Cars 2 Features Jeff Gorvette, Better Known As NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon

Lightning McQueen and Mater are hitting the big screens again this Friday in Cars 2, but this time they are leaving Radiator Springs and meeting a few new friends along the way.

One of those new friends is “Jeff Gorvette,” better known as four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon.

Gordon said his role in the film was “fairly small” but a thrill nonetheless for the father of two.

“Obviously Lightning McQueen and Mater and some of his buddies are in there and I’m one of his new buddies,” he said, “but it’s an international spy thriller this time so they go all over the world. So there’s a lot of international flair from the car side of it and the voices that you’ll hear as well as some other race car drivers.”

The idea to have Gordon voice one of the characters in the Cars sequel came about a year ago when John Lasseter of Pixar floated the idea to Gordon at Infineon Raceway. A week or two later, Lasseter was presenting the role of Jeff Gorvette.

“It’s not a big (role), but it sure is something I’m very proud of and excited about as a race car driver being able to be the voice of a cool car and especially as a parent,” Gordon said. “So, yeah, I can’t wait for it to come out June 24.”

Unlike live-action acting, Gordon was forced to use his imagination while working with Lasseter on the voice-over.

“When I was in the studio, it was purely John painting a picture in my mind through explaining the scene to me and then trying to emulate what he was looking for and then me sometimes just either doing it repetitively or trying to copy some things that he was doing,” he said. “It’s amazing because he definitely put me in that scene even though I had no idea what it looked like. I enjoyed it immensely. It was great.”

Cars 2 roars onto the big screen Friday and also features the voices of NASCAR’s Darrell Waltrip, racing commentator David Hobbs and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton.