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The Piston Cup Racing Series (renamed the Hudson Hornet Piston Cup in 2010) is an American auto racing series championship of stock cars. From 2016 to the present day, high-tech Next-Gen racers started dominating the circuit.
It started in the late 1940's with dirt track circuits and, from 1960's to the present day, consists of asphalt racing.
History
Late 1940s seasons
The Piston Cup was founded in the late 1940's, and races were originally held on the dirt tracks. No racers are known from this era.
1951-1954 seasons
In the 1950s seasons, the cars were production vehicles with no modifications allowed. The term stock car implied that the vehicles racing were unmodified street cars. In 1951, Hudson Hornet started racing and won in 1951, 1952 and 1953 season. He achieved thirteen victories in 1951, twenty-seven victories in 1952, and twenty-two victories in 1953 and sixteen victories in 1954.[1] In one of those seasons, Louise Nash started racing, being the first and only one woman to race in the time of the 1950s. She won three races in a row in her first season against Hudson Hornet. Because of discrimination, she had to steal the racing number #94 in order to get a chance to race. But Louise's fearless driving style soon won her the respect of every car she raced. In a race in one of those seasons on the Thomasville Speedway, Hornet was pushed against the wall by Leroy Heming. But with quick thinking, Hudson performed a flip maneuver over him and crossed the finish line.
In 1954, on a race on Fireball Beach Course, the Hudson Hornet lost control while power sliding and rolled several times, receiving serious damage, and after that, he was hospitalized. His injuries rendered him unable to compete for the rest of the season. Hudson Hornet made a healthy recovery; however, he was forced to retire.
1955-1970's seasons
In the 1960s, dirt tracks became asphalt tracks. Mario Andretti debuted in 1967, The King debuted in 1970, Darrell Cartrip debuted in 1977, and Chick Hicks with Dale Earnhardt & Ernie Gearson debuted in the late 1970's. In 1970s Kraig Shiftright won 2 Piston Cups.
1980s-2000s seasons
In the 1980's, debuted drivers as Claude Scruggs debuted in the early 1980s, Murray Clutchburn and James Cleanair in 1985. Eugene Carbureski and Crusty Rotor also debuted in that time. Darrell Cartrip won some Piston Cups around the 1980s. The 1990s rookies were Haul Inngas, Billy Oilchanger, Brush Curber and Johnny Blamer. Klint Shiftright won 3 Piston Cups, Haul Inngas won once in that era after a tragedy struck where he accidentally drove on the wrong side of the road coming home from the bowling alley. The King won 7 Piston Cups between 1970s and 2000s.
2005 season
The 2005 season saw seven-time Piston Cup champion The King, constant runner-up Chick Hicks, and popular new rookie Lightning McQueen, who's first win came at Glen Ellen (after replacing Racer #01, whose tire had blown as shown in the comics) & Racer 67 (as shown in the World of Cars book), as the leading competitors. The final race of the season, called the Dinoco 400, was held at the Motor Speedway of the South. The three leading racers all had a score of 5013 points, meaning whichever of the three placed first would take home the Piston Cup and the coveted Dinoco sponsorship.
Towards the start of the race, a large incident was caused by Chick Hicks with the intention of separating himself from the gaining McQueen. The accident involved every racer except for Weathers, Hicks, and McQueen, as the latter skillfully managed to make his way through the crash without taking any damage. The other racers received damage, however, such as Chuck Armstrong, who was taken out of the race by a tow truck.
Subsequently, Lightning McQueen arrogantly refused pit stops, which allowed him to gain an entire lap advantage on the other racers, which continued into the final lap of the race. However, as McQueen rounded the final turn, his rear tires blew out, leaving him crawling to the finish line. The other racers caught up to him, and McQueen, Hicks, and Weathers all crossed the finish line at the same time, making it the first three-way tie in Piston Cup history. A tie-breaker race between the three was set to be held at the Los Angeles International Speedway.
