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Doc Hudson is Radiator Springs' judge, a reserved Hudson Hornet hiding a past as a champion. Paul Newman gives the original voice. He mentors McQueen in the first film, and his memory carries on in the saga after the actor's death.
Doc Hudson, Radiator Springs' judge, is prejudiced against McQueen for being a race car. In secret he was the legendary Fabulous Hudson Hornet, with three Piston Cups, until a crash ended his career. McQueen is stunned that Doc sees the trophies as meaningless. Doc challenges him to a dirt-road race to teach humility. In the end he takes over as crew chief at the final race.
Paul Newman died in September 2008. In Cars 2 the character ended up left out of the story. McQueen's fourth Piston Cup is in honor of his mentor Doc, mentioned early on.
In Cars 3, McQueen looks up Smokey, Doc's old mentor and crew chief. Smokey reveals that, even though Doc never raced again, he found new happiness training McQueen. Cruz uses an old Doc move to flip over Storm and win the race.
In the short, Doc Hudson appears among the town's residents, still voiced by Paul Newman.
Paul Newman voices Doc in the first film. It was his last film role outside documentaries. He died in September 2008, and Doc was left out of Cars 2.
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