History TearJerker / Cars3

-->'''Lightning''': Do you know what happens if I lose this race?! Every mile of this trip was to get me ''faster'' than Jackson Storm. FASTER! I start off getting nowhere for a week on a simulator, I lose a whole day with you on Fireball Beach and [[RuleOfThree THEN]], I WASTE ANOTHER NIGHT IN THE [[MoodWhiplash CROSSHAIRS OF MISS FRITTER]]! I'm stuck in the same speed I was a month ago, and I can't get any faster because I'M TOO BUSY TAKING CARE OF MY TRAINER! This is my last chance, Cruz. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis LAST! FINAL! FINITO!]] If I lose, I never get to do this again! If you were a ''racer'', you'd know what I'm talking about! BUT YOU'RE ''NOT!'' '''SO YOU''' '''''DON'T!'''''

* The Hudson Hornet's 1954 crash. It's starts off good with Hudson gaining a major lead in a race on Fireball beach but all the sudden loses control and starts rolling over sideways on the sand multiple times. Lightning's dejected reaction (as seen on this page) and the flashback of Doc saying how he was just brushed aside and replaced with someone new makes the whole scene HarsherInHindsight since both of their crashes where similar so it is logical that [=McQueen=] would be in such a funk for the past 4 months about what his crash could mean for his career.(see below).

-->'''Lightning''': What happens if I lose this race?! Every mile of this trip was to get me ''faster'' than Jackson Storm. FASTER! I start off getting nowhere for a week on a simulator, I lose a whole day with you on Fireball Beach and [[RuleOfThree THEN]], I WASTE ANOTHER NIGHT IN THE [[MoodWhiplash CROSSHAIRS OF MISS FRITTER]]! I'm stuck in the same speed I was a month ago, and I can't get any faster because I'M TOO BUSY TAKING CARE OF MY TRAINER! This is my last chance, Cruz. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis LAST! FINAL! FINITO!]] If I lose, I never get to do this again! If you were a ''racer'', you'd know what I'm talking about! BUT YOU'RE ''NOT!'' '''SO YOU''' '''''DON'T!'''''

-->'''Lightning''': What happens if I lose this race?! Every mile of this trip was to get me ''faster'' than Jackson Storm. FASTER! I start off getting nowhere for a week on a simulator, I lose a whole day with you on Fireball Beach and [[RuleOfThree THEN]], I WASTE ANOTHER NIGHT IN THE [[MoodWhiplash CROSSHAIRS OF MISS FRITTER]]! I'm stuck in the same speed I was a month ago, and I can't get any faster because I'M TOO BUSY TAKING CARE OF MY TRAINER! This is my last chance, Cruz. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis LAST! FINAL! FINITO!]] If I lose, I never get to do this again! If you were a ''racer'', you'd know what I'm talking about, but you're ''not'', and you ''don't''!

** [[HeroicBSOD Lightning's reaction to Storm's taunt is a bewildered stare as though he's starting to question why he's even still racing at all]]. He quickly snaps out of it and desperately tries to catch up to Storm and the other two cars that passed him while he was distracted. [[HeroicRROD Not helped at all by [=McQueen's=] heavy breathing, his engine being pushed to it's limits,]][[SadBattleMusic and the intense swelling music in the background.]]

** [[HeroicBSOD Lightning's reaction to Storm's taunt is a bewildered stare as though he's starting to question why he's even still racing at all]]. He quickly snaps out of it and desperately tries to catch up to Storm and the other two cars that passed him while he was distracted. [[HeroicRROD Not helped at all by [=McQueen's=] heavy breathing, his engine being pushed to it's limits, and the intense swelling music in the background.]]

-->'''Lightning''': What happens if I lose this race?! Every mile of this trip was to get me ''faster'' than Jackson Storm. FASTER! I start off getting nowhere for a week on a simulator, I lose a whole day with you on Fireball Beach and [[RuleOfThree THEN]], I WASTE ANOTHER NIGHT IN THE [[MoodWhiplash CROSSHAIRS OF MISS FRITTER]]! I'm stuck in the same speed I was a month ago, and I can't get any faster because I'M TOO BUSY TAKING CARE OF MY TRAINER! This is my last chance, Cruz. LAST! FINAL! FINITO! If I lose, I never get to do this again! If you were a ''racer'', you'd know what I'm talking about, but you're ''not'', and you ''don't''!

