The Piston Cup is the fictional racing series championship sought by Lightning McQueen in Pixar’s Cars. The first film begins with McQueen competing in the final race of the season to win the title.
The Piston Cup is modeled broadly on American stock-car racing, especially the visual language of NASCAR. Its name refers to a piston, a moving engine component, and reinforces the film’s mechanical vocabulary.
The 2006 film’s opening race ends in a three-way tie between McQueen, Chick Hicks and Strip “The King” Weathers. A tiebreaker race is ordered, but McQueen’s journey to Radiator Springs interrupts his immediate pursuit of the championship.
The cup is distinct from the World Grand Prix in Cars 2. The Piston Cup is primarily associated with the American racing world of Cars and with McQueen’s early career, while the World Grand Prix is the international competition created for the sequel.