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From Wondery, I'm Jordan R.

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Coleman and this is Little

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Stories Everywhere. Each episode

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will bring you stories for kids

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that spark the imagination, take you

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to other worlds and bring joy.

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Prix. Hey

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1:03

Drag Race Day was Kwame's

1:05

favorite day. Fast

1:07

cars, roaring crowds, it

1:09

was totally 100% awesome. But

1:14

right now, Kwame couldn't see a

1:16

single car. In fact,

1:18

the only things Kwame could see

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were bags of mozzarella and jars

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of tomato sauce. Because

1:25

instead of watching the cars zoom around

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the makeshift arena, Kwame was

1:30

stuck inside his mom's food truck,

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making pizza. Kwame

1:36

placed a slice of pizza on a

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paper plate and handed it to his

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mom. She was taking orders from

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customers at one of the food truck's windows.

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Spicy sausage, extra hot sauce.

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Here you go mom. Mom handed the slice

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to a man waiting in line. He

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sniffed the intoxicating aroma and

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chowed down. Another satisfied

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customer. Mom waved as he

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walked away. Thanks for choosing Petty's

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piece of power truck. Kwame

2:03

anxiously tapped mom's shoulder.

2:06

Can we go see the races now? Pretty

2:09

pepperoni, please. Sorry

2:12

bud. We've still got lots

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of mouths to feed. Kwame

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peeked out of the truck's window. There

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were dozens of people standing in

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line and they all looked really

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hungry. Aw man.

2:27

Mom gave Kwame a big warm

2:29

hug. At least we get

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to hang out together, right? Yeah,

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I guess. Kwame hugged

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her back. He loved his

2:39

mom more than anything, but it would

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have been cool to catch the races. He

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was so close to the action. The

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entrance was only 10 pizza

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slices away. I'll

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make it up to you. Pizza pinky

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promise. Mom wrapped

2:55

her pinky around Kwame's. Kwame

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wanted to believe her. After

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all, mom would never break a

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pizza pinky promise. But how could

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she possibly make up for him

3:06

missing such an awesome race? Well,

3:10

better get back to work. Those pizzas

3:12

aren't going to make themselves. For

3:17

the rest of the day, Kwame helped

3:20

his mom by making pizza. After

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pizza, after pizza. Pepperoni

3:25

pizza, pineapple pizza, even

3:27

peanut butter and pickle

3:30

pizza. Pretty

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soon, it was nighttime. The

3:35

crowds were gone and drag race

3:37

day was over. Kwame

3:39

slumped down onto the kitchen floor.

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He was pooped. So

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many pizzas. Mom

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sat behind the wheel of the truck and called to

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him. Come on, time

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to hit the road. Kwame

3:55

hopped into the passenger seat next to

3:57

her and clicked on his seatbelt. But

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just as his eyes began to close, he

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blinked them awake again. Mom

4:08

had taken a wrong turn. She

4:10

was driving away from home. Uh,

4:13

Mom? Isn't our house

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the other way? I

4:17

just need to make a pit stop. They

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turned onto a dirt path

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with broken streetlifts. They

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rumbled down the track. The

4:27

wheels were churning over rocks

4:29

and litter until they finally

4:31

parked the truck inside some

4:33

kind of abandoned garage. The

4:36

place was old and dirty and

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dark. Kwame was spooked,

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but Mom just smiled. We're

4:43

here. Mom pressed the

4:45

button on the steering wheel. Slowly,

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the garage door closed.

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Mmm, Kwame gulped. They

4:54

were in complete darkness. Mom,

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I think I want

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to go home now. Don't worry,

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everything's gonna be fine. I

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made you a pizza pinky promise, remember? The

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ground shipped. Kwame still couldn't

5:08

see, but he felt floor

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gently fall below them like

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they were sinking into quicksand.

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Lower and lower. Finally,

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they stopped. Kwame

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covered his eyes as he was blinded

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by life. Slowly, he

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peeped through his fingers. His

5:28

jaw dropped. No

5:31

way! Kwame saw checkered

5:34

flags. He smelled motor

5:36

oil. He heard engines waiting to

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be unleashed. There was

5:40

no doubt about it. This

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was a racetrack. An

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underground racetrack.

