You know, Cars 3 doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t understand why Lightning McQueen had to pass the buton…kind of. Like, how can you still race and be someone’s crew chief at the same time. To be honest, Cars 3 was one of those movies that the people didn’t ask for. Especially after they got rid of Doc Hudson to give Mator a spy movie.
Let’s be real, Doc would of flagged Mator’s odd behavior in Tokyo, Japan. Although this post isn’t about Cars 2, I needed to get that off my chest. To my surprise, Cars 3 was a good movie. It had humor, high stakes, and addressed mental health. Pretty well rounded. Still, I’ve been subjected to this movie so many times, I have some random thoughts about it.
Is This NASCAR or Track?
I don’t understand why they didn’t modify Lighting to compete with the NXTGEN cars. Dusty CropHopper had several serious modifications done in Planes and Planes: Fire & Rescue. He was a racer too. Now, I’m not familiar with NASCAR rules when it comes to the car. So, maybe this wasn’t possible. I just find it odd that they don’t explore this at all. All Lighting gets is surface level enhancements, which really just tries to make him look the part without the bells and whistles. We know that Mr. Sterling has the money. Was there a rule against Modifications or was Sterling determined to retire Lighting either way?
Does It Seem Like Simulators Are Over Hyped?
Now here me out, why do they imply that Jackson Storm only drives on the track for qualifiers and races. It just seems odd to me that a driver wouldn’t need time on the track to account for the elements. If we take cars out of this, human runners have to know how to adjust their stride, pace, and tempo for different weather conditions. Tracks may look the same, but they are impacted by their surroundings. That being said, it just seemed odd to me that there is an emphasis on Simulators, because they aren’t racing indoors.
Jackson Storms Is Basically A Young Lightning McQueen…
First off, their names are similar. They’re both related to weather. All they did was flip it from a first name to a last name. Two, the announcer’s imply that McQueen has a silent but deadily victory when he first came on the scene. No one saw this car coming. The biggest difference here was Jackson let his team do their job. Everyone has the same attitude, which is “We the Best” (if you read that in DJ Khalid’s voice, that’s what I was going for).
Since Jackson Storm didn’t have a coming to Jesus moment like Lightning in the first movie, he had no qualms taunting McQueen. Nor did he check on him immediately after the crash. I will admit that Storm is cold. He took taunting and mind games to a personal level. We only get a small dose of McQueen’s behavior in the first movie. So we don’t know if he was this cold.
Is Natalie Certain Dating Jackson Storm?
Now, this one might be a stretch. It just seemed odd to me that she immediately clung to Jackson Storm after his first win against Lightning McQueen. She goes from being on Chick Hicks’ racing talk show to the announcer box the following year. Her input as a statistical analyst got her there. However, Jackson was basically racing his peers by the end of his Rookie Season.
So Natalie Certain being so adamant that Jackson Storm would win the first race of his Sophomore Season seems overly confident to me. I get that Cruz Ramirez was an outlier, but Lightening got 95 to the Top 10 position before subbing with her. Taking Cruz and Lightning out of this, why wasn’t it possible for someone else to dethrone Jackson Storm?
Those Boys Ain’t Loyal
Right off the bat, it’s obvious these racers don’t respect Lighting McQueen. They don’t respect him as a veteran racer or Piston Champion. Cruz’s training regiment didn’t help. She didn’t have to hang him up for a few hours or set his treadmill to 5 miles an hour. All that doesn’t explain how Jackson new about Lightning’s deal with Mr. Sterling.
That made me realize Mr. Sterling must have been talking junk the whole time Lightning was training for Florida. So much so that the rookies were betting which one of them would get their debut race. Cause Jackson immediately tries to get in Lighting’s head with that information. Although Jackson Storm rocks all black everything with a hint of midnight purple, I am positive that he’s petty enough to put Lighting McQueen mudflaps on his semi-transport. Cause petty overrules aesthetic for this racer.
Tex Was Playing The Long Game
Shout out to Tex, he wanted Lighting after he gave up the Piston Cup to help The King cross the finish line. It showed that Lightning put sportsmanship over fame. Notice Chick wasn’t mentioned in Cars 2. Lightning wasn’t the only USA racer in that international competition. We can assume that race took place 4 years after Chick “won.” Anyways, Lightning had a change of heart and stayed with Rusteze. Rather than sulk, Tex remained friendly with Rustieze and Lightning through the years.
After #95 had a terrible season, he didn’t buy out Rusteze. Instead, he let someone else buy the company and create Rusteze Racing Center. Who knows how much that place cost Mr. Sterling. By the end of the movie, Tex gets Cruz, Lighting, and a newly built racing center. Mind you, he still has Dinoco. Yes, Mr. Sterling was compensated for his efforts, but he missed out on the future income Tex would generate from merchandizing Lighting #95 and Cruz #51.
Final Thoughts
If you notice I don’t have an answer to any of these observations, you’re correct. I have not intention of answering them either. This was just a fun way to share my random thoughts. Thanks for stopping by. See ya next week for Motivational Mondays with Trisha!
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