Speed Racer: The Stunt Car Grand Prix (Part 1)
[Intro Music]
Chapter I: The Meeting
A month after the Snow Cap Derby, Speed, Pops, and Sparky all sat around a table in the Racer family's garage, the all new Mach 5-X sitting in the background. The old-school Le Mans clock on the wall, audibly ticking away as each man collected their emotions and thoughts, Speed had his elbows on the table, hands clasped together in front of his mouth, contemplating the best thing to say and Pops was doing the same. Sparky was resting his head in his hand as the young mechanic and engineer-in-training was awaiting a response from one of the Racers.
Speed looked over to Pops, "How bad is the situation?"
"The rebuild of the Mach 5 has us almost bankrupt, we have had to use much of your winnings towards maintenance and repairs. I've hardly had enough to pay You, Sparky and Trixie."
"But you had the money to build that?" Speed pointed to the Mach 5-X.
"No."
"So what you're saying is that we're in debt? What about that spiel about the 'ultimate racing machine' that you gave me?"
"I—I was trying to persuade you, Speed. I didn't think that it would take this much persuading, to be honest."
"How much is the purse for winning?"
"One-Hundred-Million." Pops answered. All of their eyes widened as each man looked towards the Mach 5-X. The winnings from the Diamond Super Prix would surely put them in the green forever.
"This was my fault to begin with… if I didn't wreck the Mach 5, forcing Pops and Sparky to rebuild from scratch, we wouldn't be here." Speed thought.
"I hope Speed doesn't think I'm guilt tripping him… but this race is necessary for us after the Mach 5's rebuild and especially after its extensive repairs from the last race in Africa." Pops worried.
"Please do the race, Speed. I can't keep taking pay cuts and working harder to keep the Mach 5 in-shape… I don't want to leave the GO Team or Mifune Motors..." Sparky pondered, a drop of sweat rolling down his face.
Speed closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking back at the Mach 5-X then to Pops and Sparky, "Fine. I'll do it." He answered.
Pops slowly got up from his seat, "Thank you, Speed. We'll proceed with planning tomorrow, first thing in the morning, you too, Sparky."
"Okay, Pops. I'll be here, don't you worry." Sparky replied as Pops left into the house, Sparky looked over at his friend, "What's the matter, Speed? I'm just as surprised as Pops that you weren't all over this race."
"It's because of the car, Sparky."
"I'm not sure what you mean by that."
"We're small time, Sparky. A small team, and a small company. That car is perhaps the most advanced ever conceived and is surely the most advanced ever created and what for? One race? It's a one-off, it was built for a race that will probably be only run once a year or perhaps never again, and everyone assumed I'd be all into without knowing anything about it. That's expensive, too expensive."
"But the money…"
"I get where Pops is coming from, but it would've been great to know first. Even worse I feel like I'm at fault for all of this, I basically destroyed the Mach 5, forced your guys' hands. This race… that car has become my responsibility…" Speed got up from his seat, "…I'll see you tomorrow, Sparky. Yeah?"
"Yeah… sure thing, Speed."
Chapter II: Preparation
Pops' flatbed was parked outside of the garage, ready to pick up the Mach 5-X and take it to Thunderhead for some light training around a track Speed was very familiar with. Speed pulled on his brown-mustard leather driving gloves and grabbed the car, leaping into its center-mounted seat, he looked upon the steering wheel and was immediately confused, there weren't the seven buttons like on the Mach 5, there were buttons, dials, and switches and there wasn't a clutch or a stick to shift with. "Uhhh, Pops? How do I turn this thing on?"
"Oh! Sorry, Speed, that's some new technology, I'll explain… Sparky, come over here and start the car!" Pops called as he walked over to the cockpit. "Watch, Speed." He said before standing back.
Sparky took a motorized crank and stuck it in the rear-underside of the Mach 5-X, connecting it to the engine, the crank went faster and faster as lights popped up on the Mach 5-X's rectangular steering wheel, "Hit the G-Button, Speed!" Sparky called.
