Chick Hicks wins the three-way Piston Cup finale in Pixar’s 2006 film Cars.
The finale is held at the Los Angeles International Speedway after a tie between Lightning McQueen and Chick Hicks requires a tiebreaking race. The veteran racer known as The King is also part of the contest, but a crash forces him out of contention.
Lightning McQueen stops to help The King after Chick Hicks pushes him into a dangerous wreck. Because McQueen misses the finish while helping, Chick Hicks crosses the line first and is officially awarded the Piston Cup. McQueen’s sportsmanship, however, changes how the crowd views him.
The ending makes the result easy to confuse with McQueen’s later career success. McQueen does not win this first film’s decisive race; Hicks gets the trophy, while McQueen chooses to remain with Rust-eze rather than take The King’s Dinoco sponsorship.