Chapter 1

Lightning McQueen closed his eyes and concentrated on the sound of his breathing. "Okay, here we go," he said to himself. "Focus." He took a deep breath. "Speed. I am speed." He imagined racing around a track to the cheers of a packed stadium. "One winner. Forty-two losers. I eat losers for breakfast."

He pictured more cars whipping around the track. "Did I used to say that? Really?" he said, suddenly realizing how silly it sounded.

"Yeah. Ya did," said Mater.

Lightning shouted, surprised by the interruption of his pre-race ritual. "Mater?" he asked.

"Hey, buddy!" Mater replied. "Yep, you used to say that all the time. I remember this one time—"

Lightning cut him off. "Mater! What are you doing here?"

"I didn't want ya to be lonely," he said.

"Well, thank you," Lightning said, softening a bit. "But I need a little quiet. I'm kinda preparing for a race."

Just then, the door on Mack's trailer started to roll down.

"Oh, right!" Mater said. "You got it, buddy!" Mater shouted as he left.

The door closed and Lightning took a deep breath. "Okay," he said, settling back into his routine. "I am speed—"

But Mater interrupted him again. Only this time, Lightning could hear him yelling outside the trailer.

"Hey!" Mater called. "My best friend, Lightning McQueen, needs quiet! Perfect quiet!"

Lightning chuckled, then gave himself a moment to get back into the zone. "Okay, where was I?" he said. After another deep breath, he said, "Racing. Real racing."

In his mind, he saw himself racing again—but this time he was back at home in Radiator Springs, driving around the quiet, expansive Willys Butte with his old friend and mentor, Doc Hudson.

Even though Doc had been gone for some time, Lightning could still hear his gruff voice, clear as day. As he remembered the scene, he could hear Doc say, "That ain't racing. That wasn't even a Sunday drive. That was one lap. Racing is five hundred of those. Everybody's fighting to move up, lap after lap—inside, outside, inches apart, never touching. Now, that's racin'!"

"Wow," Lightning whispered. He was back in the present moment and looking at a picture of himself with Doc. The trailer door opened and Lightning slipped out. "All right, here we go! This one's for you, Doc!" He revved his engine and took off.

Bright sunlight sparkled down on the Florida International Super Speedway as Lightning blazed past the larger-than-life Jumbotron. He had hit the track at full speed. The race had started, the place was packed, and Lightning's fans exploded with cheers when they saw the flash of red streak by. One enthusiastic young fan stood out from the crowd. Her name was Maddy, and she seemed to shout Lightning's name louder than anyone.

Lightning's best friends from Radiator Springs were in the stands, too. They cheered loudly—but no one was more excited than Mater. He tried to get as close to the track as possible, weaving through the crowd. "'Scuse me, pardon me. Best friend coming through!" All while wearing a hat with a large yellow foam lightning bolt that looked like it was going through his head. "Go, McQueen!" he shouted.

Up ahead, Lightning could see his longtime top rivals: Bobby Swift and Cal Weathers. As he narrowed the gap, he saw another racer, Brick Yardley. Lightning cruised up next to his friend and saw an opportunity to get him off his game.

"Hey, Cal. Gas cap's open."

"Oh, what?" Cal replied. He realized Lightning was joking, then quickly added, "Hey! Well, your gas cap's open!"

"Good comeback," Bobby retorted.

Lightning couldn't help laughing as he led his friends around the backstretch of the track. The fans cheered, loving every second.

As they headed toward the pits, announcers Bob Cutlass and Darrell Cartrip commented on the friendly rivalry.

"And into the pit goes Lightning McQueen, Bobby Swift, and Cal Weathers," Bob said. "These three are fun to watch, aren't they, Darrell?"

"I can't tell if they have more fun on or off the track!" Darrell replied.

Lightning pulled into his station and Guido got to work. Rusty and Dusty of Rust-eze, Lightning's longtime sponsor, proudly watched as Guido swiftly changed Lightning's tires.

"All right, Guido," said Dusty. "You move faster than my brother leaks oil." He laughed at his own clever joke.

Sally and Mater stood close by and watched. Lightning winked at Sally as Guido finished up.

"Finito!" Guido yelled, tightening the last bolt on a new set of racing tires. "Via! Via!" And with that, Lightning took off—burning ahead of Cal, Bobby, and Brick.

"You gettin' a car wash, too, Cal?" Lightning called back, teasing his friend.

"No! You're gettin' a car wash, McQueen!" yelled Cal.

Lightning blistered around the last turn and toward the finish line. Bobby and Cal were both a length behind, on either side of him. The checkered flag dropped and the crowd burst into cheers. Lightning McQueen had won again.