"Here it goes!" Speed called back, pressing the G-Button, still situated I the middle of the wheel, the car rumbled and roared to life, spitting out flames from the yellow-painted rectangular vents on the side of the car, Speed's heart jumped and began to race as Sparky took the crank out of the car. Pops and Sparky went behind the car and pushed it onto the flatbed, Pops remained with Speed as Sparky raised the bed horizontally on the car, Pops reached in and grabbed a ring where the wheel was connected to the steering shaft and pulled it, turning off the car and disconnecting the steering wheel. "Golly…" Speed exhaled.
"Intense, huh?" Pops said, taking the starter crank from Sparky and strapping it to the flatbed, "Let's go in the truck, Speed. All will be explained when we meet up with Trixie."
Only a few minutes later, Trixie waited next to her yellow Mercedes drop top next to their usual garage as the flatbed pulled in, "Wow…" she thought to herself, never having seen the Mach 5-X in person before. As Pops and Sparky unloaded the insane machine, Trixie went to the trunk of her car and waved to Speed, "Hey, Speed! Over here, I've got something for you!"
"Hmm? What is it?" Speed asked as he walked over as Trixie pulled out a bundle of clothes, she unraveled it, revealing a white and blue one-piece racing suit, the collar was colored red, a golden "G" was emblazoned on the left side over the chest and on the right there was the signature red "M". "Whoa, this is great, Trixie!" Speed thanked.
"Oh, that's not all, I also got you these white pilot shoes and these gloves and socks…" Trixie pulled out a pair of mustard-yellow gloves and red socks, "...they're all made out of something called 'Nomex' state-of-the-art fireproof stuff!"
"Trixie… where'd you afford all of this gear? It had to have been a fortune!"
"Leave that for me to worry about..." Trixie pushed the new gear into Speed's arms, "...go ahead! Try them on!" she pushed Speed towards the dressing room.
Pops and Sparky pushed the Mach 5-X into the pit box and they continued to set up their garage, making sure they had enough of everything for the day, "Trixie, did you remember the new helmet?" Pops asked.
"Yep! I was just waiting for him to get dressed." Trixie grabbed a white and blue duffle bag.
"Now where'd you get that?!" Sparky asked.
"Oh, I made the bag myself." Trixie smiled proudly as the door to the garage unlocked and out-stepped Speed in his new racing gear.
"Alright! Now you look like a pro!" Sparky said as speed walked over.
"Where do I put these?" Speed said, Trixie took his clothes and put them in the bag, but pulled out another smaller bag that had "Speed Racer" neatly stitched in red string. "What…" Speed unzipped the bag to find a bizarre helmet, pretty much the exact opposite from the one he wore normally. It was still open-face, but the front was angular and came to a sharp tip with a red "M" painted onto it, the rest of the helmet was white with red designs around it but most bizarre of all was its wrap-around green visor. "...gee, what is it? My birthday or something?" Speed said surrounded by all of this really nice, new gear.
"This is everything you'll need to win the race, Speed. The helmet is so sharp because even the drivers need to be aerodynamic in this race." Pops informed.
"The car's ready, Speed! Hop in!"
"Okay…" Speed sank into the cockpit of the car, Trixie helped Speed with the new safety harnesses as Pops filled him in.
"Okay, Speed. You were confused about the steering wheel, most of these buttons and dials you won't need to worry about, Sparky and I will set them before the race. But as you may have noticed, some features from the Mach 5 remain, most importantly the Deflector, in-case of a really bad crash. The auto-jacks are different, in this car, the side-mounted exhausts will blast you in the air and mini-wings will deploy to help you get over gaps or avoid crashes, in this car, they're called 'aero-jacks'. The grip tires are still here and work the same way as well. If we need you to change any of the dials during the race, I will let you know. Now, be careful, this is now the most powerful car ever made so take it slow." Pops said, handing Speed the steering wheel.
Speed connected the wheel to the shaft before looking at Pops, "Hey, you forgot to tell me how the gears work!"
