Chapter 12- Florida 500 (Part 2)

I was starting to feel more confident about things the further up the pack we climbed. Cruz and I were working really well together and you know what? We didn't make one single mistake. Well, sure Cruz raced past the pits once by accident and Lightning had to remind me to bend my knees a couple of times, but that was nothing. Lightning told us we were in for a top five finish if we kept going the way we were. Not bad for our first race, huh?


The more racers we passed, the more excited I got. Pretty soon, Cruz and I had climbed up to third place. We just had Danny Swervez and his rider, Joey Sparks, and, of course, Jackson Storm in front of us. That's when we had a minor setback. I thought it was strange at first. Storm appeared to be slowing down. I had no idea what he was up to, but I kept my eye on him as he allowed Danny and Joey to take first place. Storm was coming towards us!

"What do you want?" I wondered.

"Hey, Costume Girls!" Storm exclaimed in a mock friendly voice (I hoped that wasn't a permanent nickname!). "You know, at first, I thought you were out here 'cause your GPS was broken."

"Don't listen to him, guys!" Lightning called to us. "He's trying to get in your heads."

"You look good", Storm went on. "It's important to look the part. You can't have everyone thinking that you don't deserve to be here. They don't need to know what you and I already do: that you can play dress-up all you want, but neither of you will ever be one of us! Why don't you two pretty girls just leave the racing to the professionals?" With those cruel words, he shot off.

As cruel as they were, I started to wonder if there was any truth to his words. I'd always dreamed of racing in the Piston Cup, but I've always worried I wouldn't be good enough. I mean, I'm no Lightning McQueen or Fabulous Hudson Hornet or Strip "The King" Weathers. What if Storm was right? Was I really not good enough?

"Guys, did you see what happened there?" Lightning radioed.

I did not.

"Yeah", Cruz answered. She'd slowed down a little, sending us back down to fifth place. So, I knew she must've been thinking about what Storm said too. "He- He's in- He's in my head."

"Mine too... Is he right?" I voiced my concerns.

"No! No!" Lightning replied hurriedly. "Listen to me! You've gotten into his head! Don't you understand? He would never have done that if you didn't scare him!"

"What?" Cruz was just as puzzled as I was.

"He sees something in you both that you don't even see in yourselves!" Lightning explained. "You made me believe it! Now, you've gotta believe it too!"

"Believe what?" I wondered.

"You are racers!" our crew chief insisted. "Use that!"


I was just as uncertain as I had been with Storm. I wasn't really sure what to believe. Then the rest of the team chimed in with their encouragement. They were telling us we could do it and we were excellent racers; they believed in us. I still wasn't sure if I believed them. All I knew was that if I wanted to be a racer, the first thing I had to do was show Storm that he wasn't about to break me.

"We've only got three laps to go", I informed Cruz. "You ready to give those three laps everything we've got?" That was all that mattered to me in that moment. If fifth place was everything we had, then that was it. We still wouldn't go down without a fight.

"Three laps to catch Storm?" Cruz repeated. "I'm ready if you are, partner!"

Partner. Cruz's racing partner. That was me. And you better believe I was ready. "LET'S GO, TEAM 95!"

"You can do this!" Lightning assured me. "Right now, Storm is your Herman! And look how you handled him!"

"We just need to wait for the right moment and then break out the dandelions", I mused.

Lightning laughed. "Exactly! You got that one, Smokey?"

"I sure do!" Smokey assured him.


"We just passed pebble number zero-zero", I remarked as we cruised past Flip Dover with very little trouble; if any. Once again, we just had Danny and Joey and Storm in front of us.

"Pebble number nineteen", Cruz joked as we shot past Danny and Joey.

I couldn't help waving at them as we passed. It must've been my imagination- there was no way I could've actually seen it with how fast we were moving- but I could've sworn I saw the Octane Gain duo smiling at us.


"Watch this!" Cruz instructed me as quietly as she could (which wasn't very quiet with the roar of engines all around us). She drafted off of Storm's rear bumper and we waited patiently for a reaction.

Clearly, Storm thought he'd left us in the dust because we heard him ask in this ever-so-smug voice, "And how far back are they now?" I didn't hear Ray Reverham's response, but I guess I didn't need to. I noticed when Storm glanced back in disbelief. "What?!"

I gave another wave with a little giggle. "Hi."

"Good evening, Storm!" Cruz added. "Just back here, drafting on your butt! Nothing to be concerned about!"