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The drag race earlier today

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had seemed cool, but this

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was something else. The performers

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gulped chili peppers and breathed

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fire. Acrobat flipped sky high

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on swiss cheese. There

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were stands full of fans, thumping

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music, and the cars had been replaced

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by trucks. Food

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trucks! Mom, what

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is this place? Welcome

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to the Pepperoni Grand Prix. Mom

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hit the gas and hurtled over

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to the starting line of the

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racetrack, lining the peaks of power

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trucks up with all the other

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food trucks. They revved

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their engines menacingly. Kwame

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could hardly believe what he was seeing. Mom,

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are you seriously a food truck racer?

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Kwame, I am the food

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truck racer. Now how's

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about I show you what real drag

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racing is all about? Just

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since, a food truck shaped like

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a chef's hat pulled up alongside

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Mom, it was covered in tiny

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cannons that shot Parmesan cheese into

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the air like confetti. Behind

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the wheel was Luigi, a

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fancy schmancy cook with a tall

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chef hat. Luigi waved at

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Mom. Ciao, Patty. I

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thought you learned your lesson.

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Lasagna never loses. Another

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driver rolled up next to Kwame's window. This

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racer's truck was shaped like a giant

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nacho chip on wheels. The

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roof was covered in melted cheese and

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it left a sticky trail wherever it

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went. The driver was Nancy. She wore

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a hairnet and a chef's uniform that

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was covered in salsa stains. Her

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leaves, nothing beats nachos. Everybody

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knows that, said Nancy. Luigi

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frowned. No, lasagna. Nuh

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uh, nachos. Lasagna, nachos. Pizza.

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Mom said it. Luigi

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and Nancy were stunned into silence.

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Mom regained her composure. Pizza's

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the best and that's why I'm here. I've

8:01

even brought a secret weapon. My son! Kwame,

8:05

meet Luigi and Nancy. Um,

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hi Mr. Luigi. Hi Ms. Nancy. Lots of luck.

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You're gonna need it. Yeah,

8:13

maybe your mom will

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win. For what?

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Said Nancy. Kwame turned to his mom.

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For what? Mom,

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have you ever won the Pepperoni Grand

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Prix? No, but I've come

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this way. I've come this close. Maybe

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my luck will change now that I have a

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co-pilot. Mom winked at Kwame.

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A fire lit in his eyes. Let's

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win this race together. Ladies

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and gentlemen, boys and

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girls, chefs of all ages, it's

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time to start the Pepperoni

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Grand Prix! Kwame

8:57

couldn't contain his excitement. He

8:59

was gonna be in a real live truck

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race. Listen up Kwame, I'll

9:04

drive and you man the

9:06

gizmos. Gizmos? Like the oven?

9:08

Kwame asked. What kinda?

9:11

This truck has a lot of secret surprises.

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The best one is in the back. Mom

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flipped a switch on the steering wheel. Suddenly,

9:19

tons of buttons popped out of the

9:21

dashboard and fruit of Kwame. In

9:24

the kitchen, towards the back of the truck, where

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just hours ago Kwame had been

9:29

squirreling dough, the pizza oven had

9:31

transformed into a steam engine. This

9:33

truck is powered by pizza. The

9:36

better the pie, the faster we

9:38

fly. Feed for

9:40

speed! Whoa,

9:42

cool! All

9:44

of the trucks grabbed their engine. All

9:50

of the trucks grabbed their engine. Some

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bounced up and down. Parmesan burst

9:54

from the Weegee's lasagna can. Hot

9:57

cheese global on the roof of Maine.

10:01

The arena filled with anticipation.

10:04

Kwame buckled up and the

10:06

announced third cello. Mmmmmm.

10:15

The food truck zoomed around the track

10:17

in full pelt. Bumper to

10:19

bumper. Pizza to pasta. Kwame

10:22

couldn't stop smiling. That

10:25

is until the other raisers started to

10:27

pull ahead. Uh oh. We're

10:29

falling behind. Not

10:32

for long. Time for a turbo boost.