"Oh! Right. Behind the steering wheel, there are four paddles, two small ones, and two big ones. When Sparky starts the car, it'll be in neutral, all you have to do is hold the two small paddles, that's your clutch. Once holding them, the car will automatically switch into first gear. Match the revs and let go of the small paddles and you're good to go! The big paddles are upshift and downshift, it's super-fast and easy."
Speed gave a sigh of relief, "Alright, good to know. I'm ready." he informed.
Pops stood back and gave everyone ear protection, Sparky grabbed the crank and stood by, "Start her up, Sparky!" Pops ordered.
Sparky gave a thumbs up and put in the crank, turning the engine over, "Now, Speed!"
"Alright, here it goes!" Speed pressed the "G" Button and the car roared back to life. Speed pressed on the break, pressed the clutch paddles, and pressed on the gas, letting the revs build higher and higher and when Speed felt the car hit its sweet spot, he let go of the clutch, stepped off of the brake and unleashed the Mach 5-X on Thunderhead's hallowed tarmac! The car caught the road and launched like a jet being flung from an aircraft carrier! "Oh my God!" Speed thought as he was pushed further into his seat, pressing on the right paddle to shift up and up again as he took the first turn flat out, he shifted up into fourth and then fifth, the engine felt it was going to go forever as he broke for turn 2, every response was immediate. "This is insanity!" he thought as he went around the hairpin. The car wouldn't fuss or slide around the track, it was as if it was a part of the racing surface as Speed approached the last banked turns where he was really able to unleash the Mach 5-X's power fifth gear, sixth, seventh… "It just keeps going!" he thought as he blazed across the finish line at speeds in excess of 230 miles per hour as he went in for his first timed lap!
"It's incredible!" Trixie exclaimed.
"Mmhmm…" Pops nodded, grinning with his arms folded, "...the Mach 5-X is easily my magnum opus, I'm not sure I could imagine something more extreme if I tried."
"This is next level…" Speed thought as he made his way around the course even faster than before, only using his brakes on the entry of the hairpin, going back into the power a little before the middle of the turn and shooting out of the exit! Again he never stepped foot on the brakes as he entered the banked turn as 250mph became 260 as he exited the turn!
"Holy crap, here he comes!" Sparky shouted.
"Language, Sparky!" Pops scolded.
"Sorry Pops, but seriously…" Speed crossed the line as Sparky clicked his stopwatch, "...I don't think this track record is ever gonna be beaten!" Sparky wrote the time down on a notepad and showed it to Pops.
"One Minute on the dot!" Pops shouted in disbelief.
"The perfect lap!" Trixie cheered as Speed made his way back around the track and into the pits, the GO Team surrounded the car, Speed put the car into neutral as the Mach 5-X was pushed back into the garage.
Pops leaned into the cockpit and disconnected the wheel, turning off the car, "That was amazing, Speed! How'd you feel out there?"
Speed took off his helmet as Trixie undid the harness, "I've never felt anything like it, Pops! The car didn't slide or lock up… nothing went wrong out there, I could go flat out through most of the track!"
"How fast were you going when you finished your timed lap?" Sparky asked.
"Oh… it had to be around 265, why?"
"You set the lap record at one minute flat! Now you set the speed record too!"
"It was amazing to watch, Speed. I think you'll do great in the race." Trixie said as a group of suited men walked into the garage.
"I think so, too!" one of the men said, he wore half-framed glasses as a grey/silver three-piece suit, the buttons made of diamonds.
"Mr. Diamond!" Pops exclaimed, rubbing his hands off on a clean rag and rushing up to meet him, "I'm honored to meet you, sir."
Sal Diamond shook Pops' hand, "Likewise, Mr. Racer. I see your team has been testing your Super Prix car."
"That's right and you can call me Pops, this is my mechanic, Sparky, our rally navigator, Trixie, and…"
"Speed Racer, the resident World Champion!" Mr. Diamond announced as he shook Speed's hand, as Speed left the Mach 5-X's cockpit.
