Richard Petty voices Strip Weathers, the veteran racer known as The King, in Pixar’s Cars.
Strip Weathers is a veteran Piston Cup champion and one of Lightning McQueen’s rivals during the film’s final race. His design is based on a Plymouth Superbird, a model associated with Petty’s NASCAR career. Petty also supplied the character’s voice, giving the role a direct connection to American stock-car racing.
Richard Petty is one of NASCAR’s most decorated drivers. He won the NASCAR Cup Series championship seven times and collected 200 premier-series race victories, a record total for that series. His nickname, The King, is reflected directly in Strip Weathers’s name and status.
The character is not voiced by Jeff Gordon, although Gordon also appears in Cars-related material and is associated with racing. Petty’s son, Kyle Petty, also contributed to the Cars franchise, voicing other racing-related characters in later productions.