Later, McQueen, Braedey, Mary, and Sally have all gathered up at Tailfin Pass by the Wheel Well Motel, as well as many other couples who've come to the newly restored motel. The view from the mountain looking down to Ornament Valley and Radiator Springs was a beautiful sight to behold.
"It's nice for the two of us to get out of town for a while for something like this." Mary sighed to Braedey, the two of them bumped up next to one another.
"It's nice for the two of us to get back together." Braedey smiled gently to Mary. "Also, I'm sorry for not being around when I should."
"Well, you had your racing career, and I had my job." Mary smiled, then looked over to both McQueen and Sally nearby. "And I'm happy to see those two smiling."
Sally was a 2002 996-series Porsche 911 Carrera, with blue eyes, in a baby blue livery, with chrome rims and two sets of headlights on her front and back, respectively. She has a spoiler just above where her engine is located, whilst the Porsche logo can be found on her hood, the word "Carrera" printed under her spoiler. Her license plate is "301PCE".
"I can't tell you how good it is to be here alone, just the two of us, finally. You and me." McQueen said softly to Sally.
"Ahem! Good evening." The four cars saw Mater roll up with a bartender's bow below his front bumper and drinks tray on his left side. "My name is Mater, and I'll be your waiter." He chuckled. "Mater the waiter. That's funny right there."
"Mater? You work here?" McQueen asked in surprise.
"Yeah, I work here. What'd you think? I just snuck in here when nobody was looking and pretended to be your waiter so I could hang out with you?" Mater asked to McQueen as if he's crazy.
'He definitely did.' Mary and Braedey thought to themselves, though they laughed with McQueen and Sally.
"Oh, yeah. How ridiculous would that be?" McQueen joked.
"Can I start you two lovebirds off with a couple of drinks?" Mater asked.
"Yes. I'll have my usual." McQueen suggested.
"You know what? I'll have that, too." Sally agreed.
Mater looked like he's been knocked back. "Uh... Right. Your usual." He raced over to the bar, McQueen and Sally laughing to one another.
"I'd better go and make sure he doesn't cause any problems." Braedey said to Mary, which she agreed, and the Redbullozer racecar drove over to the bar.
Inside of the bar, Guido was making some drinks for Luigi, Sarge, and Fillmore. The three cars thanks the little forklift for the drinks, as they began to enjoy them. Braedey drove up, giving a greeting to Guido, just as Mater pulled up.
"Guido, what's McQueen's usual?" Mater asked to the little forklift.
"Come dovrei saperlo?" Guido shrugged with his forks.
(Translation: How should I know?)
"Perfect. Give me two of them." Mater asked, Braedey giving a low chuckle and laugh.
"Quiet! My program's on!" Sarge demanded, looking up to the TV, the others looking to the screen.
"Let's see what we've got on for tonight." Braedey opted to take a look and see what's up.
Up on the TV screen was Mel Dorado, a 1976 Cadillac Eldorado. Mel is painted gold, with a chrome grille and bumper. The back of his roof is tan. He has chrome rims and lining. He also has a pair of glasses over his blue eyes. He was hosting his program, the 'Mel Dorado Show'.
"Tonight on the Mel Dorado show..." Mel spoke up. "His story gripped the world." A green Range Rover L322 turned to face the camera. The location the car was in was an open desert in Australia, nearby Uluru. "Oil billionaire Miles Axlerod, in an attempt to become the first car to circumnavigate the globe without GPS." The car turned away, and drove away into the unknown. Then, a newspaper popped up on the screen saying he was missing. "Ironically, he ran out of gas and found himself trapped in the wild." The camera then showed of what could be a jungle and the car came up a cliff into view. It had different plants scattered across the hood, roof, doors, and even along the windows, and he looked very exhausted. "Feared dead, he emerged 36 days later, running on a fuel he distilled himself from the natural elements!"
A piece of footage was then focused on an oil company that was named 'Axlerod Oil' and it was Sold. "Since then, he's sold his oil fortune..." Next, a solar panel system was implanted into his rear window. "converted himself from a gas-guzzler..." Miles was then placed in Britain, with chrome rims that don't turn like his tyres, which have a texture making a repetition of a leaf-shaped motif. His rims contain the words "REGEN R8," reading "Regenerate." He has a license plate reading "ALT NRG", which makes up the words "alternative energy". "into an electric car..." it was then images of a lab are shown up, and scientists were working with a green liquid. "...and has devoted his life to finding a renewable, clean-burning fuel."
Then screen was then showing a green and white field of grain with blue water and sky. It was cartoon looking. "Now, he claims to have done it with his Allinol." A pictured was put up showing a logo of Allinol, which was a green leaf. "And to show the world what his new super fuel can do..." Finally, racecars were racing about on screen in some kind of choreographed performance. "...he's created a racing competition like no other, inviting the greatest champions around the globe to battle in the first ever World Grand Prix." The cars formed into a globe sign, the logo for the World Grand Prix. Finally, the scene shifted back to the studio with Mel. "Welcome, Sir Miles Axlerod." He announced.