"I'm pleased to meet you, sir."
"The honor is mine, Speed. Tell me, how does a Super Prix car feel around an average race track?"
Speed sat on a folding chair, wiping his brow with a cold cloth, "It makes it feel like I'm driving a Formula 1 on a Go-Kart circuit. Honestly, I'm not surprised we broke every record in one lap, I hardly had to lift."
"That's what I like to hear!" Mr. Diamond laughed.
"If you don't mind me asking, how come you made your way here to our little test track?" Pops inquired.
"I've come to take your team and car to the Diamond Super Prix circuit!"
"Really? We were going to drive downstate to the track."
"Don't worry, your trip to LA is on me. I've got a helicopter big enough to fit your car. What do you call it?"
"The Mach 5-X." Pops announced proudly.
"Excellent!" Diamond responded, "Now, Pops and Sparky, as the team's engineer and mechanic, could you accompany my men as they load the Mach 5-X? I will take Speed and Ms. Trixie to the on-site hotel."
"There's an on-site hotel? That sounds wonderful." Trixie said.
"Yeah, that's pretty groovy, Mr. Diamond. But, what about extra clothes?" Speed asked.
Diamond chuckled, "No need to worry about those, we'll take care of it."
Speed and Trixie looked at each other and shrugged as Pops handed Speed his duffle bag, "Don't forget this son, you two behave."
"We will, Pops." Speed said as he and Trixie followed Mr. Diamond to his helicopter that was waiting atop Thunderhead's main complex.
Chapter III: First Class
The helicopter rotors chopped through the air as the group was flown to LA, "We'll arrive soon, you two so I'm going to tell you about the plan we have for you when we land."
"Plan?" Speed asked.
"Indeed. Once we land, my assistant will take your sizes and bring you some casual wear, you know, a little something to advertise the race and the idea of the Super Prix."
"Understandable." Trixie said.
"You will then have a little tour of our on and off-track facilities and finally be shown your room where your new complementary clothes will be waiting for you."
"That sounds amazing, Mr. Diamond. Thank you for this opportunity." Speed said.
"You can thank me by putting on a great race, Speed." Diamond replied.
"You won't have to worry about that." Speed ensured.
Mr. Diamond laughed, "I suppose not!"
"We are now over Diamond Super Circuit." The pilot announced as they went over to the window.
"Oh wow." Speed blurted in awe of the track that was so complex that he couldn't wrap his head around it at any angle. There were loops, raises, dips, and corkscrews, the track was bizarre, abstract, and Speed couldn't wait to drive on it.
"I can tell that you're itching to race the Mach 5-X on it."
"I am, sir. I'm gonna be out there as soon as it's open for practice!"
"Very good, Speed!" Mr. Diamond smiled as the helicopter landed on its pad atop the hotel situated outside of the track, "Come, let's get your measurements and tour done with!" Mr. Diamond led them downstairs and to the penthouse area, "This is my penthouse, welcome!" The penthouse had a single huge window looking out at the track, an indoor pool, and a large space used for lounging and parties, Speed and Trixie looked in awe as a woman wearing a silver dress with diamond buttons walked up to them.
"Hello, Mr. Diamond."
"Ah, yes. Hello, Patty! Speed, Trixie, this is my assistant, Patty."
"Pleased to meet you." Speed and Trixie greeted, shaking her hand as she took a soft tape measure.
"I am honored. Now, I shall take your measurements, we have much to do today!" Patty rushed as she measured both Speed and Trixie.
"Wow, this is really the star treatment." Trixie commented.
"First class as always, my dear. Nothing wrong with being excessive when you have enough money for yourself and those you help." Mr. Diamond replied.
"Done! Your new clothes will be in your room when you finish your tour" Patty announced before quickly scurrying away.
"She's quite the busy body." Speed said.
