Foreshadowing / Cars 3

• One of the biggest themes in the movie is Master-Apprentice Chain. Doc and Lightning were both injured during a racing tournament and both end up becoming coaches to a newer model car. Unlike Doc however, Lightning doesn't retire.
• There were subtle hints that Cruz would become a racer:
  • Cruz is painted vibrant gold, nearly matching the gold lightning bolt motif that Lightning has.
  • When testing the simulator when she first appears, she gets a simulator speed which is as good as Lightning's own quoted top speed prior to his return to form.
  • During a demolition derby competition, one of the workers spray paints the number "20" on her for the game.
  • When Smokey brings up how Lightning wasn't injured in the above demolition derby the viewer may also notice that neither was Cruz, despite her being a rookie. Also what isn't noticed by Smokey is that Lightning WAS injured, losing a tire, but Cruz came out completely undamaged.
  • Lightning and Cruz's training session on the beach heavily foreshadows him becoming her mentor, as despite his frustration with having to teach her how to drive on sand, he keeps at it. And by the end, Cruz is able to keep up with him.
  • The same thing happens at the demolition derby as Lightning spends over half the race yelling instructions to Cruz on how to survive the onslaught. This is even when he gives her the same advice Doc gave him all those years ago of "turning right to go left".
  • Just when Lightning announces he’ll go to Thunder Hollow to compete with real racers, as Luigi is speaking Cruz can be seen slumping dejectedly. This foreshadows she wanted to be a racer like Lightning, but lost her only chance.
• Lightning's paint job is slightly different at the beginning, specifically he is a bit desaturated red and the Rust-eze logos on his hood, fenders, spoiler, and bumper are in a more modernized font than the usual. This foreshadows that the new generation of high-tech racers are about to show up, and therefore blindside him to the point of his unintentional fateful crash at the Los Angeles 500.
  • The contemporary design of the Rust-eze logo on Lightning's first paint job also foreshadows the introduction of the Rust-eze Racing Center, and the electronic suit he receives there which also features a contemporary version of said logo.
• When Lightning's electronic suit rips off in the forest and he lands back on the ground after his astounding jump, the #95 shred lands against a rock. Minutes later at the last practice race, Cruz suddenly overtakes Lightning before the finish. At the Florida 500, he leaves the race halfway through and lets Cruz take over.
  • Cruz suddenly overtaking Lightning in the final practice race foreshadows her overtaking Jackson at the Florida 500.
• When Lightning meets Jackson for the first time, he says to him, "You have no idea what a pleasure it is for me to finally beat you." Not only is this a playful Stealth Insult, it foreshadows the arrival of the next-gens, who eventually cause Lightning to suffer a horrible crash when trying to catch up, and Jackson eventually wins the Piston Cup. And to add insult to injury, Jackson becomes the first rookie to win the Piston Cup, which was a goal that Lightning had during Cars 1.
• When we cut to Lighting's crew as he passes the next-gens one by one in the Los Angeles 500, all are smiling confidently (Mater even cheers him on), but Guido looks worried, as if something might go wrong. Guess what happens to Lightning just a few minutes later!
• During the Florida 500, while Lightning passes racer by racer causing his position on the scoring pylon to go up one by one, his number flashes twice as it advances, while the position that moved down doesn't. Though this is intentional, it foreshadows his shared victory with Cruz, caused by her finishing the race under his number. The double flash also hints at two racers under the same number, which what happens halfway through the race.
• Mater wears a hat to every race he attends except the Los Angeles 500, which hints at Lightning's struggle (leading to the iconic crash scene) later on.
  • Similarly, the hat Mater wears to the Florida 500 is a Piston Cup with Lightning's #95 on the front. It unintentionally foreshadows Lightning will indeed win the race, but with the help of Cruz.
• Lightning’s problem throughout the film was hinted at even in the very first scene. Besides the different paint job as mentioned above, he suffers a flashback of he and Doc having a driving lesson together, and he happens to deliver this particular line:

Doc: Ha, that ain't racing. That wasn't even a Sunday drive. That was one lap racing is 500 of those; everybody fightin' to move up, lap after lap, inside, outside, inches apart, never touchin'...now that's racing.

• Cruz's interaction with the three students prior to meeting Lightning for the first time foreshadows her tactics to winning the Florida 500 following taking over for Lightning mid-race. First, she calms down Ronald by helping him say "I am a fluffy cloud"; Lightning pesters Smokey to tell Cruz the same thing to build her confidence. Second, she sprays bugs in Kurt's face as an exercise to see the track even when facing an obstacle; Cruz uses the "sneak through the window" trick to get around the racers and eventually drafts up to Storm's behind. Finally, she helps Gabriel think of his hometown Santa Cecelia, and tells him, "win for them!"; This line hints at her managing to beat Storm by admitting she is a racer after all and flips over him, causing her to win and share the victory with Lightning which causes him to win the bet against Sterling.
• Right before Lightning switches with Cruz and the gang is getting her ready, Smokey points out the rules only say the number has to be on the track and it doesn't matter who has to wear it, foreshadowing the shared victory between the two cars that Cruz ignites after the race.
• A very subtle hint of foreshadowing regarding Lightning's crash is seen whenever the pit lane at either racetrack is shown: All of the racers have crew chiefs, but Lightning does not, like in the first film. With no one to give him directions and hints, he'll eventually suffer something bad.
• The King's presence at the beginning of the movie is rather prominent, a subtle hint that showed when he talked with Lightning in the first film when he was arrogant. Jackson Storm, a rookie that shows up later that acted the same way Lightning did, causes something that'll change everything.