Pixar's 2017 film about Lightning McQueen's racing comeback is Cars 3.
Cars 3 was released in 2017 and directed by Brian Fee, who had worked as a storyboard artist on earlier Pixar productions. The story follows McQueen after the arrival of Jackson Storm, a high-tech racer whose performance makes older competitors seem obsolete.
McQueen travels to the Rust-eze Racing Center and later trains with Cruz Ramirez. The film's central conflict is not simply whether he can win another race; it asks how an experienced champion can respond to technological change, aging, and the arrival of new talent.
Cars 3 also returns to themes from the original film, including mentorship and the value of helping another racer. Its title identifies it as the third theatrical feature in the Cars film series. It should not be confused with Cars on the Road, an episodic streaming series released in 2022.