What is the name of the racing cup competition in Pixar’s Cars?

The racing cup competition in Pixar’s Cars is the Piston Cup.

The Piston Cup is the central championship in the first film. Lightning McQueen competes for the title as a rookie, sharing the spotlight with established champion Strip Weathers, known as The King, and rival Chick Hicks. A three-way tie at the season’s end leads to the decisive race at the Los Angeles International Speedway.

The name is a playful adaptation of real motorsport championship terminology, especially NASCAR’s stock-car culture. The Cars films use familiar racing ideas while imagining a world in which the competitors themselves are sentient vehicles.

The World Grand Prix is a different competition introduced in Cars 2, so it is not the answer for the original film’s championship. Cars 3 returns to the Piston Cup as McQueen tries to remain competitive against newer racers such as Jackson Storm.