In Pixar’s Cars 3, Doc Hudson is revealed as Lightning McQueen’s mentor.
Doc is introduced in the first Cars as the local judge and former racing champion of Radiator Springs. Cars 3 adds more detail to his history, showing that he once competed as the Fabulous Hudson Hornet and later guided McQueen during the early part of McQueen’s career.
The film explains that Doc’s racing career ended after a crash and that he became McQueen’s crew chief and teacher. McQueen’s struggle against newer racers leads him to investigate Doc’s past and seek advice from people who knew the older champion, including Smokey.
Doc is voiced in archive material by the late Paul Newman, whose performance had been recorded for Cars. The character is not Strip Weathers, known as The King, or Chick Hicks, who was McQueen’s rival in the first film. Doc’s mentorship gives the third movie its central generational theme.