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Cars Origins: Struck by Lightning
Before he became a Piston Cup superstar, Lightning McQueen was a car with a dream . . . and a different name! Where did Lightning learn to race? Who was his first sponsor? And where did "Ka-chow!" come from? Struck by Lightning is the story of the world's most famous race car—before the bolt!
101 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 2, 2017
About the author
Dave Keane
24 books12 followers Exciting news! After publishing 20+ picture books and chapter books, I’m launching a brand-new upper-middle-grade sci-fi series!
Want to read the first three chapters for free? Sign up for my newsletter here (link) and I’ll send them right over, along with behind-the-scenes peeks, special offers, and launch updates.
Hi, I’m Dave Keane, children’s author and certified UFO nerd. After years of reading bedtime stories to my own three kids, I began writing the kinds of books I loved sharing with them. Today I’m thrilled to be diving into upper middle-grade science fiction with The Experiencers series. Book 1 lands in September 2026, and I can’t wait for readers ages 10–14—plus fans of clean sci-fi with crossover appeal—to go on this time-twisting journey.
I’m the author of over 20 books for children and a certified UFO nerd. My titles include the Joe Sherlock: Kid Detective series, Bobby Bramble Loses His Brain, and The Treasure Box.
Let’s Connect
Newsletter: Join the Launch Crew
Website: www.davekeane.net
Facebook: facebook.com/mrdavekeane
Dave and his wife live in Northern California and have three grown-up children, a tortoise named Shelly, and a dog named Fiona—all of whom show no interest whatsoever in UFOs (except maybe the dog).
Want to read the first three chapters for free? Sign up for my newsletter here (link) and I’ll send them right over, along with behind-the-scenes peeks, special offers, and launch updates.
Hi, I’m Dave Keane, children’s author and certified UFO nerd. After years of reading bedtime stories to my own three kids, I began writing the kinds of books I loved sharing with them. Today I’m thrilled to be diving into upper middle-grade science fiction with The Experiencers series. Book 1 lands in September 2026, and I can’t wait for readers ages 10–14—plus fans of clean sci-fi with crossover appeal—to go on this time-twisting journey.
I’m the author of over 20 books for children and a certified UFO nerd. My titles include the Joe Sherlock: Kid Detective series, Bobby Bramble Loses His Brain, and The Treasure Box.
Let’s Connect
Newsletter: Join the Launch Crew
Website: www.davekeane.net
Facebook: facebook.com/mrdavekeane
Dave and his wife live in Northern California and have three grown-up children, a tortoise named Shelly, and a dog named Fiona—all of whom show no interest whatsoever in UFOs (except maybe the dog).
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 29, 2025
this should have been cars 2 kachow4ever
March 20, 2023
I loved the Cars movies so when I found out that this existed, I had to read it. I'd been wanting to write a fanfic about Lightning McQueen's origins but never got around to it, and it looks like it's already been done for me! A bit annoying as I would've had a lot of fun writing it (I would've gone really deep into McQueen's inner monologue, which neither this book nor the movies did as they're aimed at kids), but also glad I didn't have to go to the effort.
First I've gotta applaud the author of this book (it's listed as "Walt Disney Company" on Goodreads but the author's actual name is on the book cover). I don't know if he's the actual screenwriter for the films, but if he isn't, then well done him because he NAILED the characters' voices and personalities. They always spoke and behaved exactly how you'd think they would and a lot of their interactions were so funny that I was laughing about 95% of the time (yes, I did that on purpose...).
Lightning's origins are pretty shrouded in mystery in the actual films. We barely know anything about his life before the first film opens. While pulling off a character with practically no backstory is risky, they definitely pulled it off, and the mystery ends up working in his favour as fans will surely speculate about what happened before. It's what makes content like this so satisfying. We don't just learn how he got his name and number, where "ka-chow" came from and how he ended up sponsored by Rust-Eze. We learn how he got his me-against-the-world, "one man show" attitude and why he always felt the need for validation and to "prove himself." We learn about his rocky road to success that certainly didn't happen overnight. At one point, he straight-out says "Overnight success is a myth." It's SO true and I feel like a lot off people don't realise it. Thank you, Lightning, for bringing this to the public eye.
I still wonder what happened before he attended the racing academy. How was his childhood, and did he go to high school? Did he have any friends? What other experiences helped to shape his worldview? Maybe I do have to write that fan fiction, after all.
First I've gotta applaud the author of this book (it's listed as "Walt Disney Company" on Goodreads but the author's actual name is on the book cover). I don't know if he's the actual screenwriter for the films, but if he isn't, then well done him because he NAILED the characters' voices and personalities. They always spoke and behaved exactly how you'd think they would and a lot of their interactions were so funny that I was laughing about 95% of the time (yes, I did that on purpose...).
Lightning's origins are pretty shrouded in mystery in the actual films. We barely know anything about his life before the first film opens. While pulling off a character with practically no backstory is risky, they definitely pulled it off, and the mystery ends up working in his favour as fans will surely speculate about what happened before. It's what makes content like this so satisfying. We don't just learn how he got his name and number, where "ka-chow" came from and how he ended up sponsored by Rust-Eze. We learn how he got his me-against-the-world, "one man show" attitude and why he always felt the need for validation and to "prove himself." We learn about his rocky road to success that certainly didn't happen overnight. At one point, he straight-out says "Overnight success is a myth." It's SO true and I feel like a lot off people don't realise it. Thank you, Lightning, for bringing this to the public eye.
I still wonder what happened before he attended the racing academy. How was his childhood, and did he go to high school? Did he have any friends? What other experiences helped to shape his worldview? Maybe I do have to write that fan fiction, after all.
July 19, 2020
If I have to do a virtual read-aloud of this, I get to count it in my Goodreads challenge. 😂
Read
January 16, 2024Not that awesome if I’m being completely honest.
July 28, 2021
I picked this up because of the origin story for Lightning’s real name and how he got the nickname ‘Lightning’! The writing was alright (and obviously written for children) but it was okay.
Actual rating- 2.5 stars
Actual rating- 2.5 stars
March 21, 2021
his book is amazing
August 1, 2023
All the stars are for lightning McQueen’s actual name lmao
February 23, 2024
Can’t believe Monty’s college boyfriend, Carl, betrayed him like that 😭
Read
February 27, 2024his name is MONTY
April 28, 2024
This was very fun :)
February 3, 2026
AT2 picked this book up at the library, he’s a big fan of Cars!
August 11, 2022
Cute story that brought me back to my Cars-centric childhood. A must read if you want to find out more about Lightning!
March 24, 2025
yes i read a kids book, yes i loved it
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews