(2017) Cars 3 is the eighteenth Pixar film. The story focuses on Lightning McQueen, who deals with a new generation of race cars taking over the world of racing. Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer) is an arrogant high tech racer who leads the next generation. As everyone begins to ask him if he might retire, McQueen struggles with keeping up with these racers and during the final race of the season, he suffers a violent crash. Four months later, a recovering McQueen mourns the late Doc Hudson and travels to the new Rust-eze Racing Center, now under the management of Sterling (Nathan Fillion). Sterling assigns Cruz Ramirez (Cristela Alonzo) to train him on the simulator, which McQueen accidentally destroys after losing control. Ramirez's unconventional training methods and lack of racing experience frustrate McQueen, as they race on beaches and a demolition derby. Ramirez reveals that she had always wanted to be a racer but never found the confidence to do so. In Thomasville, they encounter Hudson's old crew chief Smokey (Chris Cooper), who trains McQueen and explains to him that Hudson found happiness in mentoring him. Smokey's training methods inspire Ramirez as well. At the Florida 500, McQueen begins racing, but remembers Ramirez's racing dreams and has her take his place in the race. Using what she's learned on the road, Ramirez found the confidence to catch up to Storm. She wins the race along with McQueen and begins racing for Dinoco, whose owner, Tex, purchases Rust-eze. Under the merged Dinoco–Rust-eze brand, Cruz becomes a racer, sporting #51, and McQueen decides to continue racing, with a new paint job in memory of Hudson, but trains Cruz first for the season. Potential fourth film Regarding a possible Cars 4, Cars 3 producers Kevin Reher and Andrea Warren told Cinema Blend that "If there's a good story to tell I mean our heads kinda break after having gotten this one done, like oh my God, what could you do the further adventures of? But like any sequel, from Toy Story 4 to Incredibles 2, as long as there's a good story to tell, it's worth investing; we do love these characters, we love them as much as the public does." Regarding which character would be the main protagonist in the movie, Reher and Warren stated that "if Cruz is a breakout character, kind of like Mater was", "she [would] be involved in a