The Dash to Victory | A Cars Story

Chapter 10: Serving the Sentence - Day 1: Home, Sweet Home

The morning sun crept its way over the clouds and shone upon Radiator Springs. Dash sat in the impound lot; deep in unconscious thought...

"No! Don't leave me, Rush! Don't leave me..." Dash yelled and yelled at what he thought was the truck carrying his teammate. His horrible crash subsequently replayed in his mind until suddenly...

"Wake up, hot rod." Lightning playfully woke Dash up; shocking him to his core.

"Agh! You're just as bad as Mater in that regard!" Dash grumbled.

"Whelp, guess what? Sally has appointed me to be your supervisor today. I'll be watching you for the majority of the day!" Lightning announced.

That sentiment hit Dash like a ton of bricks. Lightning McQueen was supervising him. Little 'ol Dash was being watched by a racing legend like a little kid!

"Oh, Mr. McQueen! I promise I will not let you down!" Dash ecstatically jumped up, before crashing down to earth and realizing he had his parking boot on. "Ugh, damnit."

Lightning attached a guide rope to Dash like he was a pet.

"You know this feels incredibly demeaning, right?" Dash observed.

"...and that comment about Fred wasn't?" Lightning playfully called upon their first interaction.

"Checkmate, Mr. McQueen." Dash quipped back.

Lightning began to guide Dash down the road toward his first job of the sentence.

"You'll be serving at a different location every day of your sentence, to prove that you'll be a viable addition to the community." Lightning instructed. "Today, you'll be working at the Cozy Cone with me."

The two arrived at the head office, where Lightning showed him around.

"Now, don't even think about trying to escape – because you're not the only racecar around here." Lightning recommended. "Catching you isn't gonna be pretty."

Dash looked downward, feeling slightly betrayed that he couldn't be trusted.

"But that's just it, Mr. McQueen – where will I go if I ran?" Dash observed.

"Straight to the county jail, I guess." Lightning said with a degree of sympathy.

"Well, not just that – but the racing circuits. I just feel like I don't belong there anymore." Dash confessed.

"What?! But you were incredible! You barely ran a season there!" Lightning had observed with concern.

"Look, I don't want to go back to that world. I hated the expectations everyone had of me. I copped that stuff as early as my academy days... Just a record-setter to milk achievements off of. I hope they never get the chance again!" Dash suddenly blurted.

"Dash, you showed the world more potential in 100 laps than some could in their entire career." Lightning went to comfort him.

"Maybe. But rest assured..." Dash went back onto his point. "If I had the opportunity to spend even two weeks to hang out with my idol – in his hometown no less... you bet your rear bumper I'd spend every second of it."

Lightning had no words, just a friendly nudge to give him. "You're going to fit right in here." Lightning took Dash's rope off. Dash then subsequently tried to mess with Lightning by running laps around the Cozy Cone area.

"Woohohoooooo!" Dash yelled out as he ran laps around the head office.

As Dash came back smiling like a child, Lightning gave him a stern yet playful look in response.