In Pixar’s Cars, which race awards the season’s Piston Cup championship?

In Pixar’s Cars, the Dinoco 400 is the race that awards the season’s Piston Cup championship.

The film opens with a three-way tie involving Lightning McQueen, Chick Hicks, and The King. Because the Dinoco 400 ends with an unusual three-car finish, officials schedule a tiebreaker race at the Los Angeles International Speedway.

The Dinoco 400 is therefore not the final race shown in the story. It establishes the championship situation and motivates the later event in California. Viewers sometimes call the tiebreaker the Piston Cup race, but its specific name is not the Dinoco 400.

Dinoco is a fictional fuel and racing brand in the Cars universe. Its blue-and-orange sponsorship is especially associated with The King, and later with the prize Lightning hopes to earn.