In Pixar's Cars, what is the name of the interstate that bypassed Radiator Springs?

In Pixar's Cars, Interstate 40 is the interstate that bypassed Radiator Springs.

The town's backstory explains that Radiator Springs once prospered on Route 66. When Interstate 40 was built nearby, through traffic stopped using the older highway. Businesses closed, visitors disappeared, and the community became a quiet remnant of the classic road-trip era.

This fictional history reflects a real change in American transportation. Interstate highways, including I-40, redirected long-distance traffic away from many older towns along U.S. Route 66. Cars uses that history to make the town's restoration both a personal and cultural story.

The answer is not Interstate 66: Route 66 is a U.S. highway, not an interstate. The film's fictional geography draws on the real alignment of I-40 across the Southwest, while Radiator Springs itself is imaginary.