In Pixar’s Cars, what is the name of the racing series featuring the Piston Cup?

In Pixar’s Cars, the racing series featuring the Piston Cup is the Piston Cup Racing Series.

The series is the film’s fictional stock-car championship and provides the main sporting setting for Lightning McQueen’s story. At the beginning of Cars, Lightning is a rookie competing for the season title. He is tied with veteran racer The King and Chick Hicks, so the championship is decided by a final race in California.

The Piston Cup itself is a fictional trophy modeled broadly on real-world American stock-car racing awards. Pixar used the competition to establish Lightning’s ambition and his belief that winning is more important than teamwork. His experiences in Radiator Springs gradually challenge that belief.

The series should not be confused with the World Grand Prix, which is the international competition central to Cars 2. Cars 3 returns to the Piston Cup world and focuses on Lightning’s struggle against a new generation of racers, including Jackson Storm.