What is the name of the racing championship pursued in Pixar’s Cars 3?

The Piston Cup is the racing championship pursued in Pixar’s Cars 3.

The Piston Cup is the main stock-car championship in the Cars films. Lightning McQueen competes for the title in the original Cars and continues racing within that championship world in Cars 3, where he faces the arrival of faster next-generation competitors.

The fictional trophy is named after a piston, a key engine component that moves inside a cylinder. The championship’s name is a playful reference to American stock-car racing and automobile engineering.

Cars 2 shifts attention to the World Grand Prix, an international competition involving different race formats and locations. The Florida 500, meanwhile, is a specific race rather than the championship’s name. These terms are related but not interchangeable.