Miles then drove up onto the stage. "Thank you, Mel. It is good to be here. Listen to me. Big oil. It costs a fortune. Pollution is getting worse. I mean come on, it's fossil fuel. "Fossil", as in dead dinosaurs. And we all know what happened to them. Alternative energy is the future. Trust me, Mel. After seeing allinol in action at the World Grand Prix, nobody will ever go back to gasoline again." He proclaimed with a smile on his face.
'Yeah. I'm not too sure about this guy.' Braedey thought.
"What happened to the dinosaurs, now?" Mater asked to Luigi, who just looked to him. Braedey snickered a little.
"And on satellite, a World Grand Prix competitor and one of the fastest racecar drivers in the world, Francesco Bernoulli." Mel then introduced one of the racers. A red, green and white Formula 1 car was shown on screen next to Mel. They were both on a separate monitor.
The TV screen then made Francesco up on full screen. Francesco Bernoulli is a modern Formula One race car, as noted from specifications such as open wheels and a long hood. His top speed is 186mph (300km/h), with a 0-60 time of 2.5 seconds. His engine is a 2.4-litre V8, 18,500rpm redline, with 750 horsepower. He has brown eyes, and he is painted in the colours of Italy's flag. The red colour is on his nose cone and across the middle of his bodywork, and the green and white colors are seen on his upper bodywork, sidepods and front wing endplates. The colours are painted on each side of his rear wing. On his nose cone, he also has a picture of the flag with yellow borders, along with a white circle showing his racing number 1 in black. These are additionally shown on an idol on his sidepods that show the World Grand Prix logo and symbol. On his barge boards, he has the Allinol logo, as well as the letters "FR", which stand for his racing league, "Formula Racer". Additionally, he has black tyres and red rims. On his tyres, there is text reading "Rotelli Tires Pasta Potenza".
"It is an honour, Signore Dorado, for you." Francesco spoke to the host with his Italian voice.
"I've heard of that guy a lot. Claims to be the best in the Formula Racer league." Braedey said to the others. "But, I think he's nothing but hot exhaust."
"Miles, why not invite Lightning McQueen?" Mel now asked to Axlerod, surprising the Radiator Springs' folks and Braedey by this. "Or maybe even 'Bolt McQueen'?"
"Of course we invited him, but apparently after his very long racing season he is taking some time off to rest." Miles explained to Mel. "We've also tried to contact the V8 supercar champion, Braedey 'Bolt McQueen' Martin, but we've been unable to reach him, and the boss of Redbullozer Racing, Leyland Dane, has made no announcement or comment of his whereabouts."
"The Lightning McQueen would not have a chance against Francesco. And this Braedey Martin, he sounds like he can't handle proper racing." Francesco boasted, much to Mater's frustration. "I can go over three hundred kilometres an hour. In miles, that is like... way faster than McQueen!"
"I can go 320 kilometres per hour without hesitation, and can handle turns like they're nothing and like I'm on rails." Braedey grunted. "I was built for circuit racing."
"Let's go to the phones." Mel suggested. "Radiator Springs, you're on the air."
"Yeah, that Italian feller you got on there can't talk that way about Lightnin' McQueen. He's the bestest racecar in the whole wide world." Mater's voice spoke up.
Braedey perked up at the sound of Mater's voice coming from the TV. He glanced over to where Mater was once standing. Upon finding a lack of tow truck, he and the rest of the guys turned to see Mater was on the phone nearby.
"Uh oh." Sarge said worriedly. He and everyone else turned their attention to the TV again as Francesco responded.
"If he is, how you say, 'the bestest racecar,' then why must he rest? Huh?" Francesco asked snidely.
"'Cause he knows what's important!" Mater snapped, Francesco rolling his eyes. "Ev'ry now and then he prefers jus' ta slow down, enjoy life."
"Oh! You heard it! Lightning McQueen prefers to be slow!" Francesco laughed, the argument now drawing attention from the other Wheel Well patrons. "Of course, this is not news to Francesco. When I want to go to sleep, I watch one of his races. After two laps, I am out cold."
Most of the patrons gasped a bit, murmuring. "That ain't what I meant!" Mater snapped.
Outside of the motel, McQueen, Sally, and Mary all looked to see the commotion going on at the bar of the motel, much to their surprise to see such a commotion going on.
"What's going on over there?" McQueen asked in confusion.
"Let's go and see." Mary suggested, her and Sally following after McQueen.
"He is afraid of Francesco." Francesco taunted back on TV. "That is-a why he does not race. He knows he cannot win so he choose to stay home. This is not new to Francesco either. It is very common to see smaller racecars crumble under the pressure of-a facing me."
McQueen looked up at the screen. "That's that Italian formula car. His name is..."
"Francesco Bernoulli." Sally finished, rolling the 'R's. "No wonder there's a crowd."
"Why do you know his name?" McQueen questioned. "And don't say it like that. It's three syllables, not ten."
"What? He's nice to look at." Sally defended. "You know, open-wheeled and all."