"Like two June bugs on a summer night!" Lightning chimed in as we passed the pits again. Our team looked really excited. At least, I think they did; it's hard to tell when you're moving so fast.

"When do you want me to break out the dandelions?" Cruz wondered.

"When we're ready, I'll let you know", I promised.

I was getting pretty excited myself. Getting so close to the end of my first race (and in second place!) was awesome enough. Storm's reaction made it all even more fun. Now, normally, I don't like annoying or hurting people in any way, but Storm had harassed us earlier and said some pretty insulting things to both of us, plus Lightning. Now, it was our turn to get him back. As we shifted from line to line, I thought that beating him would not only be fantastic in its own right, but it would be the sweetest revenge we could have on Storm.


"Hey, Hamilton!" Cruz called out abruptly.

"Hamilton here!"

"Call out our speed!" she requested.

"Two hundred and eight miles per hour", Hamilton chimed. "Two hundred and seven miles per hour. Two hundred and five miles per hour."

"Would you stop that?!" Storm growled. "You're taking me off my line!"

"Last lap!" Lightning pointed out.

"Come on, girls!" I heard Smokey shout.

I was excited, nervous and disappointed all at once as the white flag was waved. I was excited because we were so close! Even though Storm was a tough competitor and I wasn't convinced we would, I knew we were still in with a chance to win. I was nervous because I really hoped we would win, but again, I didn't think we would. Finally, I was disappointed because this was my first race and I was having the time of my life. I was only ever going to have one first race and I didn't want it to end. I wondered if Cruz was feeling the same way.

"Uh-oh!" Cruz taunted. "My GPS is saying we have slow traffic in our way!"

"Ohhh!" I couldn't help laughing. "Roasted!"

"No, no, no, no!" Storm shouted. "You are not winning this!"

"Ah! You're angry!" Cruz replied.

"I am not angry!" Storm countered and I knew Cruz was really getting on his nerves now. I probably was too, but to a lesser extent.

"You know, you can use that anger to push through!"

I was about to warn Cruz to be careful when Storm exploded, "I SAID I'M NOT ANGRY!"

After taking a brief moment to laugh at that, I scanned our surroundings to see if it was time. It was. "Now, Cruz!" I hollered. "Time to break out the dandelions!"

Cruz moved over to the outside, ready to overtake Storm.

"Oh, I don't think so!" Storm yelled. When Cruz moved back to the inside, Storm was angry. "No!"

I gasped as he slammed us into the wall. Cruz was being dragged across the wall, sending up a lot of sparks. I had to raise my hand to prevent sparks from hitting my face.

"Cruz! Get out of there!" Lightning exclaimed.

I didn't know how that was going to happen. How were we supposed to get out of this? Then I had an idea. Well, it wasn't really my idea. It was Doc's. I thought it was crazy... Could we do this? Then I thought, Doc probably never stopped to wonder any of this. He probably wouldn't have thought twice. That was when I knew what we had to do.

"Cruz! Are you thinking what I'm thinking?!"

"What?!" Lightning radioed in a panic. "What are you thinking?!"

Cruz knew. "Yes I am! Hold on! Oh, my gosh! This is gonna be so crazy!"

"I'm okay with crazy!" I hollered back as I made sure my magnets were as secure as possible and I kept myself as tucked in as I could.

"What's crazy is that McQueen put you in this race!" Storm continued to rant. "You don't belong on this track! Either of you!"

I took in a deep breath, hoping I was ready for this. I wasn't sure if I was, though. Still, ready or not, here it came...

"YES... WE... DO!" Cruz and I shouted in unison as she pushed off the wall to flip over Jackson Storm.


I don't think I'll ever be able to fully describe that moment (but I'll try!). It was a feeling... a rush. I'd never felt it before and I doubt I'll ever feel it again... but that adrenaline felt so amazing! I felt like I was flying. For a brief moment, I had my eyes closed, but after some time, I don't know how long, I opened them. I still couldn't really see anything; just a lot of bright lights. The whole world had melted away; the fans, my family, Storm, that checkered flag, everything. All there was was me and Cruz, in this incredible moment. I wasn't even thinking anything; just feeling. It was how I imagined having my first kiss, but this was so much better than a first kiss. I was doing the thing I loved the most with my best friend. It felt like the moment would go on forever... and I wouldn't have minded one bit if it did.


Unfortunately, it had to come to an end, but I guess I can't be too disappointed. It was pretty awesome when Cruz landed on all four tyres and crossed the finish line ahead of Storm. Although, it took me a second to comprehend it. The checkered flag was waved. The crowd went wild. The fireworks started. I just needed a second to realise that Cruz and I were the reason.

