Excitement pulsed through a packed stadium where thousands of revved¹-up fans gathered to watch the Dinoco 400—the biggest race of the year. They honked² their horns and waved their flags in support of their favorite racers. The winner would receive the Piston³ Cup trophy⁴ and be crowned champion for the entire season!

 

While more fans cheered outside, Lightning McQueen, the rookie, was parked in the back of his posh trailer, trying to psych himself up for the race. It had been a huge year for Lightning. He had exploded onto the racing⁵ scene like a stick of dynamite⁶, and he already had an impressive list of wins and top finishes. He knew that he had a good shot at winning the Dinoco 400, and if he did, he would be the first rookie in history to do it. Lightning felt his rpm increase at the thought.

 

"Focus." He concentrated hard. "Speed. I am speed. I eat losers for breakfast. I am Lightning." He had two things on his mind: winning and all the perks⁸ that came with it, including the Dinoco sponsorship. The sponsorship meant that Dinoco would pay Lightning a lot of money to compete in races.

 

"Hey, Lightning," called Mack. He was Lightning's loyal trailer driver. "You ready?"

 

Lightning could feel the roar of the crowds in the stands as his tires buzzed.

 

"Oh, yeah!" The sleek⁹ red race car revved his engine. "Lightning's ready."

 

Cameras flashed across the stands like fireworks as Lightning rolled off the rear of his trailer. He made sure he gave them a good look at his lucky lightning bolt sticker and the number 95 on his side.

 

"Ka-chow!" he called out as his grill¹⁰ flashed across the stadium's giant video screen.

 

Lightning made his way to the track. His competitors were waiting. There were more than forty other cars in the race, but Lightning McQueen knew that he had to worry about only two of them. Strip Weathers—also known as The King—had won more Piston Cups than any other car in history. He also had been Dinoco's golden boy for years, getting all those big paychecks. This would be his last race before retiring. Lightning was sure that The King wanted to go out on top, and he still had the speed to do it.

 

And then there was Chick Hicks. He was famous for battling through the line—bashing any car who stood in his way. He had never managed to beat The King, though. He was more determined¹¹ than ever to win and begin a new era—the Chick era.

 

"Bob, my oil pressure's through the roof right now!" cried Darrell Cartrip, one of the race announcers. Poor Darrell was in danger of overheating as the green flag dropped. The three rivals lurched into high gear, launching the greatest race of the decade as they roared across the starting line.

 

"Right you are, Darrell," Bob Cutlass agreed as he watched the action from the announcers' booth. "The winner of this race will win the season title and the Piston Cup!"

 

"The legend, the runner-up, and the rookie," Darrell said. "Three cars, one champion."

 

Lightning McQueen poured on the speed as The King's sleek tail fin⁷ flashed around the track with Chick right behind it. Lightning punched the gas and flew ahead of Chick. But Chick Hicks wasn't about to lose this race to a rookie. Coming up fast, he slammed Lightning's rear and spun¹² him onto the infield.

 

The crowd gasped¹³ as Lightning whirled out of control on the grass.

 

Lightning recovered quickly, tearing up the field as he zipped back onto the track. But now he was in last place! He pushed hard to make up the time.

 

Still, Chick wasn't going to let Lightning close in on him. He wasn't taking any chances. "Dinoco is all mine!" he cried as he slammed into the car beside him, sending it spinning out of control. In an instant, other cars began to crash into a pileup. "Get through that, Lightning!" With a confident sneer¹⁴, the ruthless race car headed into the pits for fuel and service.

 

Lightning tried to go around the wreckage¹⁵, but it was impossible. With no other choice, he did the only thing he could think of: he went through it! Dodging¹⁶ rubble¹⁷ and smoke, Lightning moved spectacularly, gliding¹⁸ between stopped vehicles and leapfrogging into the air over a pile of cars.

 

"Lightning made it through!" shouted Chick's crew chief.

 

And Lightning didn't stop. While everyone else headed into the pits, he kept rolling … right into first place!

 

"Woo-hoo!" Lightning cried.

 

"You know, the rookie just fired his crew chief," Darrell announced. "That's the third one this season!"

 

"Well, he says he likes working alone, Darrell!" Bob said.

 

Chick and The King bolted out of pit row and didn't waste any time in trying to catch up with Lightning. The laps flew by, and it looked as if no one would beat him. Finally, Lightning headed into the pits for fuel. He couldn't win the race on fumes¹⁹. "No, no, no—no tires!" he shouted as his crew tried to replace his worn tires. There wasn't any time. "Just the gas!"

