In preparations for this weekend's Daytona 500 race, NASCAR and Pixar held a press event which unveiled several new details about the upcoming film, Cars 3. The crowd was given a first look at a life-size Cruz Ramirez and Lightning McQueen, while also noting several drivers who will lend their voices to the film.
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Most notable from the event is our first look at the life-size Cruz Ramirez. Not only is it fantastic to get another look at a full-size character, but we also see her design with full Dinoco sponsorship. So, why (or how) does she get sponsored by Dinoco? After seeing a few of the Cars 3 book covers released on Amazon recently, it was spotted that Cruz (originally labeled solely as McQueen's coach) was sponsored by Dinoco - leading us to speculate on our last podcast episode that Cruz and McQueen may have a symbiotic relationship where she helps him train against the new tech-heavy racers and he helps her realize her potential to not just be a trainer. (Of course, this is only speculation and time will tell.)
Pixar has a rich history of having actual race car drivers voice characters in the Cars films. From the famed, Jeff Gordon voicing Jeff Gorvette and Richard Petty voicing Strip Weathers (a.k.a., The King), Cars 3 will certainly follow suit as revealed at the special event.
- Chase Elliott will voice CHASE RACELOTT
- Daniel Suárez will voice DANNY SWERVEZ
- Ryan Blaney will voice RYAN "INSIDE" LANEY
- Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. will voice BUBBA WHEELHOUSE
- Darrell Waltrip will return as DARRELL CARTRIP
- Jeff Gordon will return as JEFF GORVETTE
- Howard Augustine "Humpy" Wheeler Jr will return as TEX DINOCO
- Richard "The King" Petty will return as STRIP "THE KING" WEATHERS
Additionally, Pixar has revealed that two FOX Sports reporters will have characters in the film, Shannon Spake will voice the on-the-track reporter SHANNON SPOKES and Mike Joy will voice on-the-spot radio talk show host MIKE JOYRIDE. Taking on the role of RAY REVERHAM (Jackson Storm's crew chief) will be Ray Evernham - the winner of three NASCAR championships as crew chief for Jeff Gordon.
What are your thoughts on today's announcement? Leave a comment below.
UPDATED - Pixar just released a few new photos of the Lightning and Cruz (included below). Additionally, there is an exclusive Cars 3 line of merchandise that is only available through the Nascar online store.
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UPDATED - Pixar just released a few new photos of the Lightning and Cruz (included below). Additionally, there is an exclusive Cars 3 line of merchandise that is only available through the Nascar online store.
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