Corrected entry: Lightening McQueen is portrayed as the first rookie to possibly win the Piston Cup. When he discovers the Piston Cup trophies in Doc Hudson's garage, we see that Doc won the Piston Cup in 1951, 1952 and 1953. Doc Hudson is a 1951 Hudson Hornet, as confirmed by his license plate is 51HHMD. By winning the Piston Cup in 1951 the year he was made, Doc Hudson is actually the first rookie to win the Piston Cup.
jimba
17th Aug 2008
Cars (2006)
Correction: "Rookie" would mean someone who's never raced before. McQueen's first races were in the Piston Cup Series. Doc Hudson must have raced prior to racing in the Piston Cup Series; meaning he won the Cup his first year racing, but had racing experience prior to competing for it.
Correction: If the year convention follows how it is in the real world, the 1951 Hornet would have come out in 1950, making that his rookie year if he began racing right away.
The ‘51 Hudson Hornet was a new model car introduced in 1951.
The first 1951 Hudson Hornet was produced in September 1950 (18 built), with main production beginning in October 1950 (2977 built).
Being produced and introduced are two separate things. Even if Doc was built in Sept 1950) he wouldn't have run a full season of the Piston Cup. Doc was meant to represent the Hudson driving team of NASCAR, especially Herb Thomas who won the Grand National Championship in 1951, with their ‘51 Hudson Hornet (1951 being the first year they drove the Hornet). Yes, ultimately it's just a cartoon movie with talking cars so there's nothing to say Doc didn't run a full season in 1950 or wasn't a rookie in 1951. But in keeping line with some semblance of the real world, by all accounts, Doc should have been a rookie in 1951.
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Correction: Doc Hudson would still be considered a rookie even if he raced before. Like other sports if he came from a lower racing league he would be considered a rookie when he got to the professional league.