 

"Looks like it's all gas 'n' goes for Lightning today!" Darrell observed as he peered down at pit row below him. "Now, normally I'd say that's a short-term gain, long-term loss, but it sure is working for him."

 

The frenzied²⁰ crowd's excitement grew as the contenders sped around the track. Then the white flag waved.

 

LAST LAP, read the stadium's giant video monitor. "Checkered²¹ flag," Lightning said to himself, "here I come."

 

Ka-blam!

 

"Oh, no," Darrell cried as he watched the rookie lose speed. "Lightning has blown a tire!" Chick and The King pounded ahead, making up time with every second. But Lightning didn't give up. He plunged²² forward…

 

Ka-blam!

 

He lost another tire!

 

"Come on!" Determined to win, Lightning struggled forward, limping on his rear wheel rims²³.

 

"I don't believe what I'm watching!" Darrell cried. "Lightning McQueen is a hundred feet from his Piston Cup—"

 

"The King and Chick are coming on strong!" Bob shouted. "Lightning's nearly there, but Chick and The King are almost caught up!"

 

Lightning dragged himself forward. He was inches away from crossing the finish line—and making history. He could hear Chick and The King coming up behind him. In a last-ditch effort, Lightning took a giant leap and slid forward. He even stuck out his tongue to gain an extra inch.

 

"It's too close to call!" Bob announced as he gaped²⁴ at the photo finish. "The most spectacular, amazing, incomprehensible, unequivocably unbelievable ending in the history of the world, and we don't even know who won!"

 

赛车场上人山人海，欢呼声此起彼伏。成千上万激动不已的赛车迷正在观看本年度最盛大的一场比赛——岱诺可400汽车拉力赛。他们吹着喇叭，挥舞着旗帜，为喜爱的选手加油。本场获胜者不仅可以得到活塞杯奖杯，而且会加冕为整个赛季的冠军!

 

场外欢呼的车迷越来越多，赛车新秀闪电麦坤正停在他的豪华拖车上为自己鼓劲儿，做赛前的最后准备。对麦坤来说，今年真是赚足了眼球。他像一颗引爆的炸弹一样飞驰在赛场上，赢了一场又一场的比赛，取得了一连串好成绩。他知道自己有十足的把握在岱诺可400汽车拉力赛中获胜。一旦成功，他将会成为赛车史上第一个夺得活塞杯的新手！想到这儿，麦坤感觉车轮都要飞转起来了！

 

“集中注意力！”他努力控制自己。“速度，我就是速度！我要把失败者当早餐，我是闪！电！”他的脑子里现在只有两样东西：胜利以及随之而来的好处，包括岱诺可的赞助。这一赞助意味着岱诺可将赞助麦坤一大笔钱让他参加更多的比赛。

 

“嘿，闪电，”麦坤的老伙计拖车麦克说，“你准备好了吗？”

 

麦坤能感受到当他飞转的轮胎一摩擦地面，发出隆隆的声响，看台上的车迷们就报以热烈的回应。

 

“欧耶！”炫酷的红色赛车发动了引擎。“闪电已经准备好了！”

 

麦坤驶出拖车，满场的闪光灯像层层烟花一样咔嚓咔嚓闪个不停。他确定，能给他带来好运的闪电标志以及侧边的数字95让他的出场闪亮无比。

 

“咔嚓！”当他的车身闪现在赛场的大屏幕上时，麦坤不禁嘚瑟起来。

 

麦坤到达赛道时，他的竞争对手早已等候在那里。尽管还有其他四十多辆赛车参赛，但在闪电麦坤看来，能让他担心的只有两辆。史催普·惠特被人们尊称为车王，在赛车史上赢得过最多的活塞杯。他也是岱诺可多年来的红人，囊括了所有的丰厚奖金。这将是他退役之前的最后一场比赛。麦坤确信车王期待着登顶，而且他仍然拥有这个实力。

 

接着是路霸。这家伙因霸道而出名，不管什么车挡路，他都要较量一番。然而，他从未能够击败车王。但这次，他抱着必胜的信念，鼓足了劲非赢不可。他期待开启一个全新的赛车时代——路霸的时代！

 