I couldn't believe it. It didn't feel real. I think that was the reason I was so calm. "Oh, my God! Did that just happen?" Had I really just won my first race? I hadn't thought I'd be good enough for that. Don't think I'm just being modest; I genuinely didn't think I was good enough.

"You better believe it!" an excited Lightning shouted. I could hear the rest of my family whooping and cheering, telling Cruz and me how proud they were.

"Oh, my gosh! I've always dreamed of this moment!" I proclaimed, remembering being a wide-eyed four-year-old who dreamed of winning her first race. I never thought it would be like this, but I'm glad it was; I wouldn't have changed a thing. (Whenever I say that, people sometimes say to me, "Even your accident? Don't you wish that never happened?" The answer to that is no. I don't. Sure, it was one of, if not, the lowest point of my life. Still, I got through it and it made me into who I am now and for that, I am grateful.)

"Listen to the crowd cheering!" I heard Cruz whisper, talking more to herself than to me.

"They're cheering for you!" I reminded her, knowing she deserved to have a huge crowd cheer for her. She was a racer and this moment was overdue for her.

"No." Cruz shook her hood. "They're cheering for us!"

"Me? I didn't do anything." Again, I wasn't just being modest. Well, I don't think I did nothing; I mean I had helped Cruz, but at the end of the day, she's the one who gets us over the finish line, not me.

"Fudge, you helped make my dreams come true!" Cruz informed me. "There is no way I could've done this without you." She paused. "I'm proud to call myself your friend."

I smiled, thinking that was a very nice thing to hear after being screwed over by several so-called friends. And the feeling was mutual. "I'm proud to call myself your friend too."

Cruz and I were in content silence for a moment before Danny and Joey showed up.


"Hey, Cruz, Fudge!" Danny called. "You were flyin'!"

"You got some mad skills, Fudge!" Joey gave me a high-five. "You too, Cruz!"

They were followed by Ryan Laney, Chase Racelott, Flick Turner (who hadn't finished the race due to the wreck, but had been watching on the monitors and had come onto the track afterwards), Blake Fitzgibbons and Bubba Wheelhouse.

"You really had it rolling today", Chase Racelott informed us.

"That was cool!" Ryan Laney added.

"Nice racin' out there, kid!" Flick beamed at me.

"You were great, guys!" That was Blake.

While all of this was going on, the cars were giving Cruz pounds on the tyre and the humans were giving me high-fives. Cruz and I could only grin and repeat the words, "Thanks! Thank you!" It was all so exciting and nerve wracking at the same time. Plus, I was glad that they were being nice; I was worried they'd hate Cruz and me. Maybe they wouldn't have liked being shown up by the newcomers, but these guys were cool.

"Hey, Cruz!" Bubba teased. "Your blinker's on!"

"It is?" He made Cruz look and she groaned. "You got me! Very funny!"

I giggled. "We're gonna be getting a lot of that now. That's what racers do."

"Racers", Cruz repeated softly. It was as if the word couldn't sound any more beautiful to her. "We're racers now."

I liked the way it sounded too. "I guess we are."


All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of red. So, I looked and there was Lightning. Like I said, I've never been good at reading emotions, but I could tell by the smile on his face that he couldn't be more proud of us. I think that was what mattered to me most now that the race was over. Lightning was my brother, my mentor, my friend. I had always been determined to make him proud, so knowing that I had was the best feeling in the world.

"RAMIREZ! ROSSI!" I heard a fan scream and that felt pretty good too.

"Cruz, Fudge, Cruz, Fudge!" the crowd began chanting.

"Go ahead!" Lightning grinned at us. "Give 'em some smoke!"

So, we did. Cruz performed some donuts as she and I couldn't stop laughing. Doing donuts is fun; the hard part is stopping. Cruz and I both coughed on the smoke and when I got off, I was pretty dizzy and couldn't walk in a straight line.

Lightning chuckled. "You'll get used to that", he assured us with a smile.

"Oh! My angel!" I heard a familiar Italian accent exclaim. Luigi came charging at me at such a high speed, he almost crashed into me and broke my ribs.

Guido was right behind me, scooping me up like a baby and planting a kiss on my forehead. "(Congratulations, angel!)"

"We are both so proud of you!" Luigi added. "We love you so much!"

I smiled. It was nice to know I'd made my parents proud too. "Thanks, guys! I love you both!"

Sammy picked me up and swung me around. "Way to go, Sis! Bet you're glad I didn't go out there now!"

