Piston Cup

The Piston Cup was a race held in the events of Cars. It began at the Motor Speedway of the South, where The King, Chick Hicks, and Lightning McQueen tied three-way. A tiebreaker 200-lap race was held a week later, at the Los Angeles International Speedway. The King initially held the lead, followed closely by Chick, but Lightning quickly fell behind as he was thinking of his friends at Radiator Springs. However, they came to serve as his pit crew and cheered him on, given him the confidence to catch up to his rivals. In the final lap, Lightning takes the lead, and Chick, fed up with coming second to The King, deliberately sends him rolling off the speedway, causing him to crash violently. Lightning sees this and stops at the finish line to go back and help The King, letting Chick win instead. Lightning then helped The King cross the finish line, allowing them both to finish with dignity. A total of 36 cars competed in the series and 3 tracks are known.

Chick Hicks was the official winner of the race, but his fans were outraged at his behavior on the track and booed him for being a cheater. They pelted Chick with debris, forcing him off the stage in humiliation. Lightning was hailed for his good sportsmanship on the track.

In Cars 2, this cup was renamed the Hudson Hornet Piston Cup in memory of the deceased Doc Hudson, a former Piston Cup racer.