10:34

Hit the red button Kwame. Kwame

10:37

looked around him. All

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of the buttons were red buttons. Uh,

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which one? What? Which

10:44

red button? Yeah, the red

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button. Um,

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okay. Eenie, Neenie,

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Miney, you. Kwame

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quickly pressed a red button on the

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right. Suddenly giant

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springs popped out from underneath the

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tires. The truck soared

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high into the air then

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bounced down on the track

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over and over again. Mom,

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you're barely speaking between each

11:10

bounce. Uh huh. I think you

11:12

hit a spring. Oh

11:15

yeah. Sorry. I'll

11:18

try another one. While I pressed

11:21

another red button, the spring popped

11:23

back into the truck. Phew. At

11:26

least they weren't bouncing anymore. But

11:29

suddenly two giant robot

11:31

hands emerged from the sides of

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the truck and covered the windshield.

11:37

Oh no. What's happening? Pizza.

11:40

Pizza. Looks like

11:43

they're still programmed for peek-a-boo. Pizza

11:45

party's not great for drag races.

11:50

But before Mom could finish, Kwame

11:52

had already pressed a bunch of

11:54

buttons. The robot hands retracted back

11:56

into the truck, but then the

11:58

truck started squirting. tomato sauce from

12:00

the tail lights. A police

12:03

siren sprang up on the roof and fireworks

12:05

shot out of the hubcaps and

12:08

exploded in the air. Kwame

12:10

had created quite the spectacle but

12:12

now the other trucks were way

12:14

ahead of them. Sorry mom,

12:16

I thought at least one of these would start to...

12:21

...sudden running back to the truck

12:23

and blasted them. The

12:29

beads of our truck to the coast, it

12:31

breaks next to me. They swerved around

12:33

the sushi truck, drifted past the

12:35

hot dog truck and even left

12:38

Luigi and Nancy in the dust.

12:41

No! Luigi refuses to

12:43

lose. This is a

12:45

nacho nightmare. Yo Nancy,

12:48

Kwame high-five mom. Oh

12:50

yeah, nothing's gonna stop us now.

12:53

And that's when it happened. A

12:56

flat tire, not even the

12:58

turbo booster to make it to that. The

13:00

power truck grinded to a stop.

13:02

This was bad. The other

13:05

trucks were gaining on this and they

13:07

were starting to activate their own booster

13:09

gadgets too. The hot dog

13:11

truck was now being pulled by a

13:13

pack of Robo sled dogs and

13:16

Nancy's nacho truck sprung giant

13:18

tortilla chip wings. Nacho

13:21

Nancy coming through. And

13:24

Luigi's lasagna truck sprouted

13:26

helicopter blades. Kwame

13:29

could hear Luigi laughing at the

13:31

pattern. Arrivederci! You

13:34

at the finish line. Kwame was

13:36

starting to swing. Mops. If

13:38

we don't get going we're

13:40

gonna lose. There's no panic

13:43

in pizza. We just have

13:45

to think. Think. Think. Think.

13:48

Think. Think. Think. Think. Think. Think. Think. Think. Think.

13:50

Think. Think. Wait. Seed

13:52

for speed. Mom

13:55

can you fix the tire? I've

13:57

got an idea. Mom saluted.

14:00

I'm on it. Kwame and

14:02

mom unbuckled their seat belts. Mom

14:04

rushed outside, grabbed a spare tire

14:06

from the truck side compartment, and

14:08

got to work replacing the flat.

14:11

Kwame dashed to the kitchen in the

14:13

back of the truck. The better the

14:15

pie, the faster we fly. So this

14:18

has to be the best pizza ever.

14:20

In a flash, he started whipping together

14:23

the best pizza he could ever imagine.

14:25

First, he needed to dump. Then he

14:27

flipped it into the air. Next,

14:29

he put the dough on the counter, matted

14:32

it flat, and covered it with tomato

14:34

sauce. Then Kwame grabbed

14:36

all the toppings he could

14:38

find. Pepperoni, chocolate chips, chili

14:41

peppers, the works. I

14:43

hope the truck likes it. Kwame

14:46

whipped on a pair of oven

14:48

mitts, placed his creation onto a

14:50

baking tray, and carefully loaded it

14:52

into the truck steam engine. The

14:56

engine roared to life.

