Dinoco 400

The last leg of the race begins.

The Dinoco 400 is a Piston Cup Racing Series event. In Cars, it is the last race of the 2005 season, and it is held at the Motor Speedway of the South. Prior to the race, Strip Weathers, Chick Hicks, and Lightning McQueen are tied in season points that determine the Piston Cup champion. However, due to a tire malfunction from McQueen, the race results in the first three-way tie in the league's history. A three-way tie-breaker race is then set to take place one week later at the Los Angeles International Speedway. Chick Hicks ultimately wins the season, which also earns him his first title as well, although (almost) many see McQueen as the true winner due to Hicks' poor sportsmanship.

The Race

Weathers, Hicks, and McQueen lead the pack.

Early on, Weathers, Hicks, and McQueen work their way to their usual positions at the front of the pack. Hicks and McQueen fight to pass one another, and their quarrel ends with Hicks performs a PIT maneuver on McQueen, causing him to spin out towards the infield. McQueen recovers quickly, and Hicks notices. He intentionally bumps Winford Bradford Rutherford, who collides with Floyd Mulvihill and Murray Clutchburn, and soon everyone behind Weathers and Hicks are involved in a chaotic pile-up, otherwise known as the infamous "Dinoco's All Mine" incident. However, McQueen carefully weaves through the wreckage, much to the awe of the audience.

While all the other racers pit, McQueen opts to reject his team's tire changes and only slurp gas, in favor of getting back out quickly and maintaining a massive lead. Going into the final leg of the race, McQueen has significantly farther ahead than the others.

The three-way tie.

When the final lap arrives, McQueen is leading by an entire lap. Right as announcers Darrell Cartrip and Bob Cutlass prepare to crown the champion, McQueen's left-rear tire blows out as he rounds the very last corner. McQueen tries his best to maintain as much speed as possible, but he has slowed down immensely, which only worsens when his right rear tire explodes. Weathers and Hicks round the final corner, and prepare to pass McQueen, who is desperately jumping towards the finish line. McQueen, Hicks, and Weathers all pass the finish line at the exact same time—causing the fans and announcers alike to excitedly speculate.

Officials take time to study footage and determine a winner while the competitors take interviews and make sponsor appearances. The officials announce that the race has been called a three-way draw, and the three first-place finishers will compete in a tie-breaker race at the Los Angeles International Speedway one week later.

Finishing Positions

Position	Number	Sponsor	Name
1	95	Rust-eze	Lightning McQueen
1	43	Dinoco	Strip Weathers
1	86	htB	Chick Hicks
4	61	Vitoline	James Cleanair
5	36	Tank Coat	Eugene Carbureski
6	70	Gasprin	Floyd Mulvihill
7	76	Vinyl Toupee	Crusty Rotor
8	117	Lil' Torquey Pistons	Ralph Carlow
9	54	Faux Wheel Drive	Johnny Blamer
10	39	View Zeen	Ryan Shields
11	58	Octane Gain	Billy Oilchanger
12	92	Sputter Stop	Murray Clutchburn
13	84	Re-Volting	Davey Apex
14	8	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
15	121	Clutch-Aid	Kevin Shiftright
16	90	Bumper Save	Ponchy Wipeout
17	93	Spare Mint	Ernie Gearson
18	64	RPM	Winford Bradford Rutherford
19	80	Gask-its	Sage VanDerSpin
20	4	Tow Cap	Rusty Cornfuel
21	56	Fiber Fuel	Brush Curber
22	28	Nitroade	Aiken Axler
23	84	Apple	Mac iCar
24	74	Sidewall Shine	Slider Petrolski
25	35	Shifty Drug	Kevin Racingtire
26	52	Leak Less	Claude Scruggs
27	68	N2O Cola	Manny Flywheel
28	34	Trunk Fresh	Dirkson D'Agostino
29	73	Rev-N-Go	Misti Motorkrass
30	101	Tach-O-Mint	Greg Candyman
31	123	No Stall	Todd Marcus
32	82	Shiny Wax	Darren Leadfoot
33	33	Mood Springs	Chuck Armstrong
DNF	79	Retread	Haul Inngas
DNF	51	Easy Idle	Ruby Oaks
DNF	63	Transberry Juice	Lee Revkins

Hauler Positions

Hauler Image	Racer
	Strip Weathers
	Chick Hicks
	Aiken Axler
	Ruby "Easy" Oaks
	Ryan Shields
	Darren Leadfoot
	Sage VanDerSpin
	James Cleanair
File:IMG 3517.JPG	Murray Clutchburn
	Mac iCar
	Chuck Armstrong
	Billy Oilchanger
	Rusty Cornfuel
	Misti Motorkrass
File:N20 cola hauler.jpg	Manny Flywheel
	Ponchy Wipeout
File:Spare mint hauler.jpg	Ernie Gearson
File:Tank coat hauler.jpg	Eugene Carbureski
	Dirkson D'Agostino
	Crusty Rotor
	Winford Bradford Rutherford
	Lightning McQueen
	Claude Scruggs
	Kevin Shiftright
	Kevin Racingtire
	Lee Revkins
File:Fiber fuel hauler.jpg	Brush Curber
	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
File:Lil torqey hauler.jpg	Ralph Carlow
	Todd Marcus
	Floyd Mulvihill
	Slider Petrolski
File:IMG 3516.JPG	Johnny Blamer
File:Retread hauler.jpg	Haul Inngas
	Davey Apex

Gallery

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  McQueen at the start of the race.

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  Hicks works his way up.

• File:JohnnyBlamerCars.jpg
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• File:LeeRevkins63.png
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  One car on another.

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• File:JamesCleanairCars.jpg
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• File:Manny, Kevin, Sage in the crash.png
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• File:Chick dinoco400errror.jpg
• File:PonchyWipeoutCars.jpg
• File:Davey, Floyd, Manny in the crash.png
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• File:SliderPetrolskiCars11.jpg
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  Pit row

Trivia

• As of Cars 3, the Dinoco 400 is no longer the final race of the Piston Cup season. At least in that year, it is Los Angeles 500.
• Ruby Oaks, Lee Revkins and Haul Inngas did not finish the race probably because they were badly damaged in the crash caused by Chick Hicks.