Florida 500

The Florida International Super Speedway, where the Florida 500 is held.

The Florida 500 is a Piston Cup event in Cars 3. With the goal of defeating Jackson Storm and other rookies in the race, Lightning McQueen receives assistance from racing instructor Cruz Ramirez during his training for the event. Cruz will take Lightning's place half through the race, because Lightning decided he could not win this alone.

Jackson takes the lead for most of the race, while Lightning steadily passes other cars. When he overhears Sterling tell 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.

Cruz as a Rust-eze racer.

Storm initially takes Cruz as a joke and therefore pays no attention to her. When the green flag drops, Cruz initially struggles, but eventually starts making up ground. As the race progresses, Cruz starts outperforming the other cars. When there is just 10 laps left, Cruz moves into the top 10. Jackson's crew chief warns him about this, but he does not care. When Cruz moves into fourth position, Storm starts to take notice of her. When she moves into third position, Storm starts becoming scared of her, so he purposely slows down to catch up to Cruz, allowing Daniel Swervez to take the lead. Storm tells her that she can play dress up all she wants, but that she will never be a racer before retaking the lead. While in shock, Cruz moves back to fifth position after Flip Dover and Chase Racelott pass her. Cruz tells McQueen that Storm is in her head, but McQueen tells her that she got in Storm's head because he would not have done that if she did not scare him, and that she really was a racer. During the final lap of the race Ramirez is right in Storm's tail and Storm tries to prevent her from passing by pushing her up against the wall. Unfortunately for Storm, Cruz does a flip over him and crosses the finish line in first place. After winning, Cruz is congratulated by Daniel Swervez, Chase Racelott, Ryan "Inside" Laney, and Bubba Wheelhouse.

Cruz and McQueen on the winners table.

Starting Positions

1. 20: Jackson Storm
2. 19: Daniel Swervez
3. 00: Flip Dover
4. 24: Chase Racelott
5. 93: Next-Generation Spare Mint Racer
6. 54: Herb Curbler
7. 4: J.D. McPillar
8. 68: H.J. Hollis
9. 48: Aaron Clocker
10. 90: Paul Conrev
11. 39: Michael Rotor
12. 64: Barry DePedal
13. 52: George New-Win
14. 82: Conrad Camber
15. 15: Harvey Rodcap
16. 31: Cam Spinner
17. 67: Jim Reverick
18. 70: Richie Gunzit
19. 92: Sheldon Shifter
20. 28: Tim Treadless
21. 34: Steve "Slick" LaPage
22. 117: Spikey Fillups
23. 5: Eric Braker
24. 121: Noah Gocek
25. 80: Dan Carcia
26. 6: Bubba Wheelhouse, Jr.
27. 21: Ryan "Inside" Laney
28. 11: Chris Roamin'
29. 84. J.P. Drive
30. 33: Ed Truncan
31. 123: Jonas Carvers
32. 36: Rich Mixon
33. 73: Next-Generation Rev-N-Go Racer
34. 76: Next-Generation Vinyl Toupee Racer
35. 95: Lightning McQueen

Finishing Positions

Pos.	No.	Car
1	95	Cruz Ramirez/Lightning McQueen
2	20	Jackson Storm
3	19	Daniel Swervez
4	68	H.J. Hollis
5	48	Aaron Clocker
6	93	Next-Generation Spare Mint Racer
7	54	Herb Curbler
8	4	J.D. McPillar
9	00	Flip Dover
10	24	Chase Racelott
11	90	Paul Conrev
12	39	Michael Rotor
13	64	Barry DePedal
14	82	Conrad Camber
15	5	Eric Braker
16	80	Dan Carcia
17	70	Richie Gunzit
18	67	Jim Reverick
19	21	Ryan "Inside" Laney
20	6	Bubba Wheelhouse, Jr.
21	33	Ed Truncan
22	117	Spikey Fillups
23	11	Chris Roamin'
24	121	Noah Gocek
25	15	Harvey Rodcap
26	36	Rich Mixon
27	92	Sheldon Shifter
28	73	Next-Generation Rev-N-Go Racer
29	76	Next-Generation Vinyl Toupee Racer
30	123	Jonas Carvers
31	84	J.P. Drive	DNF
32	34	Steve LaPage	DNF
33	28	Tim Treadless	DNF
34	52	George New-Win	DNF
35	31	Cam Spinner	DNF

Trivia

• Though Darrell Cartrip says that forty-three cars are competing, 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, Eric Braker, Noah Gocek, George New-Win, and the Next-Generation Rev-N-Go and Vinyl Toupee racers made their debut in this race/season.
• Tim Treadless, Cam Spinner, Steve LaPage, J.P. Drive, and George New-Win did not finish the race due to having been badly damaged in the crash. 
• Michael Rotor gets replaced by Pluto Oswald (Shifty Drug next-gen who is rumored to exist) in some scenes.
• Ryan "Inside" Laney's color reverses during the crash.
• Althrough J.P. Drive was badly damaged and was unable to continue after the crash, he was not seen damaged after the crash when Cruz Ramirez was going into the pits.
• The same thing happened to Steve "Slick" LaPage. He was not seen damaged after the crash when some of the next-gens were coming by while Cruz Ramirez was racing.
• Before the race started the next gens got modified or switched into random positions.
• The Florida 500 is possibly based off the Daytona 500, as both races are at the start of the seasons in the Piston Cup and NASCAR.
• https://i1.wp.com/caps.pictures/201/7-cars3/full/cars3-disneyscreencaps.com-9278.jpg?strip=all

https://i2.wp.com/caps.pictures/201/7-cars3/full/cars3-disneyscreencaps.com-9279.jpg?strip=all

References

https://i1.wp.com/caps.pictures/201/7-cars3/full/cars3-disneyscreencaps.com-9278.jpg?strip=all

https://i2.wp.com/caps.pictures/201/7-cars3/full/cars3-disneyscreencaps.com-9279.jpg?strip=all