Mister Jackson Storm

*"Wow! Thank you, Mr. McQueen. You have no idea what a pleasure it is for me to finally beat you."*
—**Jackson Storm**, *Cars 3*

**Jackson Storm** is the main antagonist of *Cars 3*. He is a custom-built Next-Gen race car who competes in the Piston Cup Racing Series. Following his debut in 2017, Storm has proved to be highly talented, hitting top speeds that veteran racers struggled with reaching (210+ mph). Storm's stellar performance sparked interest in the *next-generation* of racers, and other Piston Cup teams began replacing their veterans with newer, more powerful racers. Storm achieved many wins during his first full season, and even set the record for fastest lap of all time at the Florida International Speedway. He is also part of the next generation of high-tech racers. He is an rude and arrogant racer because of his skill. Knowing how talented and successful he is, Jackson has a oversized ego, and disrespects other racers beyond simple trash talk. One of Storm's biggest rivals was Lightning McQueen, who crashed while attempting to keep up with Storm at the Los Angeles 500. After a long absence, McQueen returned to the Piston Cup for the Florida 500, but since he wanted to give Cruz Ramirez a chance to race, he made her finish the race, even though he wanted to finish the race. Cruz took advantage of Storm's weaknesses, allowing her to pass him and win the race. Storm's racing number is 20, however, it is designed with the design of 2.0 sponsored by IGNTR to resemble the next-generation.

## History

### *Before Cars 3*

Before the events of Cars 3, Jackson was a cyber-sportsman, making a living playing racing video game (most noticeably, the racing game SC3) Super Corsa 3. His greatest achievement was winning a lot of money from a cyber-sport tournament organized by businessman Axle P. Biggs. He organized this tournament to find a worthy racer for his team. His team was able to recruit piston cup racers Storm and Tim Treadless out of the 10 cars that entered this competition, Jackson was the winner. Mr. Biggs asked a pickup truck named Ray Reverham (A.K.A Jackson Storm's Crew Chief) to find Jackson and engage him in the real sport.

In the beginning, Jackson declined, having earned enough money from his career in cyber-sport. He liked his freedom and did not want to change anything. Mr. Biggs blackmailed Storm, saying that if he did not become a racer then he would have to return all the money that he won from the tournament, and that he would not be involved in the video-gaming business. Storm then accepted the offer, but his cockiness was hard to deal with.

He began training in a special racing center with the other next-generation racers, but again, his attitude was a huge problem. He would often bully other members of the training center and steal their allotted time on the racing simulators. He would frequently challenge the other racers on the simulators, and upon losing to one racer in particular, Storm raged, damaging equipment and setting off the fire alarm. Due to repeated bad behaviour, Mr. Biggs decided to fire Jackson. Ray saw some kind of potential in Jackson, however, and decided to leave the training centre with him.

IGNTR, a liquid adrenaline company, soon offered to sponsor Jackson. He accepted, on the condition that Ray could be his crew chief. A statistical analyst from the racing centre had actually contacted IGNTR and told them about Jackson's skills.

