To someone who asked, I was listening part of the Cars 2 soundtrack while writing this. It was track 25, the Radiator Springs Grand Prix, and if you start listening it where the * is, it should fit the story pretty well.
Nosebleed: 50s slang for stupid
Tex was true to his word and Lightning did end up seeing Thomasville at the end of the racing season. Or rather, he was invited to the grand Thomasville reopening race by the end of the racing season.
He immediately sped to Doc's garage, where the Hudson Hornet was reading a similar letter.
"Doc, did you hear?" He burst in. "Tex fixed up the Thomasville Speedway!"
"Yes, I heard," Doc was too deep in thought to scold Lightning for slamming the door open. "I'm being asked to race."
Lightning (and Sheriff who had finally caught up to him to scold him for speeding) were stunned into silence.
"You're going to right?" Lightning asked hopefully. Sheriff leaned forward a little as well, hope swelling inside of him. Doc had still been thinking about it but the look on the rookie and his friend's face made up his mind for him.
"Sure I will."
Lightning whooped and screeched out to go tell Mater.
"Just to show you what real racing is!" Doc called after him. But the kid was long gone and Doc was just left to shake his head in the dust.
Tex had taken quite an interest in Thomasville and had set the ball rolling on a restoration as soon as he arrived back in Dallas.
"It's a cultural legend!" He had told his financial adviser as the poor lady almost had a heart attack, especially after finding out he'd just bought an oil patch from a convicted criminal.
"It was going to be frozen anyway." was his retort to that accusation.
"Are we at least going to have a press opening?" His PR assistant asked.
"Nope," Tex said. "This'll be an historical race, with no need for something like that."
The PR assistant and financial adviser could only look at each other and shake their heads. At least they got paid well to put up with such a wild ride.
No one had been as surprised as Smokey was when he had seen the billionaire only about a month after the carnap incident. He listened through Tex's proposition and after thinking long and hard about it, he finally agreed- under a few conditions.
The Thomasville Speedway obviously wasn't going to be used in any of the current Piston Cup Racers - It was just going to be restored as a historical sight of racing (and that way it was tax deductible as well). Because it was a historic sight, it did mean a lot of pain staking effort was put into making sure the speedway was restored to it's original state. That meant no new lights or fancy gadgets. Life in Thomasville was abuzz with the news, while Radiator Springs and the world remained blissfully ignorant.
Tex didn't even tell Weathers, but the veteran race car had his suspicions, especially when Tex was gone more frequently and came back with a mysterious smile on his face.
Thomasville wasn't the only place that changed for the better. Tex got Deborah's story out of Weathers and arranged a very unique 'sentence' for her as a result of her aiding in a carnapping. After receiving extensive counselling herself, she helped other cars whose children had been in crashes. It would be community service, the billionaire's lawyer had argued. And that way she would be able to be of use to society instead of just being an elderly car in jail that the state had to care for.
"You've really outdone yourself this time," Tex's cousin told him one Saturday when the two were catching up after a rodeo.
The billionaire wasn't so sure about that but it sure felt right to see everything sliding into place as it should. Of course, Dinoco Enterprises had taken a bit of a PR beating for paying 20 billionaire dollars to convicted criminals, but Grem's associates didn't see it that way. That oil field was worth much more money than 20 billionaire - and Axelrod knew it.
Still, all the late nights and intense meetings would pay off. And they did.
It was a sunny autumn day in the town of Thomasville. The trees that weren't evergreen created a beautiful yellow, brown and yellow haze between the darker green. It was the perfect day for what had been pegged "The History Day Race." It wasn't the best title but it had stuck once someone had suggested it.
Doc had come early the previous day with the Radiator Springs crew and it was the strangest feeling to be the one travelling for the race instead of being the crew chief. They had bunked in Smokey's house and Mack's trailer. Sally, Mater, Flo and Ramone were with them this time and Lightning dragged Sally and Mater everywhere to show them the smallest little thing.
Sally shook her head at the racer's enthusiasm over the smallest little racing 'monument' but Mater was all ears and couldn't stop saying 'cool' enough. She eventually excused herself to go explore the town with Flo. Mater and Lightning went on with their tour until they reached the infamous bar.
"Hey, Lighting!" A voice called the two friends over. Lightning looked up from the Cotter Pin sign and grinned.
"Bobby! You're here too!"
Turns out a few other cars from the Piston circuit had been invited for the race as well. Not to mention the fact that Thomasville was practically crawling with older cars from the surrounding area. Invitation or not - they showed up.
"Is that..." Junior asked as the four friends drove through the town with Mater tagging along.
"Yeah, looks like it," Cal agreed as an older dirt track legend drove by him.
"Think he's in the race?" Bobby asked.
"I hope so," Cal said excitedly.
"Any way for us to see the roster?" Junior glanced down at the track as if expecting to see it posted.
"Not that I know of," Lightning shrugged. "Unless Cal here can take a look at it for us."
"Ha ha, very funny guys," Cal muttered. "I already tried but Tex is guarding that thing like some sort of national treasure."
"Hey look!" Bobby called out. An older car with number 19 on his side was talking with Lou. The other cars followed.
"Isn't that the car you replaced when he retired?" Junior asked.
"Yeah," Bobby said. "I'm gonna go say hi."
"Go ahead," Lightning called. "We're going to get good seats at the Speedway."
The 50-lap race was due to start at 11 that morning, but it was clearly going to be an all day event. Tex and Smokey were sure to arrange accommodation and traffic flow as well as security. Two hours before the race all of the cars that had been asked to race had checked in and the small town was abuzz with traffic. Having predicted the national interest in the event, Tex had a few cameras set up around the Speedway in order to live stream the event... Now that wasn't exactly tax deducible, but so far over 2 million cars were streaming.