"She's the best personal assistant in the world." Mr. Diamond said before leading the two to an elevator that took them to the ground floor, "This is the lobby. From here you can get access to the pool out back and even to the shuttle leading to the track." The tour continues as he led them up some stairs, "We even have a small diner, bar, and a bowling alley on the second floor, and a 5-Star Restaurant where all teams and drivers will meet for a complimentary dinner tonight before the race on Sunday."
As they were finishing up their tour, Speed and Trixie saw a familiar face walking through the lobby, "Lovelace!" Speed called out.
"Hey, Speed! Hey, Trixie!" the two groups joined in the middle of the lobby. "Speed, Trixie, this is my father, Johan Goldminter."
"Pleased to meet you again, Mr. Goldminter." Speed greeted.
"An interesting fact, Speed, Mr. Goldminter is the top investor in the Diamond Super Circuit and Hotel." Mr. Diamond pointed out.
"Whoa, so this is a really tightly-knit deal, huh?"
"Indeed it is, Speed. Well, Johan is here because he and I have some business to talk about, Patty should be here really soon to bring you to your rooms."
Speed and Trixie nodded, "Alright."
"Stay here, Lovelace, I'll be back in a moment." Johan said as he and Mr. Diamond went into an elevator.
Chapter IV: The Newest Most Secret Plan
The elevator went down to a sublevel with Sal and Johan inside, "Nice to see Lovelace is joining." Sal said.
"Of course! She loves racing and as long as I have the funds, she'll continue racing. Especially after winning in Africa."
"But now to business, Johan. We need to stop Mifune Motors and the GO Team."
"Remind me why we're doing this again." The elevator doors opened to a large control room with screens and keyboards, switches and levers, each screen was pointing at very specific parts of the track.
"Mifune Motors is standing in the way. They keep proving time and time again that an independent team can rise to the challenge of big companies. Big companies with so much money and yet a car and engine designed by one man, and built by that one man with the assistance of some grease monkey kid manages to take teams like Ferrari, Mercedes, Ford, Lotus, Porsche, etc. and hand them their asses! Not only that, but some eighteen-year-old kid can beat the likes of legends like Racer X and Captain Terror's entire Car Acrobatic Team! How is that possible?!"
"I believe he's nineteen now."
"I don't care! The point is he must be cheating! It's ruining motorsport as we know it!"
"But where's the proof?"
"There isn't any. Not yet."
"You mean to tell me that you tried to kill the boy over a hunch?!"
Diamond walked over to a console and pressed a button, and a large barricade lifted from the track, "Yes, and I'll try again, too! I have several traps, tricks, and obstacles hidden around the track to stop the Mach 5-X!"
"You're wacky!"
"No!" Diamond slammed the console, causing Mr. Goldminter to jump a little bit, "I'm trying to save this sport! Silver and Bronze are with me, why can't you be?"
"Because Speed Racer is a good young man, you just have to know him better… hey… where are Silver and Bronze anyway?"
Diamond cackled, "Why they're in the race tomorrow and they'll be ready to out-cheat the GO Team to put their cheating ways to rest! Why? Why aren't you with me like you were before?!"
"Because before I was sure he was cheating! After winning the World Championship despite all of the grief he went through, beating the Mammoth Car despite that scandal, defeating our Buzz-Drones and CarZilla in Africa this year… I thought that he must be cheating until I had spies look in on them. They're just an average family aside from all of Speed's misadventures."
"That's just it! Some kid gets into all this trouble and is called a 'hero' by everyone and their grandmother! How does some teen like him find all of these shady people and how does he end up beating them? It makes no sense! He has to be in on everything… the Racer family aren't just cheaters… they're criminals!"
"What?! How can you back up such a claim?"
"Just you wait, Johan… just you wait." Diamond muttered.
Chapter V: Trouble
*ding …ding...ding* sounded a machine in the hotel's driver's only gym room. It had light-up buttons set up on a frame that would light up randomly, Speed stood in front of it and pressed each button that lit up as fast as he could, "This thing is way better than the tennis ball launchers back home." Speed commented on the reflex-testing machine.
