Lightning McQueen wants to win the Piston Cup in Pixar’s Cars.
The Piston Cup is the film’s fictional top-level stock-car racing championship. At the beginning of Cars, McQueen is a rookie competing for the title alongside veteran champion Strip “The King” Weathers and aggressive rival Chick Hicks. A three-way tie at the end of the season leads to a deciding race in California.
McQueen’s ambition is initially focused almost entirely on winning. After he becomes stranded in Radiator Springs, the town’s residents force him to slow down and repair the road. Doc Hudson, himself a former Piston Cup champion, teaches McQueen that speed and talent are not enough without judgment, loyalty, and respect.
The Piston Cup is a fictional competition, but its presentation draws from American stock-car racing. The name also became an important part of the Cars franchise’s fictional sports history. The World Grand Prix belongs to Cars 2, so it is not the championship McQueen is pursuing in the original film.