I kind of was, but Sammy would've been great too. It wouldn't have made much sense to send a pregnant woman out into the race, though. "Thanks, Sammy."

"Cruz! Fudge! Get over here!" I heard Smokey shout.

"Git R done, 95!" Mater hollered. "Whee-hoo!"

"That was amazing, ladies!" Sally declared.

"Congratulations, man!" Fillmore put in.

"You've done us all proud, soldiers!" Sarge commented.

Everyone surrounded us with words like that and hugs. That all felt awesome too. I was happy, but I still felt calm. I don't think it had really hit me yet that I'd just done what I had. However, I knew I had and it felt great. What made it even better was that I could feel Doc's presence close by.

Yeah, he was proud.

"Dad-gum! That there flip thang you done did was so dad-gum unbelievable!" Mater exclaimed excitedly.

I smiled some more. "Well, we can thank Doc for that."

"Doc?" my family echoed in confusion. "Why Doc?"

"Hud- or Doc, as you called him- did the exact same thing over sixty years ago", Smokey spoke up and I made a mental note to show my family the video later on. "I told these two ladies about it and I'm glad they listened."

Needless to say, my family were in disbelief that the Doc Hudson they knew could've done something like that.

"Hey, Smokey!" I called out, grinning.

Smokey looked my way. "Yeah?"

"Who did it better?" I joked.

We all burst out laughing. I mean, I don't think my joke was that funny, but we were all so happy we couldn't help it.


Unfortunately, we were interrupted by someone shouting, "Out of my way! Come on! Move it! Move!"

I bristled at the sound of Mr. Sterling's voice and the way he was talking to my family. I don't know what I was expecting him to say or do, but it wasn't what he actually said.

"Cruz, Fudge!" he exclaimed in a voice that sounded a little too friendly, if you know what I mean. Moreover, this was the first time he'd referred to me by my name. Until then, it had just been "you, whatever your name is." "I knew you had something! And now look at you! Winners!"

Behind him, I noticed my family had Is he serious? looks on their faces. I felt the same way. "Winners? What happened to just a trainer and a glorified intern?" If Mr. Sterling had been willing to apologise and admit that he was wrong about us, I would've forgiven him. This was a new low.

"I could use you as racers on our team", he went on, ignoring me. "We could make-"

"Sorry, Mr. Sterling", Cruz interrupted, still trying to be polite. "I would never race for you. I quit."

"Fine!" Mr. Sterling huffed, clearly not expecting that response. "Fudge, I can pair you with-"

"I'm not racing for you if Cruz isn't", I informed him, also trying to be polite, but firm. I wouldn't have wanted to race for him anyway.

"Good for you!" Sammy punched my shoulder. "You don't wanna race for someone like that!"

I nodded weakly. It was true and I was glad Cruz and I had stood up for ourselves, but did this mean our chance to become racers was over? We didn't have a sponsor anymore.


Luckily, it was Tex Dinoco to the rescue. "Well, then race for me!"

"Tex!" Lightning and I exclaimed in unison. I didn't know Mr. Tex all that well, but I had known him since I was five years old and I'd always liked him. I'd never been more glad to see him.

"Miss Cruz, Miss Fudge, I would be tickled pink to have you both race for Team Dinoco!" he informed us. "As you know, we have a long history of great racers! Except for Cal!"

"Uh... guys!" Cal Weathers piped up. "I'm still right here!"

"Team Dinoco, guys!" Lightning shouted excitedly. He nudged Cruz. Obviously, he was happy for us.

"That's the best sponsor there is!" Sammy pointed out, punching me in the shoulder again (there was a decent-sized bruise there later on). "Lucky b**tards!"

"Luck has nothing to do with it", Lightning corrected her. "Those two deserve Dinoco... Do you want it?" he quizzed us.

I thought about it. I didn't need long to think about it, though. Not only was Dinoco the most lucrative sponsorship a racer could have, but, as previously stated, I liked Mr. Tex. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was worthy of the Dinoco sponsorship (the same company that had sponsored The King, for crying out loud!), but if they were offering, I wasn't about to turn it down... But what about Cruz?

I looked at her. "What do you say?"

"If you'll still be my rider crew chief, I'll take it!" Cruz answered, to my relief and happiness. "Either both of us race for Dinoco or neither of us does!"

Those were the exact words I'd wanted to hear. "Of course I will!" Cruz and I hugged. "Mr. Tex has been trying to get Lightning to race for him for years. I'd say it's about time we got someone from Radiator Springs on his side."