However, during Lightning's journey there, he fell out of his trailer and ended up in the small town of Radiator Springs, where he accidentally ripped up the road and was sentenced to community service. Once Lightning served his time, he was taken to the race, where he found it difficult to concentrate due to missing the friends he made while there. However, Lightning was joyful when he discovered that Hudson and the other townspeople had come to serve as his pit crew.
Lightning, who had learned new abilities from his friends, utilized them during the race, which allowed him to hold up well against his two competitors, eventually taking the lead. Hicks, frustrated with constantly placing behind Weathers, performed a pit maneuver on him, causing the seven-time champion to spin out of control and take heavy damage. McQueen, noticing similarities between Weathers' and Hudson's accidents, stopped just before the finish line and reversed up to Weathers, and helped him to the finish line, believing the old-timer should finish his last race. Despite being the victor, Hicks was booed for his actions, while McQueen was congratulated for his good sportsmanship. Also in 2005, Brush Curber had numerous top ten finishes.
2006-2015 seasons
Lightning McQueen won his first Piston Cup in 2006, then he won two more Piston Cups between 2007 and 2009. Cal Weathers debuted in 2006 & Brick Yardley debuted in 2007. After Doc Hudson's death in 2009, the Piston Cup was renamed Hudson Hornet Piston Cup as a tribute in 2010, McQueen captured his fourth Piston Cup and the veteran racer became a 4-time Piston Cup champion. Between 2011 and 2015, Lightning won another three Piston Cups, and he became a 7-time Piston Cup winner and also the oldest racer, since others retired between those years. Also, during the 2015 season, Brick Yardley won twice.
2016 season
In the 2016 season the Piston Cup logo received an update. At the Dinoco Light 350 in the Motor Speedway of the South, Lightning won the race. In the next race at Rocker Arms International, McQueen and Cal both went for first place at last lap with Cal being the winner. The Georgia Motor Speedway race was won by McQueen.
At the Dinoco 400 at Copper Canyon Speedway, McQueen was in the lead with Bobby second and Cal third, but suddenly all three were beaten by the rookie Jackson Storm, who was the one of several next-generation cars, they've had faster engines and aerodynamic bodies. Storm also won the next races at the Motor Speedway of the South, Grandol Oil Co. Raceway, BnL Raceway, and Rustbelt Raceway. After the last one, Cal Weathers retired from the sport by the tip of his uncle, many other veteran racers have left the sport too, the companies were firing them in favor of the new generation.
At the race at Los Angeles International Speedway, the grid consisted of mostly of high-tech rookies. After the race's start, McQueen started to overtake others and even catch Storm on last laps. When they both came into pit, McQueen's pit stop was faster than Storm's, and Lightning took the lead. Jackson quickly caught up with Lightning and took the lead after insulting McQueen for being too old. Following the Storm's words, McQueen start slowing down and was overtaken by Danny Swervez and Chase Racelott, losing two positions.
McQueen then tried to catch Storm and the others, but his right-rear tire blew out, his overworked engine failed, lost control, hit the wall, and was sent into a roll, getting serious injuries. The race was delayed, and Lightning was hospitalized, while Storm proceeded to win the race and become the 2016 Piston Cup champion.
2017 season
Four months later, McQueen was practicing and getting into shape to beat Storm at the Florida 500 on the Florida International Super Speedway alongside his personal trainer Cruz Ramirez, former Doc's crew chief Smokey and several Piston Cup veterans. Lightning missed all qualification sessions, and because of this, he would start dead last. At the race Smokey replaced Mater as the team's crew chief. After the race's start, McQueen quickly began overtaking others and made steady progress through the ranks.
In the middle of the race, the new owner of Rust-eze, Sterling, said to Cruz that she should train racers instead of watching the race. Lightning heard that on the team radio and remembered that Cruz dreamed to be a racer. McQueen forgot about the race and did not notice a big accident in front of him. After that he got out of it and continued the race.
