Florida 500
The Florida 500 is a Piston Cup event in Cars 3. With the goal of defeating Jackson Storm and the other Next-Gens, Lightning McQueen receives assistance from his racing instructor Cruz Ramirez during his training for the event.[1] Cruz took Lightning's place halfway through the race, because Lightning decided he could not win it alone.
History
Jackson is in the lead for most of the race, while Lightning McQueen steadily passes other cars. When he overhears Sterling telling Cruz to leave, that makes Lightning have an idea. Lightning knew he could not win alone, so after a wreck on the track caused by Cam Spinner, he had Ramone paint the Rust-eze and number #95 on Cruz to follow race regulations, along with having Luigi and Guido suit her with his brand of Lightyear tires so she could race for him and have her first chance on the track.
Storm initially takes Cruz as a joke and therefore pays no attention to her as he focuses on maintaining the lead. When the green flag drops, Cruz initially struggles, but eventually starts making up ground. As the race progresses, Cruz starts outperforming the other racers. When there are only ten laps left, Cruz moves into the top 10. Storm's crew chief warns him about this, but he does not care and simply speeds up. When Cruz moves into fourth place, Storm starts to take notice of her. When she moves into third place, however, Storm starts becoming worried of her catching up to him, so he purposely slows down to talk to Cruz, allowing Danny Swervez to take the lead. Storm tells her that she can play dress up all she wants, but she will never be a racer just like he and the other Next-Gens are before leaving her behind and retaking the lead from Danny. Hurt by Storm's words, Cruz moves back to fifth place after Flip Dover and Chase Racelott pass her. Cruz tells McQueen that Storm is in her head, but McQueen tells her that she got into Storm's head because he would not have done that if she did not scare him by performing so well, and that she really is a racer just like the rest of the field. During the final lap of the race, Ramirez is right in Storm's tail and Storm tries to prevent her from winning by pushing her against the wall. Unfortunately for Storm, Cruz does a barrel roll over him and crosses the finish line in first place. After winning, Cruz is congratulated by Danny Swervez, Chase Racelott, Ryan "Inside" Laney, and Bubba Wheelhouse.
Following the race, it is decided by race officials that both Cruz and McQueen are the winners, as McQueen started the race while Cruz finished it with the same racing number.
Starting Positions
- 20: Jackson Storm
- 19: Danny Swervez
- 48: Aaron Clocker
- 68: H.J. Hollis
- 93: Nick Shift
- 54: Herb Curbler
- 4: J.D. McPillar
- 00: Flip Dover
- 24: Chase Racelott
- 90: Paul Conrev
- 64: Barry DePedal
- 39: Michael Rotor
- 52: George New-Win
- 82: Conrad Camber
- 31: Cam Spinner
- 15: Harvey Rodcap
- 70: Richie Gunzit
- 67: Jim Reverick
- 92: Sheldon Shifter
- 28: Tim Treadless
- 5: Eric Braker
- 34: Steve "Slick" LaPage
- 121: Noah Gocek
- 117: Spikey Fillups
- 6: Bubba Wheelhouse
- 80: Dan Carcia
- 11: Chris Roamin'
- 21: Ryan "Inside" Laney
- 84: J.P. Drive
- 33: Ed Truncan
- 36: Rich Mixon
- 123: Jonas Carvers
- 73: M Fast Fong
- 76: Will Rusch
- 95: Lightning McQueen
Finishing Positions
- 95: Cruz Ramirez / Lightning McQueen
- 20: Jackson Storm
- 19: Danny Swervez
- 68: H.J. Hollis
- 48: Aaron Clocker
- 93: Nick Shift
- 54: Herb Curbler
- 4: J.D. McPillar
- 00: Flip Dover
- 24: Chase Racelott
- 90: Paul Conrev
- 39: Michael Rotor
- 64: Barry DePedal
- 82: Conrad Camber
- 117: Spikey Fillups
- 80: Dan Carcia
- 70: Richie Gunzit
- 67: Jim Reverick
- 21: Ryan "Inside" Laney
- 6: Bubba Wheelhouse
- 33: Ed Truncan
- 5: Eric Braker
- 11: Chris Roamin'
- 121: Noah Gocek
- 15: Harvey Rodcap
- 92: Sheldon Shifter
- 123: Jonas Carvers
- 36: Rich Mixon
- 73: M Fast Fong
- 76: Will Rusch
- DNF (84): J.P. Drive
- DNF (34): Steve "Slick" LaPage
- DNF (31): Cam Spinner
- DNF (52): George New-Win
- DNF (28): Tim Treadless
Trivia
- Although Darrell Cartrip says that there are forty-three cars competing in the race, there are only thirty-four Next-Generation racers and one veteran racer (Lightning McQueen) for a total of thirty-five cars.
- Rich Mixon, Michael Rotor, Conrad Camber, Paul Conrev, Sheldon Shifter, Spikey Fillups, Noah Gocek, George New-Win, Will Rusch, M Fast Fong, and Cruz Ramirez made their debut in this race/season.
- Tim Treadless, Cam Spinner, Steve "Slick" LaPage, George New-Win, and J.P. Drive did not finish the race due to having been badly damaged in the crash.
- A miscolored Ryan "Inside" Laney appears in some scenes during the crash.
- Although J.P. Drive and Steve "Slick" LaPage were badly damaged and were unable to continue racing after the crash, they could both be seen on the track when Cruz was going into the pits.
- The Florida 500 is possibly based on the Daytona 500, as both races are at the start of the seasons in the Piston Cup and NASCAR in February.