“鲍勃，我的油压现在高到不行了！”赛况解说员达伦·卡提普喊道。正当可怜的达伦快要热昏头的时候，绿旗放了下来。三个竞争对手倾斜车身，迅速加足马力,呼啸着冲出起点。此刻，一场十年来最壮观的比赛正式拉开帷幕！

 

鲍勃·卡特拉斯从演播室注视着赛场上的动态赞同地说道：“你说得对，达伦，这场比赛的冠军将会是整个赛季的赢家，更将得到活塞杯！”

 

“传奇车王、凶猛路霸、新人闪电，”达伦说，“三辆赛车，冠军只有一个！”

 

闪电麦坤极速前进，车王闪亮的尾翼在赛道上风驰电掣，路霸紧随其后。麦坤狠踩油门飞超路霸。但是，路霸决不会让自己败给一名新手！他加速赶超，砰地撞上麦坤的后尾，狠狠地将麦坤撞出赛道。

 

麦坤失去控制在草地上打转，所有的车迷都为他倒吸一口凉气。

 

他快速调整车位，飞速驶出草地，重新杀回赛道。然而此时，麦坤发现自己已被所有对手甩在身后！他全力加速，希望把时间追回来。

 

路霸自然不肯让麦坤靠近自己。他不愿意冒任何的风险。“岱诺可冠军是我的！”他一边大喊，一边撞向与他并肩的赛车。被撞的赛车旋转着失去控制。一时间，其他的赛车乱撞在一起，赛道上一片狼藉。“看你怎么冲过来，麦坤！”路霸冷笑着朝维修区驶去。

 

麦坤试图绕过残骸，但是这似乎是不可能的。他别无选择，只能尝试他唯一能想到的方法：冒险从他们中间穿过去！他一路躲闪赛车的残骸和烟尘，表现得游刃有余。麦坤穿过一辆又一辆卡在路上的赛车，又一个纵身越过前面乱成一团的赛车，将他们狠狠甩在身后。

 

“麦坤成功突围！”路霸的维修队长惊呼。

 

麦坤一刻也不愿停歇。当其他选手进入维修区的时候，他继续向前飞驰，朝第一位奋进！

 

“欧耶！”麦坤激动得大喊起来。

 

“这位新人刚才又解雇了一位维修队长，这一个赛季就已经是第三位了！”达伦对着广播感叹道。

 

“嗯，他说他喜欢单干，达伦！”鲍勃说。

 

路霸和车王闪电般从维修站冲回赛道，争分夺秒追赶麦坤。一圈一圈过去了，看起来没人能赢得了麦坤。终于，麦坤驶入维修区加油。没有油，他不可能赢得比赛。“不不不，不要换胎！”当维修团队准备为他换下磨损的轮胎时，他咆哮起来，没时间了!“只要加油！”

 

“看来麦坤今天打算只加汽油就跑完全程啊！”达伦俯身看着下面的维修站说，“通常我会说这样做只能一时领先，长久来看不是明智之举。不过这种做法对麦坤来说是可行的。”

 

选手们在赛道上飞驰，热情的观众也越来越激动。白旗舞动起来了！

 

“最后一圈”，赛场上巨大的视频监控器显示出这样的字样。麦坤自言自语：“终点线，我来了！”

 

喀啪！

 

“糟糕！”达伦看到麦坤慢了下来，惊呆了：“麦坤爆胎了！”路霸和车王奋力往前冲，分秒必争。但是麦坤也不甘放弃。他跌跌撞撞地继续前行……

 

喀啪！

 

又一个轮胎爆了！

 

“加油!”麦坤抱着必胜的决心，凭借后胎轮辋一瘸一拐地向前挣扎。

 

“简直难以置信！”达伦惊呼，“闪电麦坤距离他的活塞杯奖杯只有100英尺了！”

 

“车王和路霸穷追不舍！”鲍勃激动地大喊，“麦坤已经快到终点线。但两个对手快追上来了！”

 

麦坤拖着车身向前移动。他距离终点线只有几英尺了，跨过终点线，他将创造历史。麦坤听到路霸和车王就要追上来了。他鼓足了劲奋力一越，向前滑了出去。他甚至伸出舌头，再争取了一英寸。

 

“太接近了，难断胜负！”鲍勃目瞪口呆地看着确定名次的照片。“史上最壮观，最刺激，最难以理解和难以置信的比赛结果！我们甚至都不知道谁赢了！”

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