When all racers were called back to the pits, McQueen rejected the pit stop and said that Cruz Ramirez should come back. He asked Guido to change her tires, Fillmore to refuel and Ramone to repaint her. After that, he had a surprised Cruz take his place. Smokey decided that Lightning should become her crew chief and gave him the headset. Using tactics she learned while practicing with Lightning, Ramirez was able to overcome other racers and even caught up with Jackson Storm. He attempted to distract her from winning, same as with Lightning and when she also began to slow down same as him, Lightning cheered her up, so she caught Storm again. Being angry, he pushed her against the wall when she tried to pass him, but Cruz performed a flip over Storm, as Doc Hudson had done in the 1950s, and won the race.
Officially, Cruz won the race with McQueen, because they both used number 95. After the race, Tex Dinoco asked her to join his team, that was sill seeking the new driver after Cal's retirement and bought Rust-eze. McQueen decided to pull out from racing to mentor her, getting a new paint job, designed in honor of Hudson Hornet, while Ramirez, also the next generation racer from now, chose number 51, also paying him tribute. With McQueen as the mentor, Cruz continued to win races for the rest of the season.
NASCAR (Die-Cast Line)
For the NASCAR Die-Cast Line, Fiber Fuel, Retread, Sidewall Shine, Shifty Drug and HTB all returned to the Piston Cup. GoGo Logano, Aric Almirolling, Carstin "Ace" Dillon, William Byrev and Rowdy Revvin' Busch being rookies for those teams respectively. Chase Racelott, Danny Swervez, Ryan "Inside" Laney and Bubba Wheelhouse were also all given new numbers.
Races
The Piston Cup races are big events sponsored by lots of trademarks and covered by the Racing Sports Network (RSN), which creates live televised broadcasts, in addition to providing other media coverage. Modern races take place at huge racing stadiums, which traditionally have oval-shaped tracks, although the shape may slightly vary from track to track, such as at the Los Angeles International Speedway.
A Piston Cup championship consists of various races where the competitors earn points in relation to their placement in the final rankings of the event. At the end of the season, the car with the most points wins the championship and receives a Piston Cup trophy.
Races can vary from seven to 500 laps. Each competitor has a team of pitties, a crew chief and a hauler, which are sponsored, and may help the racer by giving advice via headsets, and by providing fuel and tire changes during pit stops.
Speedways
Speedways in movies
Image | Logo | Name | Description | Location |
Alabama Speedway | A standard race track. | Alabama | ||
BnL Raceway | A standard race track. | Unknown | ||
Copper Canyon Speedway | A standard race track. | Arizona | ||
DataShift Raceway | A standard race track. | Unknown | ||
Fireball Beach Course | A dirt track. | Fireball Beach | ||
Florida International Super Speedway | A standard race track. | Florida | ||
Georgia Super Speedway | A standard track. | Georgia | ||
Glen Ellen | A standard race track. | Unknown | ||
Grandol Oil Co. Raceway | A standard race track | Unknown | ||
Heartland Motor Speedway | A standard race track. | Unknown | ||
Los Angeles International Speedway | A standard race track | Los Angeles | ||
Motor Speedway of the South | A standard race track | Motor City | ||
Rocker Arms International | A standard race track | Unknown | ||
Rustbelt Raceway | A standard race track | Unknown | ||
Thomasville Speedway | A dirt track | Thomasville | ||
Virginia Speedway | A standard race track | Virginia |
Repurposed speedways
