I Have Nothing To Say Since You Summed Up That Preview And Lightning’s Character In That Scene Better

I have nothing to say since you summed up that preview and Lightning’s character in that scene better than I could. You read my mind and perfectly articulate it in such a way that I couldn’t. Thank you.

Cars 3 Preview Analysis

At the beginning of the clip, we see the race in session, then it focuses on Lightning. If you didn’t already notice, you could see the way he was eying the race car next to him. It’s as if he was observing the design layout of that competitor, and he must’ve been thinking about how those kind of cars were the new kinds of technology they had nowadays. Something that Lightning didn’t have, at least doesn’t have as much due to his age.

When Jackson drives up next to him, remember when he said, “Hey Champ, where did all your friends go?” He was referring to Chick Hicks and Dinoco, along with all his other competitors he used to race against in the first movie. They’re no longer there. They’ve retired. They no longer are able to race because of the new rookies and, it’s almost like they are forgotten. Lightning didn’t retire. His deep love for racing keeps from doing that, and he refuses to let his age show on him. He refuses to give up. McQueen is determimed to prove himself that he can still race. However, you could still see his reaction when Storm states that. Lightning is basically all alone, and in reality, he probably has no true place in that race.

After that, Jackson drove away and literally passed the five cars that were in front of Lightning in less than two seconds. It seemed as if it took him no effort at all. That’s how easy it is for Jackson to take the league. Not to mention, apparently he’s cheating, using a special type of gas that boosts his speed and overall stamina.

After a while, a car attempts to overcome McQueen, making the two of them the same distance apart. They both take a couple of turns boosting speeds, passing over the other temporarily before the other does the same back. Lightning, at this point, was NOT letting another car pass him. So he managed to succeed, seeing an opening in the middle of another set of races and took the chance, squeezing into the two of them. Looking closely you can see how close he was to hitting them. The edges of both sides of his front bumper were inches apart from hitting the yellow car on our side (our left, his right). Who knows how close he was to hitting the other car.

Over time, it shows Lightning slowly but succeedingly overcoming the rest of the cars ahead of him, trying his best to get to first place. Then, eventually, he gets to second place, with Jackson Storm in the lead as first.

Before anything else happens, the two of them head to their respective pitstops, in need of tires. Just like the announcer stated, this final stop will be the big ‘decider’ for who has victory and who is defeated.

Lightning, knowing that if he could hurry up and pass Storm, wanted Guido to hurry up with replacing his tires so he could take first place. Luckily, his team finished, so without a second’s hesitation, he hit his gas and zoomed out of there, just in time at the last moment before the other cars managed to get ahead of him. It was surprising how fast he went at that specific moment, though. A bit slower and he would’ve lost his position.

Everything came crashing down, however, because in a couple of seconds Jackson just sped up next to him. It was emphasizing how much faster he was than Lightning.

Let’s take another look at Lightning’s perspective here… He’s panting. A lot. He’s obviously running out of breath because he’s pushing himself to his max speed. He doesn’t want any cars to take his place, so he’s using all his will power to not falter and slip up. He NEEDS to win this race. He can’t just lose. He’s still as good as he was in the first movie’s races, right? This is what he’s probably thinking from his point of view.

Noticing that Lightning was panting heavily, Jackson asked him if he was alright, seeming concerned for him. He states to Lightning not to worry, and that he had his good run. Then, Jackson had the nerve to finish off with as he sped away, taking first place, “Enjoy your retirement!”

When he said that, it hit Lightning. It was like a smack to the face. Reality flushing over him without warning. Now focusing on Jackson’s words to him, not to mention that being combined with Lightning seeing that Jackson now took first place and is dramatically faster than him, he’s having conflict with himself. His expression falls as he finally understands the 'truth’ about his role in life now. This causes Lightning to slow down, allowing the cars behind him to pass him.

The terrible thoughts of “I’m going to lose the race, I’m not as fast as them anymore, I’m going to retire, I will no longer be able to race anymore,” just makes it worse. The announcer says how Lightning is fading away, meaning he’s losing his places, which actually makes sense in a mentality kind of way. People perceiving Lightning as a rookie is fading away. Lightning’s youth is fading away. His PRESENCE his fading away. No one notices him anymore. He’s not the star he once was. These new, high-tech advanced  cars are. They’re the new rookies, and the new soon-to-be stars that will make Lightning completely forgotten.

Thinking all of this, Lightning finally regains his composure, repeatingly growling to himself, “No, no. No, no, no, no…!” He’s saying 'no’ to all of the things explained above. He’s saying no to the fact that there’s new cars better than him. He’s saying no to him losing first place and potentially losing this race. This’ll be the first time Lightning will TRULY lose a race. Racing is what he loves to do. It’s his passion. And to give it up all away? To lose everything? And not having a say in it? He has no choice. No option.

Therefore, he forces himself to speed up, determined once more to take back the league. Then he faces his problem. He can’t go any further nor faster than he already is. Over the years, his speed decreased, and his age is preventing him from reaching the others. You can see how Lightning’s body just overall shakes terribly, slightly at first then more intensely. It’s showing he’s pushing himself WAY too hard. He’s trying to reach a speed he can no longer do. He’s done for. Lightning McQueen is no longer the fast racecar he was once known as.

His engine is probably overheating from it all. From all the pressure and, emotionally, the hurt feelings and thoughts that’s crossing through him, making it all worse.

And since he’s too concentrated with trying to speed up to reach the others, he’s not paying attention to his actual driving. He’s going too fast for his own good, and therefore that’s what caused his crash. He must’ve shifted slightly while making that long, cursive turn, and in that little shift, his back tire lost all control, making the rest of him get thrown off track. Lightning quickly tries to make his way into control, but fails to regain balance.

Thus, without catching his balance, gravity and the intense force of his speed threw him at the wall, and the force of that hit threw him airborne.

Don’t even get me started on Sally. Her expression is enough to break our hearts. Our shattered hearts from Lightning himself only shatter into nothing once we see Sally’s immediate reaction to him crashing and flipping into the air. Just imagine; watching your boyfriend doing something he loves and for him to crash? Seeing him airborne in the air, now extremely prone to massive and most likely permanent injuries that, God Forbid, could take him away from you? That’s how Sally must be feeling.

Lastly, we have Mater. His best friend, now crashing terribly. Although his reaction wasn’t focused on as strongly as it was with Sally’s (you can see his face a bit as it zooms in on Sally), we can all coclude how he’s feeling right now. The world must’ve stopped for him too, something unbelievable happening in front of his eyes.

And there’s my analysis for the Cars 3 Preview. Thank you for your time!