The King
If there’s one character in the Cars film which I respect the most, it would be the King. Although Strip Weathers did not get as much time on screen as Lightning McQueen did, he has showed that he is one character that has class. Voiced by Richard Petty who Wikipedia describes as “a former NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver. ‘King Richard,’ as he is nicknamed, is most well-known for winning the NASCAR Championship seven times.”
In the movie, The King also won seven Piston Cups in the film as his character was based on the legendary driver. The King is a 1970 Plymouth Superbird, the same car which Petty drove during his stint with NASCAR.
During the movie, I liked the way The King scolded Lightning. He told the young up and comer that he (Lightning) would be nowhere without his team. But the young car is so full of himself at the beginning of the movie that he was not listening to The King but was thinking about taking over the Dynoco sponsorship after The King retires. But towards the end of the movie, Lightning showed that he too has class when he helped The King cross the finish line in his final race and throwing away the chance of winning the race. That part of the film is really a feel-good part because I think that’s where Lightning became a race car that will continue the classy leadership that The King has shown in his heyday.
It’s just sad that towards the end of the race, The King was badly beaten and dented. But then, Dynoco sponsored him so I think he was back to looking good and being fast in no time at all.
