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.

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

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

• 

  Lightning McQueen overtaking Sage VanDerSpin.

• 

  Chick Hicks about to overtake Greg Candyman.

• Billy Oilchanger, Johnny Blamer and Strip Weathers exiting the pits.

  Billy Oilchanger, Johnny Blamer and Strip Weathers exiting the pits.

• 

  Strip Weathers about to lap Johnny Blamer.

• Lee Revkins and Chick Hicks battling for the 1st position.

  Lee Revkins and Chick Hicks battling for the 1st position.

• 

  Claude Scruggs on top of Todd Marcus.

• 

  Rusty Cornfuel overtaking Todd Marcus and Claude Scruggs.

• James Cleanair unconsious.

  James Cleanair unconsious.

• 

  Brush Curber, Kevin Racingtire and Davey Apex spinning out of control.

• 

  Chick Hicks speeding up.

• 

  Strip Weathers blocking Chick's path.

• 

  Crusty Rotor about to hit Ryan Shields.

• 

  Lightning McQueen overtaking Chuck Armstrong.

• 

  Aiken Axler changing his tires.

• Kevin Shiftright stuck near the wall.

  Kevin Shiftright stuck near the wall.

• 

  Chick Hicks about to hit Winford Bradford Rutherford.

• 

  Winford Bradford Rutherford drinking a can of Nitroade.

• 

  Chick Hicks near the end of the pack.

• Strip Weathers, Chick Hicks and Lightning McQueen with 5013 points each.

  Strip Weathers, Chick Hicks and Lightning McQueen with 5013 points each.

• Chick Hicks about to overtake Ponchy Wipeout.

  Chick Hicks about to overtake Ponchy Wipeout.

• Manny Flywheel driving backwards.

  Manny Flywheel driving backwards.

• 

  Slider Petrolski about to hit Floyd Mulvihill.

• 

  Lightning McQueen driving in two wheels in order to overtake Floyd Mulvihill and Rusty Cornfuel.

• 

  Chuck Armstrong flying through the speedway.

• 

  Chuck Armstrong being towed out of the race.

• Slider Petrolski's camera.

  Slider Petrolski's camera.

• 

  Chick Hicks pitting.

Trivia

• As of Cars 3, the Dinoco 400 is no longer the final race of the Piston Cup season. At least in that year, as the last race is the Los Angeles 500.
• Ernie Gearson, Winford Bradford Rutherford, Greg Candyman, James Cleanair, Eugene Carbureski, Misti Motorkrass, Manny Flywheel, Darren Leadfoot, Haul Inngas, Ruby "Easy" Oaks, Claude Scruggs, Lee Revkins and Chuck Armstrong all did not finish the race probably because of having been badly damaged in the crash caused by Chick Hicks.
  • However, the first eleven were mistakenly shown in the restart for a period of time, likely due to an animation error. They were replaced by other racers in a following shot.