Three cars shared the victory in the opening Piston Cup race in Pixar's Cars.
The race ends in an unusual three-way tie between Lightning McQueen, Chick Hicks, and The King. Because the result cannot determine a single champion, the officials order a tiebreaker race at the Los Angeles International Speedway. The unusual finish launches the story: Lightning's impatience leads to his separation from Mack, and his subsequent detour ultimately brings him to Radiator Springs.
The King is the veteran champion, Chick Hicks is the aggressive longtime rival, and Lightning is the rookie contender who is chasing the Piston Cup. Their different personalities establish the film's central contrast between experience, unsportsmanlike ambition, and raw talent.
The three-way tie is fictional racing drama rather than a standard NASCAR result. The film later gives the final race a more conventional outcome, but the opening tie remains one of Cars' key plot mechanisms. Lightning also chooses to help The King after Chick's crash, showing the character growth that the film has been building toward.