In Pixar's Cars, Lightning McQueen enters the Piston Cup as one of three final contenders.
The film begins with a three-way tie in the championship standings involving McQueen, Chick Hicks, and the veteran Strip Weathers, known as The King. Because the result cannot be separated, the competitors are sent to a tiebreaker race at the Los Angeles International Speedway.
The Piston Cup is a fictional championship inspired by American stock-car racing. McQueen's ambition to win it drives the early story, but the final race also tests whether he has changed after his time in Radiator Springs. A famous late-race decision leads him to help The King rather than take an easy victory, allowing Chick Hicks to win the race while McQueen earns respect.