A few days had passed since Boost's attempt at suicide. The group had been keeping a close watch on him, but he hadn't made any more attempts. DJ had reminded him up on the cliff that his late mother would have been very sad if her son had taken his own life. However, Boost remained withdrawn and moody.
It was morning in Radiator Springs. As usual, Sarge's Reveille, followed by Fillmore's Hendrix, could be heard echoing through the town.
"Will you turn that disrespectful stuff OFF?!" Sarge yelled at his hippie neighbor.
"Respect the classics, man!" Fillmore shot back.
Inside the garage, the tuners began to stir. Snot Rod narrowly opened his eyes.
"Do we hafta hear that every morning?" he pondered sleepily.
"Mmmm hmmm," Drewster mumbled, still asleep.
Wingo, who had been up already, burst into the room. "Coffee's ready!!" he loudly announced.
DJ opened an eye. "Didya drink it all, already?" he asked as he watched Wingo flit around the room.
"C'mon, guys! Get up!" Wingo said, excitedly. "We get to race at Willys Butte today!!"
"Whose butt, now?" Drewster asked, barely awake.
"Ahahahahahaha!!" Wingo laughed and smacked her. "Yo is funny!"
"Owwww!" Drewster groaned. "Okay, chill! I'm awake."
Snot Rod drove over to Boost and poked him. Boost cracked open an eye.
"C'mon, Boostie," Snot Rod coaxed. "Let's go."
"Whatever…," Boost grumbled.
The five cars headed over to Flo's for breakfast, excited about the day's activities. Boost, however, was apathetic and moped along behind the group.
"Morning, y'all!" greeted Flo. "The usual?"
They nodded and were served their quarts of oil by the Mazda twins, Mia and Tia. They also got full tanks of gasoline. Doc and McQueen pulled up.
"Morning, kids!" Doc said cheerfully.
"Morning, Doc," the tuners replied. "Hey, McQueen!"
"Hi, guys! Looking forward to racing lessons?" he asked.
"You bet!" Drewster replied. "Can't wait!"
Doc, McQueen, and the tuners headed out to Willys Butte, where Doc was going to teach them dirt racing. Boost lagged behind, lost in his own world. DJ tried to coax him to join in, but to no avail.
"He just don't have his fuel pump in this," Wingo said.
"Don't push him, kids," Doc advised. "He'll be ready when he's ready."
Snot Rod, Drewster and Wingo excitedly lined up on the track with McQueen. DJ hung back with Boost.
"You don't hafta do this," DJ told him. "You can hang out and watch us."
"Yeah, okay," Boost said flatly. DJ gave him a friendly nudge, then joined the others on the track.
"Okay, kids," Doc began. "Today, we're going to work on drifting…."
"I know how to do that!" Wingo interrupted, bouncing around.
"No," Snot Rod said. "You don't…."
"Yes!" Wingo taunted. " I DO too!"
"Kids, pay attention," Doc instructed them. "This is dirt, so the technique is diff…."
"Hey, Snot-face, watch THIS!" Wingo said, paying no attention to Doc. He took off, missed the turn, and ended up over the side in the cactus. The rest of the group drove over to check on him.
"Oh, dear," Doc sighed.
"Yo, Wingo!" DJ called, looking over the edge. "You okay?"
"I TOLD you," Snot Rod chided. Drewster giggled.
"Shaddup, guys!" Wingo hissed. "Get me outta here!"
"I'll go get Mater," McQueen said, trying not to laugh, and drove off. A short while later, he returned with Mater, who towed Wingo out of the prickly pear patch. Wingo pouted, his ego visibly bruised.
"That's what happens when you get too excited!" Doc scolded Wingo. "Now let's learn the proper technique."
The racers practiced dirt track drifting. They all did remarkably well, including Wingo, who was an expert on asphalt. The real surprise came with Snot Rod, who mastered drifting by far the best of the four, considering he was made for drag racing.
"Hey, guys. That was pretty good," McQueen said. "What say we have a real race?"
"Hmmm. That might be fun," said Doc. "I'll get Luigi and Guido to help me organize one for tomorrow."
"What about Boost?" Wingo asked and looked over to where Boost was parked. Boost was staring blankly off into space.
McQueen squinted at Boost. "What about him?" he said. "He's welcome to watch."
"We need a prize," Doc said and pondered for a minute. "How about a set of fancy spinners from Luigi's store?"
The tuners' eyes widened and they looked at one another and McQueen.
"Cool!" DJ exclaimed.
"I'm thirsty," McQueen said. "Let's go get something to drink. I know a cool place. Follow me."
"Hey, Boost!" Drewster called to him. "You comin'?"
Boost slowly pulled up to the group, staring at the ground.
"I'm buying," McQueen offered, trying to get Boost more enthused.
"Yeah…," Boost said quietly. "Okay."
McQueen led the racers to a popular little pub in town, called the Foggy Windshield, for a round of ethanol. Boost trailed along behind the rest of the group, silent.
--
At the Foggy Windshield, McQueen and the tuners became friends. They had managed to get Boost to join in a little, but were careful not to let him drink too much.
"So, McQueen…," DJ began.
"Hey, call me Lightning," McQueen said.
"Okay, Lightning," DJ continued. "How'd you end up here?"
"Yeah, a race car and all," Wingo added.
"It's kinda funny," McQueen laughed. "You wouldn't believe it!"
"Try us!" Drewster said and winked.
"Well, I was on my way to California for a tie-breaker race…," McQueen related how he and his driver, Mack, got separated on the interstate. Neither he nor the tuners realized that they were responsible for the mishap.
"I was speeding through town," McQueen continued, "and Sheriff began chasing me. I freaked out and kinda wrecked the town. Next thing I know, I have to re-pave the road."
"Yeah, that's what happened to us," DJ stated.
"I know," McQueen said. "I felt your pain! Hey, Drewster, you weren't part of the gang at first. How did you get here?"
"It's like this," Drewster replied. "I was kinda running away. I was in trouble back in L.A. for illegal street racing."
"One of us, yo!" Wingo interjected.
"I just started driving down Route 66," she continued, giving Wingo a kick. "I stopped here to refuel, then I met the boys here, and, well, here I am!"
"I dunno if we're really welcome here," DJ remarked and shrugged.
"I wasn't at first, either," McQueen said. "But these folks are kind and have big hearts. Look at how well they've cared for Boost."
"Yeah…," Boost said quietly, sipping his ethanol and staring off into space.
The group looked at him sympathetically. DJ gave Boost a friendly pat and the cars continued to exchange stories well into the evening.