Lightning loved racing, and he felt especially great after winning! He entered the pits and moved toward the garage while Shannon Spokes, a field correspondent for Racing Sports Network, interviewed him. Their conversation was shown on the Jumbotron.

"Lightning, how do you keep your focus racing against Bobby and Cal?" Shannon asked.

"Easy. We respect each other on and off the track. These guys are real class acts—"

But before he could finish, he caught a glimpse of something menacing just outside the frame of the interview camera.

"Hey!" Lightning yelled.

Whoosh! All of a sudden, Lightning was hit with the foam blast of a fire extinguisher, and a gas can resembling a cherry was placed on top of his hood. He found himself looking ridiculous and completely unprofessional on camera while Bobby and Cal wheeled away, laughing hysterically.

"Oh, they're gonna pay," Lightning whispered.

Days later, at the Heartland Motor Speedway, Cal, Lightning, Bobby, and Brick were at it again. The rivals were locked in a tight finish, but this time Cal won! As they swarmed the pits, Cal's Dinoco pit crew cheered.

After the race, Cal cruised through the crowd to get to Victory Lane. Just like after Lightning's win, Shannon Spokes interviewed him, and the conversation was shown on the Jumbotron.

"Great win today, Cal," Shannon said.

"Thank you, Shannon—"

Screech!

"—it was a great day out there—"

Screech!

"—and I'd like to thank my sp—"

Screech!

Whenever Cal tried to answer Shannon, he was interrupted by a loud mechanical sound. And he didn't realize it at the time, but as he spoke, he slowly started to rise higher and higher ... so high that it became impossible for Shannon to continue her interview. He looked down and discovered that his tires had been replaced with enormous inflatable ones—thanks to Guido and his quick-change abilities!

"Hey. Hey! Guido!" Cal yelled.

Guido blew smoke off of his prized air wrench. "Pit stop," he said.

"Real funny, guys," Cal replied.

Lightning and Bobby raced away, laughing loudly. Cal tried to chase them—but his wheels wouldn't rotate. Left with no other choice, he unsuccessfully hopped and bounced in their general direction. "Guys! I'm not gonna fit in the trailer like this!" he called.

After a short break in the season, Lightning found himself back in Radiator Springs. The sun shone brightly on the landscape as Lightning took a quick training run around Willys Butte. He effortlessly sailed past Mater, Sheriff, Guido, and Luigi. Sheriff checked Lightning's speed while the others cheered him on. Guido and Mater even had matching hats with lightning bolts and the number 95 plastered on top.

"Keep it going, buddy!" Mater yelled.

Before he knew it, Lightning was back on the road, racing his best and pulling out another win. As he drove through pit row, he called to Rusty and Dusty, "Are my sponsors happy today?"

"Stop winning, will ya?" Dusty replied. "We're running out of bumper cream to sell!"

Just then, Tex, Dinoco's longtime owner, rolled up alongside Lightning. "Lightning McQueen!" he said.

"Hey, Big Tex! How's my favorite competitor?" Lightning asked.

"Just say the word, and I'll boot Cal off the Dinoco team and replace him with you," said Tex.

They rolled past Tex's trailer and Cal popped out.

"You know I can hear everything you say!" shouted Cal. "I'm right here!"

Lightning chuckled. Tex joked like this with Lightning every time they saw each other. "Bye, Cal!" he said. "See you next week ... or not!"

Days later, at the Copper Canyon Speedway, Lightning led a tight pack of cars around the track.

"Another great finish in the making!" shouted Bob Cutlass. "Lightning and Swift, nose to nose."

"How's the view from back there, Bobby?" Lightning joked as he zoomed ahead.

"Ha, ha!" chuckled Bobby. "Well, you better not blink. I'll blow right past ya!"

The fans bubbled with excitement, afraid to miss a beat of the thrillingly close race.

"The flag is out!" yelled Bob Cutlass. "It's the final stretch! Lightning is in the lead... "

Fueled by the sounds of the crowd, Lightning smiled as he focused on the track ahead, determined to hold his position. "Okay, let's see what you got!" he called back to Bobby, prodding him to pick up his pace. He and his racing friends loved the challenge of beating someone at their best. And part of the fun of racing was pushing each other to go faster.

"Whoo-weee!" yelled Bobby, feeding off Lightning and trying to get closer to him.

Just then, a strange new car appeared right behind Bobby. He was a young, modern-looking racer. On his black body were electric-blue details and the number 2.0. Before Bobby and Lightning knew what had happened, the sleek car made a sudden move and effortlessly surged past both of them, grabbing the win! Lightning couldn't believe it. The car had come out of nowhere.