"Glad you like it, can we go to our room now?" Trixie pushed.
"Okay, okay." Speed laughed, but as they were about to leave, in walked…"Racer X!" Speed and Trixie exclaimed simultaneously.
Racer X grinned, "Good to see you two again."
"Why're you here?" Speed asked.
"To warn you, Speed."
"Not this again. Listen, Rex, I won the world championship, I've faced gangsters and terrorists, I think I can handle this." Speed folded his arms.
"I'm not worried about the track or the car, Speed. I've been investigating Sal Diamond."
Trixie looked around, "Maybe we should take this to the room, this place is too public to talk about something so sensitive."
"You're right, Trixie. Let's go up to your room." Racer X agreed as the three made their ways up to Speed and Trixie's hotel room.
"Alright, so what's going on?" Speed asked impatiently.
"I've been working closely with Inspector Detector and the CIB. We think Mr. Diamond is up to something."
"I mean, he's been harsh in criticizing me in the past. But everyone has their critics."
"True, even I've had my fair share. But think about it, why would he invite his least favorite driver to this revolutionary kind of race?"
Speed grinned cockily, clasping his hands behind his head, "Well, even the harshest of critics have to see the skill of the one they're criticizing."
"This is turning out to be much more than that, Speed. Don't get a big head."
"Why shouldn't I? So far all of this has been speculation."
"Remember the re-emergence of the Mach 2?"
"That couldn't have been Mr. Diamond! The news said it was a completely different guy!"
"It was Mr. Diamond's plan to stop you at the Grand Prix of Prague, Speed. He was the one that bought the Mach 2 off of the man who bought it off Pops and then sold it off to Clande Shorthand in order to have you injured or killed. But when he failed, he ordered a hit on him. I saw it with my own eyes, there was Trick Idler and this girl there… Wendy was her name. They're a part of the new Three Roses Club and they want you gone for good." Knocks came at the door, "I'll see you later, Speed." Racer X said before opening the door to Pops.
"Rex?!" Racer X went silent as he quickly shuffled past and made his way to the elevator, "Rex..." Pops said quieter before looking to Speed and Trixie, "Why was he here?"
"There's trouble." Speed said.
"Tell me on the way, the track just opened for free practice and Sparky is waiting in our assigned garage with the Mach 5-X." Pops said as the group followed him down to the super circuit.
Chapter VI: FP1
As they reached the entrance to the garages, the few other competitors and their teams stood, waiting for Mr. Diamond to address them; even Sparky was chased out and told to wait. "Hey, what's all this? What's going on, Sparky?" Pops asked confused as he looked at the others also waiting around.
"I dunno, I was just checking if everything on the Mach 5-X was in order and they kicked me out of the garage, looks like they did the same to everyone else!" As Sparky explained this, Mr. Diamond walked to the front to address the teams.
"Alright everyone, settle down and allow me to explain. The reason you were told to wait here was so I could announce a big twist… instead of three free practice sessions, you get only one, as for qualifying, there won't be one, you will be randomly placed on the small grid before the race… good luck." Mr. Diamond said as the garage was unlocked behind him and teams flocked to their cars.
"What's this slapped together rule set? No prep, no drivers meeting?" Speed asked.
"I dunno, Speed. I really wish I could tell ya." Sparky said as Speed rushed to get his fire suit and helmet on as he jumped into the cockpit of the Mach 5-X. "Catch!" Sparky said, tossing the wheel into the cockpit, Speed catching it with one hand and connecting it to the car.
"I got the crank, Sparky!" Pops shouted, putting the crank into the car and starting it up.
"Alright, your harnesses are all set!" Trixie said, quickly stepping back.
