesday...

He looked down the road they'd driven and sighed, there weren't too many markers to get an idea of where they were. He'd left his phone in the trailer so he couldn't use my location.

He huffed and looked up the road ahead of them before narrowing his eyes slightly. The sun was just setting, nearly centered perfectly in the middle of the highway but Lightning was more interested in the run down billboard that was cast in silhouette. He could just make out a familiar outline and walked in to the lane of the highway to get a better look.

Thomasville Speedway

Home of 51 Fabulous Hudson Hornet!

Races Every Weekend! Fastest Racers Every Sunday!

He yelled to Mack without looking away from the old sign with the chipping paint.

"Hey Mack?"

"Yeah, Boss."

"We'll be taking the next left..."


AN: I laughed so hard in the theater when they first arrived to Thunder Hollow. Mostly because there's a 'mudding bog' that gets used twice a year 1/4 mile from my house. As well as another one that's used at the dragstrip track less than five miles from my house, and that one is a nationally recognized track.