Shawn is so lucky. He gets to be a junior team member on Johnny Pride's stock car team. But when he arrives at the racetrack in Talladega, it turns out there's been a mistake - Shawn will be helping Johnny's biggest competition, "Mean" Gene Pederson. Shawn is disappointed. How can he help his hero's rival? But soon, Shawn realizes that appearances aren't everything. Maybe there's more to Mean Gene than a bad reputation.