"I was hoping you'd say that", Tex informed me with a warm smile.

"Hire them. I don't care", Mr. Sterling spoke up. Although, it sounded like he definitely did care. "Lightning, now that you're retired, I need you first thing Monday morning for a photoshoot."

"Yeah, all right, Mr. Sterling", Lightning agreed, but even I could tell he wasn't exactly happy about it.

Once again, I felt incredibly guilty. Lightning's career was over, all because Cruz and I had raced instead of him. "Lightning-" I was about to apologise, but he cut me off.

"It's all right, Fudge." I wasn't convinced, though.

That's why I was grateful for what happened next.

"Whoa! Hang on now!" Smokey called out, gesturing towards the monitors.

I glanced at the monitor where Cruz and I were listed as the victors. It was pretty cool to see our names and photos up there. However, I was left nervous and confused when underneath was the word UPDATING.

"What does it mean updating?" I wondered. My first thought was that the officials had decided our relay move wasn't legal and disqualified us.

Luckily, that wasn't the case. Instead, the word UPDATING was replaced with Lightning's name and photo. He had won too!

"You started the race", Smokey explained. "That's how it works!"

"YES!" I cheered excitedly. Everything had worked out in our favour in the end; Cruz and I were racers like we'd always dreamed of and Lightning got to decide when he was done racing. Corny and cliché it may be, but that's what I call a happy ending!

Mr. Sterling was speechless and Mr. Tex led him away for a "billionaire to billionaire" talk.


When did our victory begin to sink in for me? After Mr. Tex and Mr. Sterling left, I saw the replays on the jumbo-sized screen. I'd done it. It had felt too good to be true, but I'd done it!

Happy tears rushed down my face and I had the biggest smile as I hugged Lightning as tight as I could. "Thank you!" I wept.

"Hey, it's all right!" he assured me gently, hugging me back and kissing me. "Trust me, Fudge-O! I was happy to do this for you." He reattached my necklace. My wishing star. The necklace that would make all my dreams come true. Well, that definitely happened that day.

Lightning didn't really say much as I cried and he hugged me. He just told me that he loved me and he was very proud of me. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but what I did know was that when I lifted my head up, there were lots of flashing lights in front of me.

"Cruz! Fudge! Over here!"

"How does it feel to beat Jackson Storm?"

"Take us through it!"

It was pretty exciting to have the press make such a big fuss over me, but I was still nervous. Besides, I didn't want to just abandon Lightning.

He just smiled at me, seeming to know what I was thinking. "It's your moment, Fudge-O", he pointed out. "Go ahead and enjoy it."

"Okay, but I want you to come with us to victory lane", I informed him.

"All right. I'll be there. I promise."

Satisfied, I approached the press. Again, I was excited and nervous at the same time as they all called out questions and comments to me.

"I can't believe we did that!" I gushed as more happy tears flowed down my face. "It was just so awesome! Oh, my gosh! Winning this race was just so unexpected!" I grinned at Lightning and Cruz. "We did it, guys! We frickin' did it!"

"Do you have any comments for Natalie Certain?! She was unable to accurately predict today's winners!"

I grinned. "To be fair, I don't think anybody could've predicted this!"

"Fudge! What was the race like from your perspective?!"

"Did you know McQueen was going to put you in the race?!"

"How does it feel to be offered the Dinoco sponsorship?!"

"Why did you turn down a sponsorship deal with Rust-Eze?!"

Gosh, there were so many questions in such a short amount of time. Cruz and I were all too happy to provide the answers, forgetting to be nervous. I didn't always like to talk to the press, but this time, I did.


Talking to the press was fun, but you know what was even better? Receiving the trophy! It was a tall, beautiful trophy with two flags and the words FLORIDA 500 WINNER on it. It had only just occurred to me that I had never won a trophy before. So, I was pretty excited to win one. As I gazed back and forth between the gleaming golden trophy; Cruz and Lightning and the ecstatic crowd cheering for us, I just had one thought:

If this is the life of a racer, then I can get used to this.

In my opinion, Sterling might not have been so bad, had he just apologised and admitted that he was wrong. But he didn't, so he's a jerk.

Just one chapter left of part one. Please review.

By the way, in case you care, I've finished the first chapter of Raising Fudge. Currently, I'm editing my chapters to accommodate for some changes in Fudge's backstory. I'll likely get the first chapter up once I've finished the mammoth task of rewriting Guns and Roses to fit these changes. I'm excited about the changes and I hope you are too. :)