"What's wrong with fenders?" McQueen looked over at his finders. "I thought you liked my fenders."
"Well, let me tell you somethin' else there, Mister San Francisco!" Mater's voice snapped, getting McQueen's attention as he looked to the TV. "McQueen could drive circles around you."
"Driving in-a circles is all he can-a do, no?" Francesco countered with a shrug.
"No! I mean, yes. I mean, he could beat you anywhere!" Mater insisted back. "Any time, any track!"
McQueen looked over to Braedey and Guido at the bar, the forklift gesturing over to where the phones are, and MCQueen could see Mater arguing on the phone to Francesco.
"He's been at this for the past five minutes." Braedey whispered over to McQueen. "He's just trying to say you're better than Francesco."
"Mel, can we move on?" Francesco requested, now sounding bored. "Francesco needs a caller who can provide a little more intellectual stimulation, like a dump truck." That comment got McQueen angry, Braedey grumbling as well.
"Ha-ha! That shows what you know. Dump trucks is dumb!" Mater laughed. He yelped when somebody grabbed his tow hook and yanked him out of the phone booth, which happened to be McQueen.
Lightning drove forward and approached the phone. "Yeah, hi. This is Lightning McQueen." He began.
"The Lightning McQueen, huh?" Francesco now looked happy to actually talk to McQueen, Mel and Miles both rather surprised by this turn of events.
"Look, I don't appreciate my best friend being insulted like that." Lightning stated first, trying to keep a lid on his anger.
"McQueen, that was your best friend? Oh." Francesco pouted a bit, then smirked. "This is the difference between you and Francesco. Francesco knows how good he is. He does not need to surround himself with tow trucks to prove it."
Braedey drove up. "Hey. Pretty big talk from a racecar who is as fragile as glass." He taunted.
"Fragile?! He-a calls Francesco fragile?!" Francesco shouted out in anger, his mood doing a complete 180. "Not-a so fast, McQueen!"
"'Not so fast.'" Lightning mused with a smirk. "What is that, you're new motto?"
"Motto?!" Francesco snapped, beginning to shout in Italian until Mel could shut off the Formula One car's mic. Everyone could see him arguing with someone off-screen, then drive off in a huff.
"Ha! How'd you like that, fancy car?" Braedey joked.
"And who might this young man be?" Miles asked in curiosity.
"Apologies, this is Braedey Martin, of the V8 Supercars Championship from Australia." Braedey introduced himself.
"Well, this sounds like something that needs to be settled on the race course." Miles noted. "What do you two say, Lightning McQueen and Braedey Martin? We've still got room for two more racers." He offered to them.
"Well, I would love to." Lightning said. "The only thing is my crew is off for the season, so...." He heard the distinct sound of spraying paint. He looked back to the counter to see Ramone had painted a quick banner that read "Team Lightning McQueen." Luigi, Sarge, and Fillmore stood ready with smiles. Guido quickly and skilfully popped the corks off some champagne bottles.
"Peet stop!" Guido called.
McQueen smirked. "You know what? They just got back. Deal me in, baby. Ka-chow!"
"I'll have to make some calls, but when I get the green light, expect to see 'The Bolt' strike next!" Braedey declared.
The entire Wheel Well cheered out for the two racers, everyone excited to see what's going to happen when they compete. McQueen hung up the phone and he reversed out to face Sally.
McQueen looked to Sally as the Porsche approached him. "I know, I know, I just got back. But we won't be long—"
"Oh no, don't worry about me." Sally assured to him. "I've got enough to do here. Mater's going to have a blast, though." She now noticed the change in Lightning's expression. "You're bringing Mater, right? You never bring him to any of your races." McQueen casts a look towards said tow truck just in time to see him taste a drink, only to spit it back in the cup again. McQueen smirked. "Just let him sit in the pits. Give him a headset. Come on, it will be the thrill of a lifetime for him." Sally suggested.
"I can travel with him." Annalise then offered, rolling up to them. "I'll try and keep him in order."
"Your drink, sir." Mater said as he drove up.
"Mater." McQueen said.
"I didn't taste it!" Mater defended himself hurriedly.
McQueen smiled. "How'd you like to come and see the world with me?"
Mater gasped, smiling broadly. "You mean it?"
"Yeah! You got me into this thing. You're comin' along." McQueen confirmed with a laugh.
"All right!" Mater cheered.
Braedey soon got on the phone to talk to his boss. "Mr. Leyland, hey. You alright over there?" He began the call.
"It's late in the evening over here, but I just tuned in to hear the Mel Dorado Show." Leyland's voice spoke back, then he heard a chuckle. "Man, never thought Mr. McQueen would have such a sense of humour."
"So, what do you think?" Braedey asked.
"I wasn't 100% on the whole race, especially since it'll clash with one of the races." Leyland began. "But, I've thought about this, and I'll send you over, as well as your crew and Dutto." He gave his green light.
"Thanks, Leyland. Hope to see you in Japan." Braedey ended the call, now turning to McQueen and Mary. "I'm in." Was all he said, everyone cheering in response.