14:59

Yes, pizza power!

15:02

Kwame rushed back to his seat and buckled

15:05

up. His mom hopped into the truck and

15:07

got behind the wheel. Okay

15:09

mom, hit it. You got

15:11

it Kwame. Mom started

15:13

the engine and floored it.

15:16

The truck turned forward even

15:18

faster than before. Woo

15:21

hoo! The pizza power truck

15:23

was unstoppable. It sped past

15:25

the other racers with ease.

15:27

What? Look at me go! I've never seen

15:30

a truck move so fast. Soon,

15:32

there was only one racer ahead

15:34

of them. Luigi's Lasagna truck, and

15:37

he was nearing the finish line.

15:40

The loser? I can say,

15:42

the Mercury. Lasagna

15:44

never loses. But

15:46

the pizza power truck was solid heat. What

15:49

did you think Luigi? To keep the power

15:52

truck with me? Neck and neck. I

15:56

got closer and closer. We

16:00

have a winner

16:02

in first place

16:04

is Luigi

16:06

Mavaca! Luigi's

16:17

lasagna truck crossed the finish line

16:19

a hair before the pizza power

16:21

truck. Kwame's heart sank

16:23

as the other racers followed behind

16:26

and skidded to a halt nearby.

16:29

Aw man, we were

16:31

so close. Sorry mom,

16:34

I was sure we'd win. Kwame

16:36

felt terrible. But then

16:38

something strange happened. Mom

16:41

started laughing. Are you

16:43

kidding? That was the best

16:45

race ever. Kwame was

16:48

confused. Wait, aren't

16:50

you mad that we lost? Mom

16:53

smiled, unbuckled her seatbelt and

16:55

gave Kwame a big hug. Of

16:58

course not. I just had

17:00

a ton of fun with my son. That's

17:03

way more important than winning some

17:05

dumb race. Mom, come

17:08

on, don't be cheesy. Kwame

17:11

high fives mom as she hopped back

17:13

into her seat, buckled up and put

17:15

the pedal to the metal. They

17:17

drove past Luigi who was holding up

17:20

a trophy as Nancy and the other

17:22

drivers congratulated him. I

17:24

want to thank my macaroni, my

17:26

rigaton, and I

17:29

can't forget about my tortelloni.

17:31

Congrats Luigi. Bye Nancy.

17:33

Nancy waved. The

17:39

pizza power truck rumbled onto the garage

17:41

elevator and rose up. Pretty

17:44

soon Kwame and his mom were

17:46

packed above ground and under the

17:48

stars. Mom turned to Kwame.

17:51

Ready for another race? This one was just

17:53

a warm up. Mom dug

17:55

into her pocket and handed Kwame a flyer.

18:01

Wow, that sounds awesome,

18:03

but it says that it

18:05

starts next week. And it's

18:08

on the other side of the country. Then we

18:10

better get on the road. What do you

18:12

say? Let's do this. Pizza

18:15

power. The food

18:17

truck engine roared. Kwame

18:19

and Mom zoomed into the night, hungry

18:22

to gobble up the competition. But

18:24

first, maybe a slice or two for dinner.

18:32

Hey Prime members, you can listen to

18:35

Little Stories Everywhere ad-free on Amazon Music.

18:37

Download the Amazon Music app today. Or

18:40

you can listen ad-free with Wondery

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Plus Kids and Apple Podcasts. Grownups,

18:44

before you go, tell us about

18:46

yourself by completing a short survey

18:49

at wondery.com/survey. From

18:53

Wondery, this is Little Stories Everywhere. This

18:56

is the Pepperoni Grand Prix, written

18:58

by Ivory Floyd. I'm

19:01

your host, Jordan R. Coleman.

19:03

Jennifer Klein is our producer.

19:05

Our coordinating producer is Matt

19:07

Gantt. Audio assistance by

19:09

Sergio Enriquez. This episode

19:11

is sound designed by McCubbin Owens.

19:14

Tanya Thigpen is our managing producer.

19:17

Our editor and senior producer is Sarah

19:19

Serrano. Executive producers

19:21

are Jenny Lower Beckman, Jeanine

19:24

Cornello and Marshall Louis, for

19:26

Wanda.