In Pixar’s Cars, Lightning McQueen seeks to win the Piston Cup.
The Piston Cup is the premier racing championship in the first Cars film. Lightning enters the final race tied with veteran champion The King and rival Chick Hicks, creating a three-way contest for the season title. Because the competitors finish together, the officials schedule a tiebreaker race in California.
The cup is a fictional competition modeled on stock-car racing, particularly NASCAR. Its name also connects the racing world to the mechanical language used throughout the Cars universe. Dinoco, a major fictional fuel company, sponsors The King and later becomes an important business possibility for Lightning.
The Piston Cup should not be confused with the World Grand Prix, which is the international event at the center of Cars 2. Cars 3 returns to the Piston Cup racing environment as Lightning competes against a newer generation of racers.