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“I am not comin’ in behind you again, old man!”
And with an aggressive jab to the bumper, it happened.
The light blue Plymouth Superbird swerved off the track and flew over the infield turf, its dark brown eyes wide with terror. The car flew for a few seconds before slamming into the dirt, the large spoiler snapping and getting sprayed with dirt and rocks. The blue car flipped continuously, getting more and more dented and dirty as it skid across the dirt. The car’s eyes were closed as it flew, the number ‘43’ on the side getting scraped up and dulled with each crash against the turf. Eventually the car slowed, flipping back upright and skidding to a halt. Its tires were flattened and worn, its pristine blue paint was covered in scratches, dents and dirt, and its spoiler was barely attached.
Gasps and murmurs were heard from around the stadium, the whole audience staring in horror at the terribly bruised and non-moving car.
“Oh no!” Lynda Weathers cried, rolling closer to the window from the viewing deck she and Tex Dinoco were at. Tex’s pale eyes widened, and the spectators and paparazzi around him gasped and gawked at the sight.
Lightning McQueen, who was still smiling and flying towards the finish line, took a deep breath and grinned with pride. This was it. The first rookie ever to win a Piston Cup.
Suddenly, Lightning noticed the stadium had gone strangely quiet and glanced at the large screens in the center of the arena. There sat The King, Strip Weathers, beaten up and motionless. Lightning’s smile vanished in an instant. Without thinking, the rookie instantly slammed his breaks, coming to a screeching halt just a few feet from the finish line. In a few seconds, Chick Hicks flew past him in a flash, a massive grin on his face.
“Yeah! Woo-hoo! I won, baby!” The green car hollered, swerving off to the turf and drifting in circles around with joy. Fans next to the finish line mumbled and exclaimed, perplexed. Lightning thought back to Doc’s crash; the crash that ended his career in an instant. Seeing The King in the same position as his mentor, Lightning knew he had to make things right.
The rookie reversed, driving backwards slowly while the whole stadium watched. He pulled up next to The King with a warm smile while the blue racecar’s engine smoked.
“Y’know, I don’t think a crash would be a fitting end to The King’s career. You oughta finish your last race.” Lightning remarked and bumped Strip Weathers on the side with his tire. The King didn’t move. Lightning frowned. He tapped the car on the side again a few times, but to no response. His breath hitched as he realized this was worse than he realized. The rookie rolled back a bit, still staring at The King. Once he came to his senses, he called out to the spectators closest to him in a panic.
“Someone call the paramedics, now! This is serious!” He yelled, his voice cracking slightly on the word ‘serious.’ Several cars quickly spread out to find the medics as Lightning stayed next to The King, fear plastered on his face.
“Oh my god..” Lynda whispered, staring at her husband in disarray. She shook herself up and turned around towards the door, driving quickly towards the exit of the viewing deck. Tex snapped out of it too and followed The King’s wife as she rushed out of the door. The two cars flew down multiple ramps and hallways to make it to the track.
Doc Hudson, who had seen the whole crash, was already racing towards Lightning and Strip Weathers to help. Lightning’s pit crew all followed close behind, trying to keep up with Doc.
“Mr. The King, wake up!” Lightning urged, shaking the still-smoking car. No reaction. Doc reached the scene and pulled Lightning back, examining the Plymouth’s conditions. The rest of the Radiator Springs folk watched from behind as Doc yelled at the same spectators to hurry up and get the medics. Tex and Lynda finally made it to the track at the same time as the paramedics, who ushered everyone away as a few forklifts started to move The King away.
Lightning and Doc stood next to each other, silent. Lightning frowned deeply and Doc glanced at him.
“You did the right thing, kid. I’m proud of you.” He comforted, nudging against the rookie. Lightning couldn’t help but feel terrible. He didn’t know why, but he just did. Somehow, he felt like this was his fault.
Lynda and Tex stood together a little ways away from McQueen and the Hudson Hornet, Text repeatedly telling Lynda that her husband would be fine. Lynda was softly crying and clenching her eyes and teeth, not bearing to watch the medics take the love of her life away in a hurry. The whole stadium was still quiet. Cars muttered to one another and a few were still silent, but one thing was certain; no one was cheering for Chick Hicks.
~~~
Lightning waited impatiently at the hospital, Doc sitting next to him and reading a magazine. Lynda Weathers and Tex were across from them, whispering softly to each other and still looking worried. The atmosphere was tense.
Chick had won the Piston Cup, but no one had cheered for him. He was given the trophy before being booed off the stage by a bunch of angry fans of The King. It was fitting, really; for causing The King to go through such a terrible crash, Lightning honestly thought he deserved to be banned from ever racing again. This wasn’t the first time Hicks had caused a car to crash so badly, but it was the first time he had done it to such a well-known legend in the racing community.
