- "Hello, race fans, and welcome to what has become quite simply the biggest event in the history of racing: A three-way battle for the Piston Cup!"
- —Bob Cutlass, Cars
The Los Angeles Tie-Breaker Race is a Piston Cup Racing Series event. In Cars, it is the last race of the 2005 season, and it is held at the Los Angeles International Speedway. Originally, this race was not supposed to happen, however, after the previous race ended in a three way tie between Lightning McQueen, Strip Weathers, and Chick Hicks (due to the first’s cockiness), race officials determined that a tie-breaker race should take place at the Los Angeles International Speedway in order to crown the champion of the 2005 season.
Weathers took a PIT maneuver from Hicks during the race's final lap, flying onto the infield. Lightning McQueen decided to give up the race and his title and help Weathers cross the finish line, not wanting to have him share the same fate as Doc Hudson. This caused many race fans and even Tex Dinoco to consider him the true winner, alongside Weathers, since McQueen learned that helping others is more important than winning and fame. Chick Hicks, who officially won his first Piston Cup title, but was booed and pelted by the fans and media who were angry with his dirty move on Weathers.
Starting Positions[]
| Position | Number | Sponsor | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 43 | Dinoco | Strip Weathers |
| 2nd | 86 | htB | Chick Hicks |
| 3rd | 95 | Rust-eze | Lightning McQueen |
Finishing Positions[]
| Position | Number | Sponsor | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 86 | htB | Chick Hicks |
| 2nd | 43 | Dinoco | Strip Weathers |
| 3rd | 95 | Rust-eze | Lightning McQueen |
Trivia[]
- The possible reason that there were only three cars is to decide the true winner. The tiebreaker was likely to also happen if another racer not in the points system unexpectedly won the race. This was also the only race with such.
- Although Chick won the race and his first title, albeit not in what he hoped for, McQueen was considered the true winner by the fans due to his act of sportsmanship towards Strip Weathers after he crashed into the infield. Weathers could also be considered as the true winner by the fans as well due to the fact that he was assisted by McQueen to finish in 2nd place, which was the best result for him that ended his racing career on a high note.
- Ironically, if McQueen didn’t make it to California for the race (should've he still continued to stay in Radiator Springs longer and accept the fact that it's his new home), it is highly likely that the race officials would put him out of championship contention, and would result in being Strip Weathers and Chick Hicks battling for the title. This would make the race more intense and much worse since Weathers would seemingly be in a worse position due to Chick Hicks wanting to play dirty to take him out. And if Chick did take him out early, he would’ve likely became the winner, albeit still suffering a throng of boos from the angry mob of crowd and media.
- Even if McQueen did win the tiebreaker race should’ve he not helped Weathers, it would highly be likely that he would’ve been reviled by his fans and possibly his new friends from Radiator Springs, particularly Doc Hudson, because he had seemingly left out an injured racer unable to finish the race and would’ve had his pride even hurt more despite a few fans cheering him on particularly Albert Hinkey. This would also make The King end up like Doc Hudson; being a bitter race car and not even caring if McQueen earned the Dinoco sponsorship if he did accept Tex’s offer. Although even if Chick never crashed Weathers and McQueen did win the Piston Cup, the fans would still cheer for him but would still turn down the offer to join Dinoco due to his newfound appreciation with Rust-Eze.
- If Doc Hudson and the rest of McQueen's new friends didn't even join the final race to support McQueen, should Doc have not even revealed the truth to the residents and remained still bitter, it would highly be likely that McQueen would seemingly be helpless since he doesn't have any pit crew to support him with the exception of Mack, and that he would've likely not even won the race due to being distracted of his new friends he made at Radiator Springs, and that he could've likely blown out his tires the second time. It could also result in McQueen's chances of winning low since Chick would continue playing dirty at McQueen and would've even spun him more if he never recalled the lessons he learned at Radiator Springs such as backwards driving or Doc's technique. This would possibly result in McQueen deciding to forfeit his chances of winning and thus, seemingly give support to Strip Weathers instead after realizing that winning the trophy isn't important to him anymore and recalling his advice earlier.