Following their mass exodus from their home planet Cybertron, Optimus Prime and the Autobots are lost in deep space on board their spaceship, the Ark. The Matrix of Leadership projects a star map leading to Velocitron, one of the planets the Transformers colonized during Cybertron's golden age. When the Ark reaches Velocitron, Optimus Prime and a small group of other Autobots (including Jazz, Bumblebee, Silverbolt, and Perceptor) venture onto the planet's surface to investigate. They discover the planet is still inhabited by a population of Transformers, who have developed a culture centered on racing.
