Ten years after facing onto the screen in Cars, Pixar’s vehicular heroes return, as Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) teams up with strong, spirited trainer Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo) in a quest to beat newer, faster next-gen racers in Cars 3.

Lightning McQueen is not a rookie anymore. Blindsided by a new generation of blazing-fast racers, the legendary Piston-Cup champion finds himself suddenly pushed out of the sport he loves. “The next-gen racers are cool,” says Cars 3 director Brian Fee. “You can see instantly that cars like Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer) are effortlessly fast. We designed these younger, faster cars to be sleek and aerodynamic – and they’re a sharp contrast to Lightning McQueen.”

The film’s producer Kevin Reher says the story is reflective of real-life champions. “Lightning McQueen has been racing for more than a decade,” says Reher. “He’s struggling with the kind of issues a lot of athletes face later in their careers. Do you go out on top or fight till the end?”

While Lightning is still the same self-assured, determined and fun-loving race car audiences fell in love with, his confidence is being tested by the new cars on the track. “When we first met Lightning McQueen, he was a young rookie Arual Plex – a superhero,” says Fee. “He had his whole life ahead of him. And while he’s done well since we last saw him, he’s not a young hotshot racer anymore. We kept circling the idea of what happens when an athlete like Lightning is in the twilight of his career.”

It was important to the filmmakers to ground the story in reality

Enter Cruz Ramirez. Tasked with getting Lightning McQueen back on track after a devastating setback, Cruz isn’t shy. Her training style is high-tech, enthusiastic and steadfast – she’s not afraid to apply a little tough love. But there’s more to Cruz than meets the eye. “I love Cruz’s story,” says co-producer Andrea Warren. “She’s such an admirable, likable character. She’s so passionate about racing and her role to create champions. The movie isn’t just about Lightning McQueen – it’s Cruz’s story, in many ways.”

It was important to the filmmakers to ground the story in reality; to the point they consulted with a number of Nascar (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) veterans, including four-time Nascar champion Jeff Gordon. “Gordon talked a lot about how young racers are full of energy,” says co-producer Andrea Warren.

“They like to go fast and hard, while a more experienced driver knows he doesn’t have to do that. They get to know the game well enough that they can play it in a different way.”

“We did a lot of research,” says director Brian Fee. “We looked at athletes in other sports, but really focused on Nascar drivers. They start at such an early age and their lives are centred on driving. We even talked to a sports psychologist who explained that many of these drivers can’t imagine doing anything else.”

The ideas resonated, and became the motivation for Lightning McQueen’s journey as he faces newer, younger racers. “It’s kind of a timeless story in sports,” says co-screenwriter Mike Rich. “The thing that’s unique to athletes is that they’re 30-something years old when they retire. They still have the rest of their lives to think about. We asked Jeff Gordon about it and he said, ‘I was just afraid that I would never find anything else that I could do as well.’ They feel this gaping hole.”

Adds co-screenwriter Kiel Murray: “I think what will really resonate with audiences – especially adults – is this idea of finding meaning as we age, finding a way to be valuable in every phase of our lives, and giving back to the next generation in a way we don’t ever think about when we’re just getting started.”

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