The villainous next-generation racer in Pixar's Cars 3 is Jackson Storm.
Storm is a sleek, technologically advanced race car who quickly surpasses older competitors in the Piston Cup Racing Series. His speed and confidence make him the clearest symbol of the new generation challenging Lightning McQueen.
Storm's success creates the central conflict of Cars 3. McQueen struggles to remain competitive as teams favor younger cars and newer training methods, leading him to rethink how he can continue contributing to racing.
Jackson Storm is not the same character as Chick Hicks from the first film. Chick is McQueen's aggressive rival in Cars, while Storm is a later competitor whose dominance drives McQueen's decision to train Cruz Ramirez.