Author's Note: If anyone's been wanting longer chapters, this one and the next are the longest ones. Since it was presented as a montage in the movie, that's pretty much the way I wrote it. It also assumes you're familiar with Cars 3, as not every scene is spelled out. Some are in a different order than what's in the film, and some happen in a different way. This is also the other chapter that has a mild swear word in it.

The next morning all of them were gathered right outside Smokey's garage.

"It'll help if you can have someone like a sparring partner, someone you can visualize as Storm," Smokey explained to Lightning. Lightning looked over at Doc.

"Well don't look at me. You know I couldn't even get close to the speed that Storm reaches," Doc looked at Cruz. "But there may be someone here who can."

Cruz looked uneasy. "Who, me? I'm just a trainer, not a racer."

"You sure about that?" Doc replied. "You seemed to enjoy it well enough when we were at the track yesterday. Maybe you've never given yourself a fair shot."

That seemed to stir something within Cruz, and she agreed to be Lightning's 'sparring partner'.

"One more thing," Smokey added. "It would help even more if you looked and sounded more like Storm."

"How do you mean? You want me to lower my voice or something?", asked Cruz.

Smokey laughed. "No, not like that. But with a little tape and a spoiler, we could mimic his design. If we removed your muffler, I bet you'd sound just like him"

"Remove my muffler?" Cruz wasn't certain on that one.

Doc saw what Smokey was going for but didn't want Cruz to feel pressured. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but you can be sure the process would be done right. I've been a doctor for 50 years, and I'm sure Smokey still owns the best damn garage in town."

Cruz thought about it for a minute and agreed. "Well, if it will help Mr. McQueen, then I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"Smokey, let's get to work." Cruz followed Doc and Smokey into the garage.

Smokey was right. When Cruz first revved her engine with the muffler gone, the sound made the walls of Smokey's garage shake. From there, they all went back to the Thomasville Speedway. First order of business was putting Lightning to the test. Giving Cruz a decent head start, Lightning was given 3 laps to pass her. He vehemently protested that one.

Doc understood the exercise but decided to back up his racer. "The kid has a point, Smokey. Are you sure he's up to this?"

"Of course he's not," Smokey responded. "At least not now. But I want to see where he's at and how much work we have to do."

Doc couldn't argue with that logic. Lightning didn't end up catching Cruz and based on his performance, Smokey saw they had a bit of a challenge ahead of them.

"Sneak through that window!" Smokey called out.

Lightning and Cruz were sitting in a field surrounded by a herd of tractors, which took off as soon as Smokey sounded his horn. The two of them were forced to keep up with the herd.

"I should have had him do this a while ago," Doc commented. "There's a herd of tractors not far from where we live. But I guess it never occurred to me to try it."

"Sometimes you need a different perspective to see what's right in front of you," Smokey said, not missing the opportunity to make this a teaching moment for Doc as well. They watched the herd move farther away with Lightning and Cruz still caught up in it. "Think he'll figure out what the point of this is as quickly as you did?"

"I reckon he can. It may not always seem like it, but the kid is sometimes even smarter than he thinks he is."

Smokey had been nice enough to let Doc sleep in his garage, which he always preferred over sleeping in a trailer. That morning he woke up late, no doubt caused by the exertion of the last couple days. He rolled out of Smokey's garage in time to see him & Lightning just returning. Lightning seemed flustered, with bits of hay still stuck to him.

"Mornin'," Doc said to Lightning, who passed by with a grunt. Doc went up to Smokey. "Reflex test?"

"Yep."

"I'm sorry I missed it," Doc replied, with an amused look in his eye.

The next time the whole gang was at the Thomasville Speedway, Smokey had something different in mind. He was out on the track, talking to Cruz when he called out to Doc, who was in the infield. "Alright, Hud, I want you out here!"

Doc went out to where Smokey and Cruz were, wondering if maybe she needed medical attention for some reason. Why else would Smokey be calling for me? Doc thought to himself. "What is it?" He asked when he pulled up to them.

"Did you think you were gonna come all the way out here and just watch?" Smokey answered, with a teasing look. "You're gonna show Lightning how you draft."

Doc was a little surprised. "I'm pretty sure he knows about that trick already."

"I don't doubt it, but when was the last time he did it himself? The kid needs to learn to start looking for different ways of doing things. Cruz already knows what she's supposed to do, so I just need you to do what you're supposed to do." Smokey returned to the infield and joined the others. Lightning looked curious as to why Doc was out there with Cruz instead of him.

"Alright Cruz, get goin'!" Smokey called out to her. Cruz took off with Doc not far behind. For the sake of the demonstration, she wasn't going at her top speed, so it didn't take long for Doc to catch up to her. Soon he was right on her bumper.

Lightning figured out what was going on. "Drafting? I've never had to do that."

"That was when you were the fastest one out there," Smokey responded. "Now you're not."

They continued to watch Cruz and Doc circle the track a little longer before Smokey called them in. Doc was a little out of breath but smiling. "Like two June bugs on a summer night!"

