What is the fictional racing venue where Pixar’s Cars begins?

Pixar’s Cars begins at the fictional Motor Speedway of the South.

The film opens with a three-way tie in the Piston Cup championship race at the Motor Speedway of the South. Lightning McQueen, Chick Hicks, and The King finish together, leading officials to schedule a tiebreaker race at the Los Angeles International Speedway.

The venue is fictional, as are the Piston Cup and the film’s racing teams. The opening establishes Lightning as a talented but self-centered rookie who is eager to win the championship and move beyond his sponsor, Rust-eze.

The Motor Speedway of the South is often confused with the Los Angeles International Speedway, which hosts the later tiebreaker, or with real NASCAR tracks. The film uses invented motorsport locations while drawing visual and cultural inspiration from American stock-car racing.