Lightning found Sally already waiting for them and scooted next to her. Mater stood next to him, then Bobby, Junior and Cal. Lynda drove up next to her nephew.
"Mind if I sit with you boys?" She asked with a smile.
There was a chorus of 'no, not at all's' and so she joined them.
"Where's Uncle Strip?" Cal asked curiously, expecting to see his uncle beside her.
"You'll see soon enough," Lynda smiled softly.
In the middle of the field the racers and their crew chiefs, if they had any, were starting to gather. Smokey and Doc stood side by side, watching cars fill up the stands that had stood empty for so long.
"Well, Hud," Smokey finally broke the silence. "You make sure none of those young 'uns pass you."
"They could have put me last and I'd still come first," Doc said. It truly was a veterans race. Old veterans and new veterans alike. The numbers on the starting line were picked at random but it had been unanimously agreed that the Fabulous Hudson Hornet would go in front. It was his track after all.
The old sound system were operated by non other than Darrell and Bob.
"Ladies and gentlecars," Bob said from his position in the box. His voice crackled over the newly restored but still old-fashioned loud speakers. "Welcome to the 'History Day Race' here at Thomasville. It's almost time for the race to begin so if everyone could find their seats the racers can get to their starting lines."
"You better get going," Smokey nodded towards the line. Doc nodded and turned to go there.
"Hey, Hud," he stopped and turned back. "Be careful out there."
Doc grinned and took the starting line. He honesty had no idea who he was going to be racing against and so looked around him in interest as younger veteran racers positioned themselves on the starting line.
"Aw, now why'd you get to be in front?"
Then there were also the older, more quippy racers. Doc cast a glare towards Moon.
"Cause his name is on the board, nosebleed," Lou shot back.
Doc grinned.
"You comfortable back there," he called back to Moon. The grumpy Doc was taking a step back and the overconfident, little cocky Hud was coming back.
"Now don't get cocky, Hud!" River called out from fifth.
"Good," Doc said, as if River had said yes. "Cause that's where all of you're staying."
"Is that so?" Doc glanced at the car who had just slid into third. Strip Weathers looked right at home back in his racing tires.
"Huh," he grunted. "King of asphalt about to try and invade the dirt?"
"King of asphalt huh?" Strip glanced between the old timers.
"You're a long way from home," River said, digging his tires into the dirt.
"Well, I've been practicing," Weathers followed suit. "And besides, I've got all you old folks to show me how it's done."
A chorus of oohs and chortles of laughter and even cheers from the younger veterans echoed across the line. Doc himself couldn't help but grin.
"You just earned yourself a place in the dust," Lou warned. Doc dug his tires into the dirt track. The Lightyears felt good after so long, as if he had never stopped wearing them. He risked a glance at McQueen on his right who was beaming at him. Then he glanced to his left where Smokey was nodding with absolute confidence in him. This race was going to be about skill - not about speed. He could win this.
The track fell into hushed silence as Bob called for order. Doc's eyes narrowed as he glanced across the track. River sniffed, nose scrunched up in anticipation. Moon's teeth gritted. Strip forced himself to relax.
The flag was raised.
The whole speedway was quiet.
The flag dropped.
*Clutches were released and dirt went flying as 16 race cars sprang forward from the starting line. Smokey watched with his engine in his mouth as Lou tore inside, almost getting in the way of Doc's optimal line. Weathers was faster and cut her off but Doc took the corner at a drift while the light blue race car was forced to slow down or risk sliding out of control. The race leveled out as Moon battled against a younger veteran and River slid into the drifts more for the sake of doing them then for getting ahead. But while everyone battled and dodged and swerved and took gaps, the Fabulous Hudson Hornet held the lead, absolutely refusing to be rivaled on his own track.
The old stadium was filled with cheers from the crowd and Darrell and Bob could barely be heard over the speakers. The track was alive in colour and vibrant in sound.
High above the race, at an angle where he could see most of the track, a Silver Aston Martin was watching with a small smile on his face. His gaze slid left as he heard someone roll up to him.
"I knew you'd come," he said as Rod Redline joined him next to the Fabulous Hudson Hornet signed.
"Kid brother, remember," Rod nodded towards Bobby who was cheering number 19 on.
"Of course."
Finn let the silence settle between them for another lap.
"So, Grem's in jail then?" Rod finally asked.
"Yes," Finn replied. "In Germany I believe."
"And Acer?"
"All of Axelrod's inner circle are incarcerated, Rod," Finn said earnestly, looking towards his friend. "It's over."
He watched as the closure settled over Rod. He finally nodded.
"So, are we even then?" Finn asked to lighten the mode. Rod shot him an amused side ways look.
"Yeah," he finally nodded. "We're even."
Loud cheering drew the attention of both spies back to the track. One of the younger veterans had just drifted past the older ones.
"You gonna stay for the whole thing?" Rod asked Finn.
"Yes," Finn replied. "I'm due a vacation."
And after three long days of trailing and apprehending Grem accompanied with the long months afterwards where evidence needed to be gather, processed and presented, wasn't this just the perfect spot for some time off...
Finn was starting to see why that billionaire liked this place so much. Rich history, good company, excellent scenery... and the best moonshine this side of the Mississippi.
Because Cars 3 showed me that Tex Dinoco's purpose in life is just to fix everything by throwing money at it.
Well, that's the final chapter and I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, PMed, favourited and followed, including the guests. Kudos to anyone who got the hint in chapter 6 about which racer is Redline's brother. Bobby's number is 19... Rod came out of house 19.
This is my first published story that's officially complete but I have some ideas in the humanized department so stay tuned for that if interested!