### *Cars 3*

Jackson Storm is the main antagonist in *Cars 3*. He makes his debut in the Dinoco 400 at the Copper Canyon Speedway. As Lightning McQueen, Bobby Swift, and Cal Weathers are approaching the finish line neck-in-neck, Storm manages to pass all three of them, surprising the three racers as well as the audience. As Storm drives onto the winners' podium to enjoy his victory, Lightning kindly approaches him, congratulating him on a good race. However, Storm responds by arrogantly expressing his pride in winning, annoying McQueen. The press then arrives to take pictures of the two, and Storm mocks McQueen about his age while enjoying the opportunity for good press. He then enters his hauler, who drives away, leaving McQueen insulted.
On Chick Hicks' show on the Racing Sports Network, he and Natalie Certain discuss Storm's victory, explaining that Storm is part of the next-generation of high-tech racers, and is capable of incredible things thanks to his next-generation design. Many racing teams take interest in this and begin firing their old racers in favor of newer, more able next-gen racers. Some do not have the motivation to continue racing against them and instead choose to simply retire, like Cal Weathers.
Throughout the rest of the season, more and more veterans are replaced by next-gen racers, and by the season's final race at the Los Angeles International Speedway, Lightning McQueen is one of the very few traditional racers left. McQueen starts off the race by passing Storm, but Jackson easily moves back ahead. Nonetheless, McQueen is able to keep up with Storm, and the two eventually enter the pits together. McQueen, recognizing that his only chance of winning is to get out of the pits before Storm does, barks orders at Guido, and rushes out of the pits. McQueen makes it out before Storm does, and gains the lead. However, Storm quickly overcomes him, and as he passes, trash-talks McQueen, wishing him a good retirement. This gets to McQueen, and he begins fading. Determined to continue, Lightning begins pushing himself far past his limits, but his right rear tire blows out and his engine overheats, which causes him to completely lose control of himself and hit the wall hard enough to send him airborne and into a nasty rollover crash. McQueen is then removed from the race and Jackson wins the race, as well as the 2016 Piston Cup.
After a few months of moping around, Lightning finally finds the motivation to start training again to face Storm. He travels to the Rust-eze Racing Center, where he meets teacher Cruz Ramirez, who helps him train. Ramirez puts images of Storm in front of McQueen while he is practicing on treadmills, to motivate him. Additionally, when Lightning uses the simulator for the first time, he discovers that Storm is one of the computer racers. After witnessing McQueen's weaker top speeds, Sterling urges him to retire. However, Lightning manages to convince him that if he can beat Storm in the Florida 500, he can continue racing.
Throughout McQueen's training, Storm is continually used as motivation for Lightning. While practicing at the Thomasville Speedway, his mentor Smokey has Cruz Ramirez don a costume resembling his appearance.
As the Florida 500 approaches, Jackson continues to practice using a simulator. While using it, Storm passes McQueen, and asks Ray Reverham, his crew chief, why he is in the simulation. Reverham tells Jackson he manually put McQueen in, claiming he needs practice against *real competition*. Immediately after saying that, they both laugh, completely dismissing McQueen as a threat.
Once Storm arrives at the Florida International Speedway, he takes a practice lap, setting the record for the fastest lap of all time. As Lightning watches news this on television, he hears Natalie Certain predict Storm's chances of winning, which are incredibly high.
As McQueen and Ramirez are preparing in the pits, Storm greets Cruz, who is still wearing her Storm costume. He arrogantly offers a picture, and when McQueen interjects, he mocks McQueen over the selling of McQueen-branded mudflaps. Since McQueen did not show up to take practice laps at the speedway, he is required to start dead last. Though a difficult obstacle to overcome, McQueen manages to gradually work his way through the pack. However, while hearing Sterling rudely tell Cruz she is not a racer, Lightning gets the idea to enter her in his place, as she has always dreamed of being a racer, and demonstrated extraordinary abilities during their training.
Though hesitant, Ramirez enters the race as a substitute. She begins working her way up to the front, with McQueen coaching her. As Cruz continues to gain on Storm, Reverham warns him, but Jackson dismisses it up until she takes third place. Recognizing she could actually prove a threat, Storm backs up to Cruz and insults her, telling her she will never be like the other racers. The harsh words get to Cruz, but McQueen builds her back up by explaining that Storm would not have done that if he was not nervous. Using this knowledge, Cruz starts drafting behind Storm and trash-talks him. Storm loses his focus, and as Cruz moves to pass him, he slams her against the wall. However, Cruz thinks back to how Doc Hudson performed a flip move to get out of a similar situation, and uses the maneuver to overcome Storm and win the race.
After the Florida 500, it is unknown what happened to Jackson Storm as he was not seen after Cruz won or the end credits' pictures. It can be presumed that he still kept racing to try to beat Cruz but still lost to her in the end.

