In Pixar's 2006 film Cars, Lightning McQueen enters the Piston Cup race when he becomes stranded in Radiator Springs.
The Piston Cup is the fictional stock-car racing championship at the center of the film's story. McQueen is a talented but arrogant rookie competing for the season title, alongside veteran racer Strip Weathers, known as The King, and rival Chick Hicks.
After a three-way tie at the season finale, officials schedule a tiebreaker race in California. While being transported there, McQueen falls from his trailer and accidentally damages Radiator Springs' main road. The town's judge orders him to repair it before leaving.
The Piston Cup is also the name of the trophy awarded to the championship winner. Its design and terminology echo real American stock-car racing, while the fictional championship gives Pixar a clear sporting framework for McQueen's character development.