-->'''Lightning''': ''[[LittleNo No.]]'' [[RapidFireNo...No! NO!]] '''[[BigNo ...NO!]]'''

-->'''Lightning''': ''[[RapidFireNo No. No.]]'' [[RapidFireNo No! NO!]] '''[[BigNo ...NO!]]'''

[[caption-width-right:350:"What should've been a scene of jubilation has turned tragic here today, folks, as we await news on the Hudson Hornet's condition. After such a devastating crash, we can only hope that this race today... wasn't his last." (It ''was.'')]]

* The Florida 500 went through a lot of revisions before settling on the final story; in one of the versions, Lightning never took part in the race at all, and introduced Cruz as the new #95 in his place. Out of all the alternate endings, this one was quite the most bittersweet; the creators had to ditch it because it would felt like Lightning decided to stop racing all together and forego his bet with Sterling. It also felt like the whole story lost all tension and the franchise would end there had it been used.

-->'''Sally''': Hey stickers.
-->'''Lightning''': Hey Sal.
-->'''Sally''': How are you feeling?
-->'''Lightning''': Yeah... Great... Really really great...
-->'''Sally''': Thinking about Doc again?
-->'''Lightning''': (signs) Yeah... (''while turn towards the newspaper clipping of Doc's crash'') You know they told him when he was done. He didn't decide. [[HistoryRepeats I don't want what happened to Doc ... to happen to me.]]

* The fact that Lightning has [[TenMinuteRetirement shut himself in Doc's old garage for four months]], not talking to anyone in Radiator Springs and still sporting his primer coat after he was repaired implies he has fallen into a depression. He believes he'll be forced to retire due to his catastrophic crash because he couldn't keep up with Storm (and to a certain extent the other next gen racers) since a radio commentator said that it would be safe to assume that his racing days are over. Not helped at all by the listless tone in [=McQueen's=] voice when he talks to Sally when she checks up on him. This exchange with her sums up his whole mind set about what is going to happen once he gets back to racing.
-->'''Lightning''': You know they told him when he was done. He didn't get to decide. [[HistoryRepeats I don't want what happened to Doc ... to happen to me.]]

* The Hudson Hornet's 1954 crash. It's starts off good with Hudson gaining a major lead in a race on Fireball beach but all the sudden loses control and starts rolling over sideways on the sand multiple times. Lightning's dejected reaction (as seen on this page) and the flashback of Doc saying how he was just brushed aside and replaced with someone new makes the whole scene more heart wrenching. Is it any wonder why [=McQueen=] has been fretting for the past 4 months(see below).

* The Hudson Hornet's 1954 crash. It's starts off good with Hudson gaining a major lead in a race on Fireball beach but all the sudden loses control and starts rolling over sideways on the sand multiple times. Lightning's dejected reaction (as seen on this page) and the flashback of Doc saying how he was just brushed aside and replaced with someone new. Is it any wonder why [=McQueen=] has been fretting for the past 4 months.

[[caption-width-right:350:"What should've been a scene of jubilation has turned tragic here today, folks, as we await news on the Hudson Hornet's condition. As this is such a dangerous crash, we can only hope that this race today... wasn't his last." (It ''was.'')]]

* [[spoiler: Halfway through the Florida 500, Lightning discovers Cruz is the answer to beating Storm and switches places with her so she can fulfill her dream to become a race car. Though it seems heartwarming, it's also quite bittersweet as Lightning is foregoing his bet with Sterling, in which if he doesn't win, he'll have to retire from racing for good. It was wonderful to see him coach Cruz throughout the race, but also tearjerking since there's no doubt he'll lose the bet. However, because he started the race and she finished under his number, he is considered a winner, giving the film a SurprisinglyHappyEnding instead. If it weren't for the shared victory, the movie would've ended with a BittersweetEnding in which Lightning's career finally came to an end.]]

** [[HeroicBSOD Lightning's reaction to Storm's comment is a bewildered stare as though he's starting to question why he's even still racing at all]]. He quickly snaps out of it and desperately tries to catch up to Storm and the other two cars that passed him while he was distracted. Not helped at all by [=McQueen's=] heavy breathing, his engine being pushed to it's limits, and the intense swelling music in the background.