Image | Logo | Name | Description | Location | First appearance | Notes |
Radiator Springs Speedway | A standard race track | Radiator Springs | Cars 2005 Teaser Trailer |
Speedways in other media
Image | Logo | Name | Description | Location | First appearance | Notes |
Backfire Canyon Speedway | A standard race track | The World of Cars Online | ||||
Beachside Speedway | A standard race track | Beachside | The Rookie | events: Beachside 500 | ||
Big Heartland Speedway | A standard race track | The World of Cars Online | ||||
Palm Mile Speedway | A standard race track | Palm Mile | Cars: The Videogame | |||
Petroleum City Super Speedway | A standard race track | Petroleum City | The World of Cars Online | |||
Smasherville Speedway | A standard race track | Smasherville | Cars: The Videogame | |||
Sun Valley International Raceway | A standard race track | Sun Valley | Cars: The Videogame | |||
Treadwell Motor Speedway | An standard race track | Treadwell | Mater Private Eye | |||
Tailgator Speedway | A standard race track | The World of Cars Online | ||||
Bowling Lake | A standard race track | The Rookie | ||||
List of racers
Former
Number | Image | Name | Primary Sponsor | Piston Cup career | Championships | Note | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
? | Slide Powers | ? | Late 40s -? | |||||
? | Buck Schooner | ? | Before 2005-? | |||||
? | Kurt Shiftright | ? | 1950s-? | |||||
? | Kraig Shiftright | ? | 1970s-? | Late 70s | ||||
? | Klint Shiftright | ? | 1980s-? | Early 90s | ||||
? | Darrel Draggered | ? | ? | |||||
? | Unknown | 1950s-? | ? | |||||
00 | Jimmy Cables | Intersection | ?-2016 | |||||
3 | Unknown (non-existent) | This number is only used for the pylon, to amount the number of racers supposedly competing; in reality, this car doesn't exist | ||||||
3 | Caleb Worley | All Good Auto Parts | 1950s-? | |||||
3 (Numbers used in real life during lifetime, until he died of serious injuries in a serious car accident in 2001.) | Dale Earnhardt | Dale Earnhardt Inc. | 1970s-2001 | Between the 1970s-2000 | Deceased, mention in Cars comics but not seen | |||
4 | Rusty Cornfuel | Tow Cap | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
4 | Jack DePost | Tow Cap | ?-2016 | |||||
5 | Lane Locke | SynerG | ?-2016 | |||||
6 | Unknown | ? | 1950s-? | This number was mentioned by an announcer only and not seen in Cars 3. | ||||
6 | Markus Krankzler | Transberry Juice | ?-2016 | |||||
7 | Joe Don Jackson | Po'Tater's Garage & Gas | 1950s-? | |||||
8 | Levi Mitchan | Kirby Farm Implement & Supply Co. | 1950s-? | |||||
8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt Inc. | 2000-? | |||||
9 | "Slim" Hood | Sludge Cola | 1950s-? | |||||
9 | Unknown (non-existent) | This number is only used for the pylon, to amount the number of cars supposedly competing; in reality, this car doesn't exist | ||||||
11 | Junior Moon | 1950s-? | ||||||
11 | Mario Andretti | 1967-? | ||||||
11 | Chip Gearings | Combustr | ?-2016 | |||||
12 | Les Go Attaway | Fireball Beach Fire Department | 1950s-? | |||||
15 | Carl Clutchen | Easy Idle | ?-2016 | |||||
17 | Jet Robinson | Southern Gold Gasoline | 1950s-? | |||||
17 | Darrell Cartrip | DWstore.com | 1977-2000 | |||||
19 | Bobby Swift | Octane Gain | ?-2016 | |||||
21 | Speedy Comet | Blinkr | ?-2016 | |||||
24 | Brick Yardley | Vitoline | 2007-2016 | |||||
26 | Jimmy Lugwrench | Arrow Trucking & Shipping | 1950s-? | |||||
28 | Aiken Axler | Nitroade | 2003-? | |||||
28 (26 in diecast) | Eli Turnpike | Fits Right Brake Pads | 1950s-? | In the movie he has the number 28 but, his diecast says 26. | ||||
28 | Phil Tankson | Nitroade | ?-2016 | |||||
29 | Buford Camshaft | Smokehouse Packaging Goods | 1950s-? | |||||