"Here I go!" Speed shouted, pressing and holding the G Button, bringing the car to life as he quickly exited the garage, driving out to the track! The acceleration was nearly instant as the Mach 5-X blasted down the straightaway and to the first corner which was a loop which was made to truly show how insane this race was going to be, "I'm not sure I can make that… but I've gotta trust Pops and Sparky." Speed thought as he gunned the Mach 5-X as the car drove up and up until before he knew it, Speed was upside-down and somehow the car was traveling so fast, he didn't fall off! He turned the wheel ever so slightly to make sure he stayed on course, the nose of the car was pointing back down as Speed completed what was only the first turn of the course!
"Holy cow!" Sparky said in awe.
"I'm not even sure how I'm gonna relay information back to Speed, this is insane." Pops added.
"Look!" Trixie pointed as Lovelace, Silver, and Bronze's cars passed by. Their attentions were taken by the other six racers that had just arrived expressing their anger about the mess that was the race weekend.
"Hmm, so it's going to be a very small grid. Only ten drivers are going to be involved." Pops thought aloud.
"It won't be easy though, look!" Sparky pointed to a monitor.
"Here goes nothing." Speed had gone through a slaloming section of the track and was now faced with a huge jump. He stepped on the gas and pressed the A Button, the exhaust panels flashed with flames before becoming jets, blasting the Mach 5-X off the edge of the jump and as the Mach 5-X became airborne, the car deployed glider wings to stabilize it and allow the car to make it an extra-long distance, before the retracted back under the vehicle, allowing the Mach 5-X to land safely on the other side, where a massive banked corner awaited.
"Alright, Speed!" Sparky shouted, pumping his fists as Speed went onto a long corkscrew section that had him driving upside-down in a straight-line for a time before going right-side up again, followed by a spiraling segment that saw Speed driving upward, higher and higher, the track became more flat, forcing Speed to drift out and take the turn almost sideways before coming to the crest of the turn 20 stories up and going along and winding corkscrew.
"Oh man, that's a huge drop!" Speed thought as the Mach 5-X was suddenly driving down a massive incline that dropped him all 20 stories down! The g-force was so incredible, it brought Speed to the very edge of blacking out as the drop evened-out on the ground, having the cars do one last jump before coming onto the main straight and crossing the Start/Finish line! Speed slowed down dramatically and drove to the pits, going right to his garage.
"Speed, are you alright?" Trixie asked, running up to him.
Speed leaned his head back and closed his eyes, "I need some water."
"I'll get it!" Pops said, running to the nearest water cooler and grabbing two cups.
"I wasn't ready for that… I wasn't ready for that at all." Speed said as Mr. Diamond looked on from his screen, spying on the GO Team.
Mr. Diamond rubbed his hands together, chuckling to himself, "Well, well, well. Speed Racer seems to have run out of talent."
"Then he'll definitely have trouble against me." Patty walked up behind him.
"You surely will. You are a very talented actress as well, I'm pleasantly surprised, Wendy."
Wendy smiled, "I'm not much of an assistant, but I'm one hell of a 3 Roses Member, Mr. Diamond."
"That you are, I wonder where that idiot Trick Idler found you. But no matter, prepare for tomorrow's race… you have to be there in case everything goes wrong with Silver and Bronze since Goldminter is out there for herself."
"Of course, boss." Wendy said as Mr. Diamond smiled devilishly, looking out upon his track where the other competitors practiced.
Will Mr. Diamond succeed in destroying Speed Racer and the rest of the GO Team? Will Wendy have to play her part, or will the various traps combined with the malicious Mr. Silver and Mr. Bronze be the end of Speed? Will it all be too much? Find out on the next episode of, Speed Racer!
[Outro Music]
Author's note: Hey everybody, thanks for reading this newest installment of Speed Racer and sorry it took so long to release. I was working on my very first novel, Special Defense Unit, which is now on Amazon in paperback and for Kindle, it's a superhero novel and if superheroes are your thing, I'd be very grateful if you gave it a look. I don't know when the conclusion to this will be, but I'm trying to work with a new schedule since I've recently begun work on my second novel. I'm thinkin' of working on this every Friday as a warm-up and doing work on my novels over the weekend. But we'll see, Stay Tuned for next time, though! Thanks for reading!