Lightning McQueen competes for the fictional Piston Cup in Pixar's Cars.
The Piston Cup is the championship prize at the center of the first film's plot. Lightning is a rookie racer tied with veteran competitors The King and Chick Hicks before the final race in California. His attempt to reach the event quickly leads to the accident that sends him to Radiator Springs.
The name is a playful reference to the real NASCAR Winston Cup, later known as the Nextel Cup and Sprint Cup at different points in its history. Cars uses its own fictional teams, sponsors, and championship rules rather than presenting a literal NASCAR competition.
The Piston Cup should not be confused with the World Grand Prix, the international competition featured in Cars 2. Lightning also races under the Dinoco brand later in the series, but Dinoco is a sponsor and team identity, not the name of the cup itself.