31 | Rusty Manifold | Gasprin | 1950s-? | |||||
31 | Terry Kargas | Triple Dent | ?-2016 | |||||
33 | Chuck Armstrong | Mood Springs | Before 2005-? | |||||
33 | Dud Throttleman | Mood Springs | ?-2016 | |||||
34 | River Scott | 1950s-? | ||||||
34 | Dirkson D'Agostino | Trunk Fresh | Before the 2000s-2016 | |||||
35 | Kevin Racingtire | Shifty Drug | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
36 | Eugene Carbureski | Tank Coat | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
36 | Reb Meeker | Tank Coat | ?-2017 | |||||
39 | Ryan Shields | View Zeen | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
39 | Buck Bearingly | View Zeen | ?-2017 | |||||
4A | Floyd Morgan | Jen's Diner | 1950s-? | |||||
41 | Clovis Rider | Juanita's Car-B-Q | 1950s-? | |||||
42 | Ducky Fauntleroy | Blowie Belsoms Safety Horns | 1950s-? | |||||
42 | Cal Weathers | Dinoco | 2006-2016 | |||||
43 | The King | Dinoco | 1970-2005 | Between the 1970s-2004 | ||||
48 | T.G. Castlenut | Re-Volting | ?-2016 | |||||
51 | Hudson Hornet | 1951-1954 | 1951, 1952, 1953 | |||||
51 | Ruby Oaks | Easy Idle | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
52 | Claude Scruggs | Leak Less | 1980s-? | |||||
52 | Brian Spark | Leak Less | ?-2017 | |||||
54 | Johnny Blamer | Faux Wheel Drive | 1995-? | |||||
54 | Tommy Highbanks | Faux Wheel Drive | ?-2016 | |||||
56 | Brush Curber | Fiber Fuel | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
58 | Racer 58 | All Right Automotive Parts | 1950s-? | |||||
58 | Billy Oilchanger | Octane Gain | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
61 | James Cleanair | Vitoline | 1985-2006 | |||||
63 | Lee Revkins | Transberry Juice | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
64 | Dewey Conerod | Conerod Auto & Car Club | 1950s-? | |||||
64 | Winford Bradford Rutherford | RPM | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
64 | Bruce Miller | RPM | ?-2016 | |||||
67 | Bobby Roadtesta | Carbon Cyber | ?-2016 | |||||
68 | Manny Flywheel | N2O Cola | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
68 | Parker Brakeston | N20 Cola | ?-2016 | |||||
70 | Duke Coulters | Duke Coulters' Hoodache Powder | 1950s-? | |||||
70 | Floyd Mulvihill | Gasprin | 2005-2016 | |||||
73 | Misti Motorkrass | Rev-N-Go | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
73 | Rev-N-Go Racer | Rev-N-Go | ?-2017 | |||||
74 | Slider Petrolski | Sidewall Shine | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
76 | Crusty Rotor | Vinyl Toupee | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
76 | Rev Roadages | Vinyl Toupee | ?-2017 | |||||
79 | Haul Inngas | Retread | 1990-? | 1990s (Not specified when) | ||||
80 | Sage VanDerSpin | Gask-its | 2004-? | |||||
80 | Rex Revler | Gask-Its | ?-2016 | |||||
82 | "Trick" Guzzler | Lucky's Bar & Grill | 1950s-? | |||||
82 | Darren Leadfoot | Shiny Wax | Before the 2000s-2017 | |||||
84 | Davey Apex | Re-Volting | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
84 | Mac iCar | Apple, Inc. | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
84 | Apple Racer | Apple, Inc. | ?-2016 | |||||
86 | Chick Hicks | Hostile Takeover Bank | 1979-? | 2005 | ||||
90 | Rusty Dipstick | Frostal Air Filters | 1950s-? | |||||
90 | Ponchy Wipeout | Bumper Save | Before the 2000s-2017 | |||||
91 | Randy Lawson | Sputter Stop | 1950s-? | |||||
92 | Murray Clutchburn | Sputter Stop | 1985-2017 | |||||
93 | Ernie Gearson | Spare Mint | Before the 2000s-2016 | |||||
94 | Louise Nash | 1950s-? | ||||||
95 | Lightning McQueen | Rust-eze | 2005–present (unconfirmed retirement stats) | 2006, between 2007-2009, 2010, between 2011-2015 | ||||
