In Pixar's Cars 3, Lightning McQueen uses Doc Hudson as his mentor model.
After a new generation of racers makes him feel obsolete, Lightning studies Doc Hudson's career and training methods. Doc was the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, a celebrated racer who won three Piston Cups before becoming Radiator Springs' doctor and Lightning's mentor in the first Cars film.
Cars 3 uses Doc's history to connect Lightning's comeback with the earlier film. Lightning eventually trains with Cruz Ramirez and revisits places associated with Doc, including the old racing grounds around Thomasville. The story is about legacy as much as speed: Lightning learns that preserving a mentor's influence can mean helping someone else succeed.
The King and Chick Hicks are also major Piston Cup figures, but neither is Lightning's mentor. Doc Hudson is voiced through archival material from Paul Newman in Cars 3.