* The fact that Lightning has [[TenMinuteRetirement shut himself in Doc's old garage for four months]], not talking to anyone in Radiator Springs and still sporting his primer coat after he was repaired implies he has fallen into a depression. He believes he'll be forced to retire due to his catastrophic crash because he couldn't keep up with Storm since a radio commentator said that his career is pretty much over. Not helped at all by the listless tone in [=McQueen's=] voice when he talks to Sally when she checks up on him. This exchange with her sums up his whole mind set about what is going to happen once he gets back to racing.

* Lightning gets mad that Cruz showed him up at the demolition derby, and angrily rants at her when they're driving away in Mack.
-->'''Lightning''': What happens if I lose this race?! Every mile of this trip was to get me ''faster'' than Jackson Storm. FASTER! I start off getting nowhere for a week on a simulator, I lose a whole day with you on Fireball Beach and [[RuleOfThree THEN]], I waste another night in the [[MoodWhiplash crosshairs of Miss Fritter]]! I'm stuck in the same speed I was a month ago, and I can't get any faster because I'm too busy taking care of my trainer! This is my last chance, Cruz. LAST! FINAL! FINITO! If I lose, I never get to do this again! If you were a ''racer'', you'd know what I'm talking about, but you're ''not'', and you ''don't''!

* The deleted scene featuring Doc racing with Lighting [=McQueen=], before collapsing and passing away. It was apparently so sad, that even the creators had to delete this because of how depressing it was. What is worse is that this would have made the whole scene with Primer![=McQueen=] all the more painful to watch because it is '''heavily implied''' he was going through a depression not just about his crash and what that would mean for his career, but also Doc's death in general. And [[RealitySubtext given what happened to Doc's and Lightning's voice actors]] after ''Cars'' was released [[note]]i.e. Paul Newman's death after a long battle with lung cancer in 2008 and Owen Wilson's suicide attempt and struggle with clinical depression in 2007[[/note]], one may argue that both the deleted scene of Doc's death and the scene with Primer![=McQueen=] sulking in Doc's garage in the final film as a double ActorAllusion(s).

-->'''Jackson''': Hey, [=McQueen=], you alright? (While Lightning is panting trying to stay focused) Listen, don't you worry, pal. You had a good run. ''(Overtakes him)'' Enjoy your retirement!

-->'''Lightning''': ''[[RapidFireNo No. No.]]'' [[RapidFireNo No! NO!]] '''[[BigNo NO! ...NO!]]'''

** With only forty laps to go, Lightning frantically rushes Guido to finish his tires at the pit stop, desperately trying to beat Storm back out onto the track. Lightning briefly takes the lead, only for Storm to catch up mere ''seconds'' later.

-->'''Lightning''': You know they told him when he was done. He didn't get to decide. [beat] [[HistoryRepeats I don't want what happened to Doc ... to happen to me.]]

-->'''Darrell Cartrip''': Unbelievable! [=McQueen=] is fading! [=McQueen=] is fading! Fading fast! (getting more muffled)
-->'''Lightning''': [[RapidFireNo ''No. No.'' No! NO! '''NO!]] ...[[BigNo NO!''']]

-->'''Lightning''': (brief pause) Did yo-

** [[HeroicBSOD Lightning's reaction to Storm's comment is a bewildered stear as though he's starting to question why he's even still racing at all]]. He then snaps out of it and desperately tries to catch up to Storm and the other two cars that passed him while he was distracted. This not helped at all by [=McQueen's=] heavy breathing, his engine being pushed to it's limits, and intense swelling music in the background.

-->'''Lightning''': ''No. No.'' No! NO! '''NO! ... NO!'''

-->'''Jackson''': Hey, [=McQueen=], you alright? Listen, don't you worry, pal. You had a good run. ''(Overtakes him)'' Enjoy your retirement!
** [[HeroicBSOD Made even worse by Lightning's reaction to that comment]]. He then desperately tries to catch up to Storm and the other two cars that passed him while he was distracted. Not helped at all by the pained grunts and intense music.