Los Angeles 500
- ""Hello, racing fans. Welcome to the Los Angeles 500! The final race of the Piston Cup season.""
- —Darrell Cartrip announcing race in Cars 3, [[{{{3}}}]]
The Los Angeles 500 is an event in Cars 3 that is held at the Los Angeles International Speedway. In 2016, it is the last race of the Piston Cup racing series season. At the race, seven-time winner Lightning McQueen crashes trying to beat Jackson Storm, the latter winning in first place, with Daniel Swervez runner-up.
History
In 2016, the event is the last race of the 2016 Piston Cup Racing Series season. By then, most stock car race cars have been replaced by "Next-Generation" racers. Over nine-tenths through the race, seven-time veteran champion Montgomery "Lightning" McQueen suffers a nearly fatal rollover crash after blowing his right rear tire, bringing out the red flag, and obviously doesn't continue racing. After the restart, the race continiued until it finished, with rookie front-runner Jackson Storm placing first, with Daniel Swervez placing second, Chase Racelott in third, and Tim Treadless ending fourth.
After the race, Jackson Storm, who was the racer with most points, won the 2016 Piston Cup.
Finishing Positions
- 20: Jackson Storm
- 19: Daniel Swervez
- 24: Chase Racelott
- 28: Tim Treadless
- 15: Harvey Rodcap
- 11: Chris Roamin'
- 68: H.J. Hollis
- 123: Jonas Carvers
- 54: Herb Curbler
- 31: Cam Spinner
- 73: Rev-N-Go Racer
- 70: Richie Gunzit
- 4: J.D. McPillar
- 48: Aaron Clocker
- 67: Jim Reverick
- 21: Ryan Laney
- 6: Bubba Wheelhouse
- 5: Eric Braker
- 00: Flip Dover
- 36: Reb Meeker
- 82: Darren Leadfoot
- 92: Murray Clutchburn
- 64: Barry DePedal
- 52: Brian Spark
- 33: Ed Truncan
- 39: Buck Bearingly
- 34: Steve LePage
- 117: Ralph Carlow
- 80: Dan Carcia
- 84: J.P. Drive
- 121: Dino Draftsky
- 93: Nick Shift
- 90: Ponchy Wipeout
- 76: Rev Roadages
- 95: Lightning McQueen (DNF)
Trivia
- The film implies that Lightning McQueen is the last veteran racer still standing at this race. Several books based on the film even state it directly. However, there are actually ten other veterans in the race: Buck Bearingly, the Rev-N-Go Racer, Dino Draftsky, Ralph Carlow, Reb Meeker, Brian Spark, Rev Roadages, Darren Leadfoot, Ponchy Wipeout, and Murray Clutchburn. All of them are replaced by Next-Gen racers in the time between this race and the Florida 500.
- An early version of this scene was shown at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2017. The Detroit version has slight dialogue, audio, and visual differences from the version of this scene shown in the actual movie five months later. For example, the Detroit version showed McQueen in his Cars 3 paint job instead of his Rust-eze one.
- There are thirty-five cars that compete in this race, eleven veterans and twenty-four Next-Gens.
- The unnamed Rev-N-Go Racer finished in the highest position among other veterans, having finished eleventh.
- Daniel Swervez and Chase Racelott make their debut in this race.
- In this race, Chase Racelott always gets replaced suddenly by Eric Braker in some scenes.
- Tim Treadless always gets replaced suddenly by Aaron Clocker in some scenes.
- Harvey Rodcap is seen starting in second place, but when the race officially starts, he is seen in dead last.
- Before the race starts, Chase Racelott is in third position and Eric Braker was in twenty-second. When the race starts, Chase starts in twenty-second and Eric starts in third due to an error.
- Before the race starts, Cam Spinner started 6th place while J.D. McPillar started 4th. Cam Spinner was repeatedly dissappearing throughout the whole race. Cam Spinner kept high positions like 4th or 5th. After Lightning McQueen got out of the pits, J.D. was in 4th and Cam Spinner was in 5th. The scene changes showing Tim Treadless and Chris Roamin' instead of J.D. and Cam. Jonas Carvers , Herb Curbler and Harvey Rodcap also showed up before and after Lightning McQueen crashed into the wall.
- Though Brian Spark is still racing, George New-Win is also seen racing even though he debuts in the Florida 500.