In Pixar’s Cars, Doc Hudson was the only rookie to win three Piston Cups in a row before Lightning McQueen.
Doc’s racing career is revealed through the newspaper clippings and memories that Lightning discovers in Radiator Springs. As the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, Doc won three consecutive Piston Cups in the early 1950s. His career ended after a crash and a long recovery, followed by rejection from the racing world when newer cars became popular.
Doc later became the judge and doctor of Radiator Springs, hiding his former identity from most visitors. He initially refuses to discuss racing with Lightning, but eventually becomes his mentor and teaches him that winning is not the only measure of a racer’s worth.
The King, whose real name is Strip Weathers, is another legendary Piston Cup champion, but he is not the racer described as a rookie winner of three consecutive cups. Doc’s record is part of the film’s backstory rather than its opening race standings.