Piston Cup Nights

The Piston Cup Nights Collection was a themed Cars die-cast series that spanned three unique product assortments, all of which were exclusive to Target stores in the United States. They were introduced in 2009 with the Race O Rama cardback motif, and continued into 2010 and 2011 with the Drifting motif.

The series was centered on Piston Cup racing, and was divided into individual segment series based on a particular racing sponsor; these segments were shared with the Kmart-exclusive Synthetic Rubber Tires series, which was also Piston Cup-themed, selling individual releases of all but one racer. Piston Cup Nights' initial collection of four "teams" expanded to seven, with advertised but scheduled products (Easy Idle and N2O Cola) implying an intention to incorporate at least two more – additionally, the later release of an Ernie Gearson-themed Speedway pack also indicated a planned Spare O Mint segment. The three product styles each focused on a different aspect of the pit team.

Collection

"Team" sets

Cars Piston Cup Nights 3-Car Gift Pack Assortment (P2235)

Toy #	Name	Segment series	Vehicles	Model photo	Package photo "Race O Rama"	Package photo "Drifting"
P3343	Team Rust-eze	-	Mack Hauler Lightning McQueen My Name is Not Chuck
P3344	Team Dinoco		Gray Hauler The King Dinoco Pitty
P3345	Team HTB		Chick Hicks Hauler Chick Hicks Bruiser Bukowski
R8125	Team Leak Less		Leak Less Hauler Leak Less No. 52 Leak Less Pitty
R9442	Team Octane Gain		Octane Gain Hauler Octane Gain No. 58 Octane Gain Pitty		-
R9443	Team Bumper Save		Bumper Save Hauler Bumper Save No. 90 Bumper Save Pitty		-
R9444	Team Nitroade		Nitroade Hauler Nitroade No. 28 Nitroade Pitty		-

According to reputable blogsite TakeFiveADay.com, sets based on the Easy Idle and N2O Cola teams were also scheduled for release. Both sets were showcased in the 2011 From Silver Screen to Die-cast: Disney Pixar Cars Imagined by Mattel exhibit, with the unique N2O Cola Pitty, which presumably would have been included, appearing through backdoor factory sales.

Pit Crew sets

Cars Team Crew Chief & Pittys Assortment (R5324)

Toy #	Name	Segment	Vehicles	Loose photo	Package photo "Race O Rama"	Package photo "Drifting"
R5875	Team Leak Less Crew		Team Leak Less Pitty Team Leak Less Pitty Team Leak Less Pitty Leak Less Crew Chief
R5876	Team HTB Crew		Team HTB Pitty Team HTB Pitty Team HTB Pitty Chief Chick
R5877	Team Dinoco Crew		Team Dinoco Pitty Team Dinoco Pitty Team Dinoco Pitty Dinoco Crew Chief
R9417	Team Octane Gain Crew		Team Octane Gain Pitty Team Octane Gain Pitty Team Octane Gain Pitty Octane Gain Crew Chief		-
R9418	Team Bumper Save Crew		Team Bumper Save Pitty Team Bumper Save Pitty Team Bumper Save Pitty Bumper Save Crew Chief		-
R9419	Team Nitroade Crew		Team Nitroade Pitty [[Nitroade Pitty (wide)|Team Nitroade Pitty Nitroade Pitty Nitroade Crew Chief		-

Two additional sets were planned but never released:

Toy #	Name	Segment	Vehicles	Notes	Loose photo
TBA	Team N2O Cola Crew		Team N2O Cola Pitty Team N2O Cola Pitty Team N2O Cola Pitty N2O Cola Crew Chief	Listed but never sold on Target.com; ASIN number B0030HKKUU.
TBA	Team Easy Idle Crew		Team Easy Idle Pitty Team Easy Idle Pitty Team Easy Idle Pitty Easy Idle Crew Chief	Listed but never sold on Target.com; ASIN number B0030HMD50

Speedway 4-Packs

Cars Racing 4-Packs (Asst. R6812)

Toy #	Vehicles	Segment character	Model photo	Package photo
R9452	Chick Hicks Lightning McQueen Fiber Fuel No. 56 Spare O Mint No. 93
R9453	Leak Less No. 52 Lightning McQueen Rev 'N' Go No. 73 Vitoline No. 61
R9454	The King Lightning McQueen Trunk Fresh No. 34 RPM No. 64
R9518	Octane Gain No. 58 Lightning McQueen Leak Less No. 52 Shifty Drug No. 35
R9519	Bumper Save No. 90 Lightning McQueen Chick Hicks Gasprin No. 70
R9520	Nitroade No. 28 Lightning McQueen The King Tow Cap No. 4
V9049	Spare O Mint No. 93 Lightning McQueen Sputter Stop No. 92 Transberry Juice No. 63

Additional items

A unique 9-pack was released in 2010:

Toy #	Name	Vehicles	Notes	Loose photo	Package photo
T3633	Speedway 9-Pack	Dash Boardman Houser Boon Tim Rimmer Timothy Twostroke Lightning McQueen The King Chick Hicks Sidewall Shine No. 74 Clutch Aid No. 121	Exclusive release of Houser Boon Then-exclusive release of Timothy Twostroke; later re-released in the 2014 mainline series Then-exclusive releases of Dash Boardman and Tim Rimmer with non-lenticular eyes; these versions were both re-released in later mainline series

One playset was issued in Piston Cup Nights-branded packaging.

Toy #	Name	Notes	Loose photo	Package photo "Race O Rama"	Package photo "Drifting"
R9090	Piston Cup Starter Set	Includes plastic Lightning McQueen

References

	This article is part of the Diecast Project, a PCW project that aims to report on every aspect of Mattel's Disney Pixar Cars toy line.
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