101 | Greg Candyman | Tach-O-Mint | Before the 2000s-? | |||||
113 | Unknown (non-existent) | ? | This number is only used for the pylon, to amount the number of racers supposedly competing; in reality, this car doesn't exist | |||||
117 | Ralph Carlow | Lil' Torquey Pistons | Before the 2000s-17 | |||||
121 | Kevin Shiftright | Clutch Aid | Early 2000s-? | |||||
121 | Dino Draftsky | Clutch Aid | ?-2017 | |||||
123 | Todd Marcus | No Stall | Early 2000s-2016 | |||||
300 | Leroy Heming | Re-Volting | 1950s-? |
Current
List of champions
- Lightning McQueen: 7 times (2006 according to Cars: The Videogame, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015 according to Cars Land)
- Strip Weathers "The King": 7 times (between 1970s-2004)
- Doc Hudson: 3 times (1951-1953)
- Klint Shiftright: 3 times (1990s)
- Darrell Cartrip: 2 times (between 1977 and 2000)
- Kraig Shiftright: 2 times (1970s)
- Chick Hicks: 1 time (2005)
- Cruz Ramirez: 1 time (2017)
- Haul Inngas 1 time (1990s or 2000s)
- Jackson Storm: 1 time (2016)
- Mario Andretti: 1 time (between 1967 and 2005)
- Sammy the Studebaker: 1 time (1954)
Non-canon histories
- In the Rally Race comics it shows that the Hudson Hornet's crash was caused by his rival, Sammy the Studebaker, who sideswiped him out, and Doc hit racer 57, somersaulted and landed on his wheels, while Sammy won that race and became a champion.
- In the comic The Rookie, it was mentioned that Lightning McQueen's first race was on Beachside Speedway and he replaces Racer 01 or Racer 67 after his crash.
- In the book Race Around the World, it was shown that the 2010 season's second place winner was Claude Scruggs and third place was Misti Motorkrass.
- In the DS version of Cars 2: The Video Game McQueen was competing in "Hudson Hornet Memorial Cup" alongside three unnamed racers, looking similar to him. Lightning won the championship.
- According to some comics Lightning McQueen was originally sponsored by Smell Swell and started racing in 2004, while in some other comics they say that McQueen's first race in the 2005 season was in the Bowling Lake.
Trivia
- The Piston Cup is based on the real-world NASCAR Cup series, known as the Winston Cup series from 1971 to 2003. In 2004, however, NASCAR severed relations with Winston and the award became the Nextel Cup, quickly changing to the Sprint Cup after Sprint bought out Nextel. Incidentally, the Hudson Hornet competed in the Grand National era of 1950 to 1970. Title sponsorship with Sprint ended after 2016, merging with Monster Energy to create a new title, the "Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series", starting in 2017. Before 1950, in 1949 there was "Strictly stock".
- In real-life, contemporary NASCAR vehicles would not be able to compete against vehicles of the Grand National era. This is because modern NASCAR vehicles are spec, racing-built sedans with sophisticated racing technology whereas Grand National era cars are modified production cars. Today's NASCAR sedans would greatly outperform the stock cars of the Grand National era. Also, NASCAR safety technology has dramatically evolved since the Grand National era and thus drivers of such vehicles would be at a greater safety risk than those driving today's NASCAR sedans.
Logos
Names in other languages
- Danish: Stempel Cup’en
- Estonian: Kolvi karikas
- French: Coupe Piston
- Hungarian: Szelep kupa
- Latvian: Virzuļa kauss
- Lithuanian: Didžioji Taurė
- Norwegian: Stempelkopp
- Polish: Złoty Tłok
- Portuguese: Copa Pistão
- Russian: Кубок Поршня Гоночный Чемпионат (transcription: Kubok Porshnya Gonochnyy Chempionat)
- Spanish: Copa Pistón
- Swedish: Pistong-Cupen
- Turkish: Piston Kupası
See also
References