“Thanks for checkin’ on our boy, Lightnin’.” Tex’s southern voice broke the silence. Lightning looked up at the beige-gold colored billionaire, who was smiling warmly at the clearly nervous rookie.
“Yeah, I, uh.. It didn’t feel right to not do something. Nobody’s career should end like that.” McQueen nodded, smiling crookedly back at Tex.
“Yes, thank you son. It means a lot that you went back for him.” Lynda added, sniffing softly and blinking away more tears. Doc, who pretended to still be reading his magazine, smiled. Lightning looked out the window at the sky. It had gotten cloudy, which was rare for LA this time of year. It was around dusk, and the sun was starting to set. The sky was blue-gray with a slightly orangeish-pink tint to it, the sun making the clouds look much darker in comparison to the sky.
The hospital room was silent once more. There was a clock on the wall, but it didn’t tick. There was an AC vent on the ceiling, but it barely made a hum. The only sounds were Doc occasionally turning the page of his magazine, and Lynda sniffling a few times a minute. Lightning sighed. This was not how he expected this day to go.
At first he was torn; he wanted to race, but he didn’t want to leave Radiator Springs and his new friends behind. Then he was happy; his friends and Doc had shown up, cheering him on and being his pit crew. Then he was overjoyed; using moves that Doc and Mater had taught him, he made his way to the top and was only seconds away from winning the race, getting the Piston Cup and making history as the first rookie to ever win it. Then everything stopped in a flash. Chick Hicks won the race, The King crashed, and now Lightning was in the hospital with The King’s wife and sponsor, waiting to hear news on The King’s condition.
As if the world was reading his mind, a nurse rolled into the waiting room. Lynda, Tex and Lightning looked up expectantly, and the nurse seemed uncomfortable and looked away.
“Um.. Mrs. Weathers and Mr. Dinoco, follow me please.” She said hesitantly in a British accent. Lynda and Tex quickly followed the nurse down a hallway and turned at a corner, leaving Doc and Lightning alone. Lightning was about to go after them, when Doc put his front wheel in front of McQueens.
“Let ‘em go.” He said, calm but stern. Lightning settled back down and sighed, glancing out the window again. A few drops of rain began to fall from the sky, pittering against the glass and streaming down the window. The soft rumble of thunder echoed out, breaking the silence as the rain began to pour slightly harder. There was no lightning.
~~~
About 10 minutes later, Lynda and Tex finally reappeared. Lightning looked at them and felt his heart drop. Lynda’s eyes were dead and full of tears, her face lifeless. Tex’s face was still and emotionless as well, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. The two drove silently past McQueen and Doc, neither of them so much as acknowledging the two.
No. Lightning thought, his eyes widening. There’s no way.
A nurse followed behind them and glanced at Lightning and Doc, who understood her look immediately and followed her back to the room. The doors to The King’s room opened automatically, and the nurse led them in.
There he was. Strip Weathers, The King; eyes shut, mouth closed, completely still for once in his life.
Lightning’s breath hitched and he quietly gasped, and felt a lump form in his throat. Next to him, Doc closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
“No..” McQueen mouthed, barely whispering as he rolled back a bit. Doc looked down, his eyes lidded.
Time seemed to stop. Lightning felt like he was going to pass out. He had hardly known The King, but for some reason this hurt on another level. The nurse, who had been silently watching the two cars for the past minute, finally spoke.
“I’m sorry, Mr. McQueen. We tried. We really did.”
Lightning stared at The King. His vision became blurry with tears, and he shut them tightly to stop them from flowing out. Only a few hours ago, The King was leading his last race, set to win his eighth and final Piston Cup. Now it was all gone. The nurse sighed.
“Strip Weathers is dead.”
~~~
Healing takes time. Lightning knew that. He had just never been the one going through that process of healing before. But here he was, a few months later and now in 2006, still silently mourning the loss of the racing legend who he gave up his first Piston Cup to try and help save. He had gotten through the initial grief and guilt, and realized that it truly wasn’t his fault for the crash. He had talked to Doc a lot after The King’s death, who reaffirmed to him that it wasn’t his fault and that he did the right thing. He also eventually talked to Tex again, who thanked Lightning for trying to help his racer. Tex still hadn’t sponsored anyone new, and said he wasn’t planning on it anytime soon.
“I can't replace my golden boy already. He was the best racer I'd ever sponsored, and my best friend.” The billionaire had said when Lightning asked him if he had any new plans on who to sponsor. Lightning knew Tex didn’t need to sponsor anyone for money; the car was the owner of one of the richest oil companies in the world. And it’s not like Lightning was looking for a new sponsor anyways. He had become loyal to the Rust-eze brothers, Dusty and Rusty, who gave him his big break.
