What is the name of the racing league in Pixar’s original Cars movie?

The Piston Cup is the racing league in Pixar’s original Cars movie.

Lightning McQueen competes in the Piston Cup season as a rookie sponsored by Rust-eze. The first film opens with a three-way tie involving McQueen, Chick Hicks, and defending champion The King, setting up the tiebreaker race that sends McQueen toward Radiator Springs.

The Piston Cup is a fictional stock-car competition modeled partly on American motorsport. Its name and presentation evoke NASCAR-style racing, but the Cars characters and championship are not direct recreations of a real league. Dinoco is a fictional sponsor associated with The King and later McQueen.

The World Grand Prix belongs primarily to Cars 2 and is an international event rather than the league featured in the original movie. Cars 3 continues the Piston Cup storyline while introducing Jackson Storm and the newer generation of racers.