## General information

### Personality and traits

Storm possesses a large ego and he is representative of his next racing generation as a whole. Knowing full well that he is capable of incredible abilities, Storm tends to take little notice of other competitors, believing they are no threat to him. Many fellow racers view his cocky demeanor as off-putting. He is an example of what Lightning McQueen could have become had he not reformed himself in his rookie year.
When talking to his competitors, Jackson delivers effective trash-talk, and acts incredibly disrespectful towards them, especially older racers. On the rare occasion that he does recognize a competitor as a threat, he takes the time to insult them, which will often get into their heads.
When Sally came to see McQueen's final race she saw Storm interacting with Cruz before they got on the track in a mean way, and she viewed him as a jerk.
Storm becomes very angry in times of weakness, and when Cruz Ramirez moved to pass him during the Florida 500, Jackson responded by violently slamming her against a wall.

### Physical description

Having been built specifically for racing, Storm's design is quite advanced, and his sleek model was constructed with carbon fiber and metal composite, with the concept of speed in mind. A 2017 Custom built *Next-Gen* Piston Cup Racer, his chassis is built with hydroformed alloy and steel. His Maximum Performance V-8 engine with 850 horsepower is responsible for his ability to reach 0-60 in 3.6 seconds, as well as his top speed of 214 miles per hour.
Storm is painted in a black livery, with his doors sporting a design resembling a thick blue lightning bolt. His eyes are greyish blue and his sides also feature his racing number, 20 (however, it's stylized to look like "2.0" to resemble the next generation), as well as contingency sponsors, including the Piston Cup, Combustr, Carbon Cyber, and SynerG in addition to his own sponsor, IGNTR Liquid Adrenaline.

## Appearances

* *Cars 3*
* *Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool (archival footage)*

## Bios

* "*Jackson Storm is fast, sleek and ready to race. A top competitor in the next generation of racers, Storm's quiet confidence and cocky demeanor are off-putting—but his unmatched speed redefines the series. Trained on high-tech simulators that are programmed to perfect technique and maximize velocity, Jackson Storm is literally built to be unbeatable—and he knows it.*"
* "*Cocky and sure of himself, Jackson Storm is a young Piston Cup rookie with his eyes focused solely on the championship. Coming out of nowhere in the racing world, Storm trained primarily on high-tech simulators. He displays refined technique but little practical wisdom on the track. Winning has come all too easy to Storm, so he's unable to fathom defeat - yet. His overconfidence may be his ultimate downfall.*"

## Quotes

* "*Good luck out there, champ. You're gonna need it!*" - *Cars 3*
* "*I think you've heard me.*" - *Cars 3*
* "*Yeah yeah, come on, let's get a picture! You know - get a ton of pictures, because champ here has been a role model of mine for years now! I mean A LOT of years, right? I love this guy!*" - Cars 3
* "*I think I touched the nerve.*" - *Cars 3*
* "*Hey champ, where'd all your friends go?*" - *Cars 3*
* "*Hey, McQueen, you alright? Listen, don't you worry, pal, you had a good run. Enjoy your retirement!*" - *Cars 3*
* "*Oh, wow. Nice costume! Come here, let's get a picture. It's so great to meet my number one fan!*" - *Cars 3*
* "*Oh, hey there, champ. I heard you're selling mudflaps after today. Is that true? Hey, you put me down for the first case, okay?*" - *Cars 3*
* "*You are not winning this!*" - *Cars 3*
* "*I am NOT angry!*" - *Cars 3*
* "*You don't **BELONG** on this **TRACK**!*" - *Cars 3*
* "*You're kidding me? He put her in the race?*" - Cars 3

## Trivia

* Storm's voice actor, Armie Hammer, was born the same year Pixar was founded (1986).
* By winning the Piston Cup in his rookie year, Storm achieved what McQueen almost did in the first *Cars* film. However, it is not known whether this makes him the first rookie to win the Piston Cup, the distinction McQueen was aiming for at that time, as there could have been another racer since to have done so.
* Even though Storm is the fastest Piston Cup racer, he is not the fastest car in the franchise: the record is held by Francesco Bernoulli (Lightning's rival in *Cars 2*), with a top speed of 220 mph.
* He is one of three racers to have a named hauler the other two being, Paul Conrev, and Eric Braker.

## See also

* List of racers
* List of Next-Gen racers