"Don't look so smug, Hud!" Junior called out. "You stole that from me!"

"I think you're just jealous I still got it!" Doc teased. Now that the initial tension he felt was gone, he had to admit it felt good to be with his old friends again. He addressed Lightning "Well kiddo, think you can do it like that?"

"Well sure. I guess I never felt the need to do that before."

Smokey joined in. "If you want to beat Storm, you'll have to focus less on being faster than him and more on being smarter than him."

"Sneak through that window!"

They were back with the tractor herd and this time Lightning and Cruz seemed to catch on. Smokey and Doc watched them weave through the herd, eventually clearing them.

"Looks like he beat you," Smokey observed. "If I remember, it took you 4 or 5 times to finally get past those tractors."

"I told ya the kid was smart," Doc responded. He smiled. Hopefully Lightning was finally starting to find his groove again.

"Now don't give him any hints," Smokey said to Doc. He was giving Lightning another shot at the reflex test. "He's gotta be able to notice things and react on his own."

"Never would have crossed my mind," Doc said innocently.

Once they got going though, Doc felt the need to intervene. "Lightning, watch out!" Doc shouted as he drove along the side. An anchor landed in the path and Lightning swerved out of the way.

"Hey! I said no hints!" Smokey called back.

"You didn't say he'd have giant tires and anchors thrown at him!" Doc shouted. Those were never part of the drill back when he used to do it. "Where the heck did you get an anchor, anyway?"

"Relax, Hud, he's got this! Besides, I'm sure you can fix him if something happens! Are you a doctor or aren't ya?"

That night, all seven of them met at the edge of the nearby woods. Smokey entered the woods first, followed by Lightning, Doc, and Cruz, with River, Louise, and Junior behind them. His intent was to have them race through the woods, which was going to put all their reflexes to the test.

"No lights!" Smokey called out. "Instinct only!"

"Did you guys really train like this back in the day?" Lightning asked Doc.

Doc looked a little embarrassed. "Well, it wasn't always because we were training for a race."

Lightning was still confused. "What do you mean?"

"Let's just say the moon was always shinin' on us," River said as he passed by.

"What?" He still didn't understand.

Lou came up next to them. "If the moon didn't shine…Oh forget it!" She drove off.

"We ran moonshine, dummy!" River called back.

"Doc, you ran moonshine?"

Now Doc was even more embarrassed. "Listen kiddo, do me a favor, and don't tell Sheriff. I've got a reputation to uphold, y'know." With that, Doc shut his lights and took off into the woods.

Doc tried to keep track of where Lightning and Cruz were behind him, but that became impossible. He hadn't done this in decades and had to pay attention to make sure he didn't smash into a tree. But it didn't take long for the technique to come back to him. If someone had told him even a month ago that he'd be back in his hometown racing through the woods, he'd have hauled that car into his office for an evaluation. But now, as he dodged the trees and heard the others whooping and hollering, he felt like he was 20 years younger.

It was nearly time for Lightning to get back on the road. There was just enough time for one more training race before he had to leave. Smokey had him race Cruz several times over the past few days, but he had yet to successfully pass her in three laps. Doc was out on the track, giving Lightning a little pep talk.

"This is it, hotrod. You can do this."

"I don't know, Doc. I still haven't been able to catch her."

"Look, Lightning, you may not realize it, but you've been improving this whole time." Doc tried one more tactic. "Imagine this is that tie-breaker race. You're a lap down, trying to chase down Hicks and Weathers." Then Doc went back to the infield to watch this last race.

For a brief moment, Lightning had it. He had caught up to Cruz and was passing her, but at the last moment she put on another burst of speed and passed him, winning at the last moment. Lightning slowed to a stop and everybody went quiet, except for Cruz who didn't realize at first what had happened. Once she did, she too went silent, and looked uncomfortable. She tried to apologize, but Lightning wasn't paying attention. He looked like the wind had been taken out of his sails. Doc inwardly cringed. It would send them to the Florida 500 on a discouraging note, to say the least.

Mack was urging them to get going, as their time had run out.

"Thanks everyone for the training" Lightning said awkwardly, his mind still reeling from the race.

"Well, Smokey, I guess this is it," Doc said. "I suppose now I can give you all the proper goodbye I should have given you 50 years ago. Thanks for all the help"

"Now that you've come back, there's no sense bein' a stranger, Hud," Smokey replied.

"The same goes for all of you, too. If you ever find yourselves near Radiator Springs, look us up." With that, Doc followed Lightning and Cruz out.

Cruz elected to drive herself to the Florida International Speedway, allowing Doc to share the trailer with Lightning. Doc didn't want Cruz to feel put out, but she insisted. "You are Mr. McQueen's crew chief after all. Besides, it's not that long of a drive."

Smokey, River, Lou, and Junior watched them leave from the speedway entrance. Smokey had a determined look on his face.

"We're going to follow them and see the race, aren't we," Lou said. It was not a question.

"Yep," replied Smokey. "I assume no one's got an objection to that."