Interstate 40

"Lightning McQueen: "Whoa, look at that. Look, they're drivin' right by. They don't even know what they're missing!"
Sally: "Well, it didn't used to be that way."
Lightning McQueen: "Oh, yeah?"
Sally: "Yeah. Forty years ago, that Interstate down there didn't exist."
Lightning McQueen: "Really?"
Sally: "Yeah. Back then, cars came across the country a whole different way."
Lightning McQueen: "How do you mean?"
Sally: "Well, the road didn't cut through land like that Interstate. It moved with the land, you know? It rose, it fell, it curved.""

—Lightning McQueen and Sally, talking about I-40, [[{{{3}}}]]

Interstate 40 is a United States interstate running from Barstow, California, to North Carolina. In the 2006 Pixar film Cars, Interstate 40 is very popular. Lightning McQueen and Mack start their drive to Los Angeles from the Motor Speedway of the South in Nashville, Tennessee, and during the "Life is a Highway" sequence, they are seen driving west on Interstate 40. The interstate is also responsible for bypassing Radiator Springs to save 10 minutes of driving, according to Sally, causing Radiator Springs to lose all its visitors and customers. But when McQueen became famous and sets up his racing headquarters there, people returned to Radiator Springs. The freeway can be seen right by the Wheel Well Motel due to it being located in high elevation and due to the interstate being near Radiator Springs. The Top Down Truckstop is located along Interstate 40. Traffic can be a problem in the more urban areas of the highway such as Motor City. It is 4 or 6 lanes near Radiator Springs most likely with a speed limit of 75 mph as it is 75 mph in rural areas of the state in real life. It is also 6 lanes near the truckstop. Unlike Route 66, which moved along with the land it cut through land and is straighter and flatter near Radiator Springs though it does have some hills in certain locations.

History

In Cars: The Videogame, the events of High Speed Heist and Lightning Strikes Back happen on Interstate 40.

Mack was driving down Interstate 40, when the Delinquent Road Hazards come and plan to rob him. DJ puts him to sleep with music, Boost jumps on top of his trailer using a ramp pulled by Snot Rod, which causes the door to open; and Wingo grabs all of Lightning's gear that falls out. Then they run away before Snot Rod sneezes and wakes up Mack. Mack realizes what happens. He pulls over and calls Sheriff to tell what happened.

Sheriff hears the news and tells Lightning about it. Lightning quickly goes to Interstate 40 to get his gear back. When he does, the Delinquent Road Hazards get arrested. The highway was referred to as “The Interstate” by Lightning McQueen. After Radiator Springs became famous again, the Interstate now has an exit indicating where the town is.

Gallery

• 

  The panorama.

• 

  The Interstate 40 before the construction.

• The Interstate 40 during the construction.

  The Interstate 40 during the construction.

• 

  Interstate 40 on the map.

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  Interstate 40 in Cars with Top Down Truckstop located.

• Interstate 40 in the PSP version of Cars: The Videogame.

  Interstate 40 in the PSP version of Cars: The Videogame.

Trivia

• In the PSP version of Cars: The Videogame, the Interstate 40 makes an appearance as a playable track in story mode. 
• The Interstate 40 really exists in real life.
• In all map art for Cars on the Road, Interstate 40 is not present.

	This article is part of Project 66, a PCW project that aims to document the history and geography of Route 66 as it relates to the world of Cars.
	Project portal...