NASCAR inspired the Piston Cup in Pixar's Cars.
The Piston Cup is the fictional stock-car championship at the center of Cars. Its races, oval-track competition, sponsor decals, pit crews, and brightly colored competitors reflect the visual and sporting traditions of American stock-car racing.
The film does not simply reproduce NASCAR. It creates its own drivers, teams, sponsors, rules, and championship history, including Lightning McQueen, Chick Hicks, and the retiring champion Strip Weathers, known as The King.
Pixar consulted automotive and racing sources while developing the film's world. The Piston Cup name also echoes the idea of a trophy-based racing championship without using NASCAR's real branding as the fictional competition itself.