Lightning McQueen is trying to win the Piston Cup in Pixar’s Cars.
At the beginning of the film, McQueen is a rookie competitor tied with veteran racers The King and Chick Hicks for the championship. Because the three finishers are equal on points, a tiebreaking race is arranged at the Los Angeles International Speedway. That event sends McQueen on the road to Radiator Springs.
The Piston Cup is a fictional championship trophy created for the Cars universe. Its name evokes stock-car racing and is not the name of NASCAR’s modern championship trophy. McQueen’s obsession with the cup establishes his initial ambition and self-centered personality.
The trophy remains important throughout the series, although later stories focus on different forms of competition. Cars 3 revisits the Piston Cup racing world when McQueen faces the younger, technologically advanced racer Jackson Storm.