Lynda was definitely struggling, but she was pushing through. She and Tex had grown closer, and while she didn’t show up to a majority of the races anymore, she came occasionally to support Lightning. The two had talked from time to time, Lynda being nothing but sweet to the former rookie and telling him she would’ve rather had him win the race over Chick Hicks. Speaking of which, Lightning’s wish came true; Chick was banned from racing ever again. On top of that, basically the whole racing world hated him now, and he had lost a majority of his sponsors. He was bitter of course, but showed a surprising lack of care for his lifetime ban and cared only about his Piston Cup. Lightning had only seen him once or twice after The King’s passing; right after the race, and once at Strip’s funeral. Chick had the audacity to show up, but did pay his respects to the legend and apologized to Lynda and Tex, much to Lightning’s surprise. Of course, Lynda and Tex were in no hurry to forgive the cheat, and snubbed Chick before leaving the green racecar alone.
Sally and Lightning became official, and started dating for real. Lightning had moved his headquarters to Radiator Springs, and spent all his break time in the quiet town with his girlfriend and mentor. He never gave up racing though; he trained with Doc almost daily and still went to all his races, winning most of the time. A new face had appeared, Bobby Swift, who he quickly became friends with. The guy was funny, easy to get along with, and definitely a talented racecar who gave McQueen a challenge from time to time. Still nothing compared to his time racing against the King. No one could ever replace The King.
“Hey Lightnin’!” Tex called out to the racecar, who was chatting with Bobby about the race. Lightning looked up, and glanced at Bobby.
“See ya later, man.” He winked, and Bobby smirked and drove off.
“How’s it going, Tex?” Lightning smiled, driving over to the southern car.
“All good, just wanted to congratulate you on the win today. Great racing, as always. But hey, Lynda’s here today, she wanted to say hi to you.” He explained, and motioned towards where his truck was. Lightning followed Tex through the maze of sponsored trucks and cars, saying a few quick hellos to some rookies he passed by. Tex pulled over next to Lynda, and Lightning did the same.
“Mrs. The King! How are you?” He greeted her warmly. She chuckled and bumped him with her wheel playfully.
“Oh, no need to be so formal with me son, Lynda is fine. And I’m just dandy.” She grinned, and lightning snickered. It was an ongoing joke between the two, where Lightning always addressed her as ‘Mrs. The King’ like he did when he was a rookie.
“Lightnin’, there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Tex chimed in, rolling out of the way of his trailer. There stood a young looking car, painted in the same light blue color Strip used to wear. He wore the Dinoco logo and the number 42, and had the same dark brown eyes The King had.
The young car rolled over to McQueen, seeming a bit shy. Lightning was shocked that Tex had sponsored a new racecar, but quickly realized why he had chosen this rookie in particular.
“Hi, Mr. McQueen. I’m Cal, Cal Weathers. I’m Strip’s nephew.” He said with a slight smile. Lightning stared at him for a few seconds before sighing and smiling at the youngster.
“I can’t think of any car more fitting to take your uncle’s place.” McQueen complimented. Cal’s face instantly brightened, and he grinned widely. The two instantly hit it off, chatting with Cal praising McQueen for his performances and admiring his skills. Tex and Lynda watched from a distance, both chuckling.
“Y’know, everyday, Lightnin’ reminds me more and more of Strip.” Lynda hummed. Tex nodded and sighed.
“The old boy would be proud of him, I know that.”
“What do ya think about Cal?”
“I know the little guy’s got fire in him. Strip said he trained him since he was a kid. I know Cal struggled after he passed, but I’m more proud than ever to have him racing for Dinoco. Only seemed fitting to carry on the legacy.” Tex addressed. Lynda listened as the two rambled about random nonsense, and felt a wave of happiness rush over her.
“I think now with Cal here, I oughta start coming to the races more often again.” Lynda smiled. Tex glanced at her, surprised, before smiling back.
“Well, I sure am glad about that.” Tex grinned.
“You gotta meet Bobby too, he’s hilarious. You two would definitely get along.” McQueen explained, driving slowly next to the young teal car.
“O-ok! Yeah, cool! The next race is next week, so I guess I’ll meet you both there.” Cal exclaimed excitedly, grinning with his eyes wide and innocent.
“I’ll see you then, yeah?” Lightning winked, turning around. He nodded towards Tex and Lynda, who did the same to him. Lightning then looked at Cal while driving off and smirked.
“By the way Cal, your blinker’s on!” He giggled before riding away. Cal looked back, confused.
“Wait, really? I don’t think I… Hey!” Cal yelped and tried to think how to retaliate. Tex and Lynda laughed as Lightning sped off.
“Your.. blinker’s on..!” Cal stuttered before turning away, looking embarrassed. Tex chuckled and winked at Strip’s nephew.
“Good comeback, Cal.”