Strip “The King” Weathers won seven Piston Cup championships.
The veteran Dinoco racer is introduced in Cars as a retiring seven-time champion. He drives the famous No. 43 car and is modeled on real-world NASCAR legend Richard Petty, who also provides his voice. His design resembles a 1970 Plymouth Superbird.
At the opening film’s championship race, Weathers is tied in the season standings with rookie Lightning McQueen and longtime rival Chick Hicks. The race is therefore a chance for him to claim an eighth title, but the story focuses on sportsmanship rather than another championship. After Hicks wrecks him, McQueen refuses to accept the official win and helps Weathers cross the finish line.
A common mix-up is confusing Weathers’s seven championships with the race’s outcome. Seven is his established career total before the film’s final event; the movie does not add an eighth Piston Cup title to his record.