178-491: Lightning McQueen is a fictional anthropomorphic stock car and the protagonist of the Disney / Pixar Cars franchise. He was developed by John Lasseter and co-director Joe Ranft from a story concept by Jorgen Klubien . McQueen's appearances include the feature films Cars , Cars 2 , and Cars 3 , as well as the animated series Cars Toons and Cars on the Road . He
356-526: A Cars video game based on the first Cars film was published by THQ titled Cars: The Video Game . It features 30 races and playable characters from the film. In 2011, a racing game titled Cars 2: The Video Game was released, featuring a number of playable characters from the film including Lightning McQueen. Warner Bros. Interactive released the racing game Cars 3: Driven to Win based on Cars 3 and developed by Avalanche Software on June 13, 2017. Alongside other major characters, Lightning McQueen
534-487: A Cars toy range called Appmates was launched by Disney, which featured physical toy cars used with a companion iPad app to explore Radiator Springs. Lightning McQueen was included in 2013 in the first playset expansion of Disney Infinity . In 2017, Sphero released a remote-controlled animatronic Lightning McQueen, which featured a moving mouth and eyes and touch-sensitive surfaces. Lightning McQueen's debut in Cars received
712-423: A dog cone after he gets stitches in his arm. The PBS Kids animated series Let's Go Luna! centers on an anthropomorphic female Moon who speaks, sings, and dances. She comes down out of the sky to serve as a tutor of international culture to the three main characters: a boy frog and wombat and a girl butterfly, who are supposed to be preschool children traveling a world populated by anthropomorphic animals with
890-402: A one hit wonder on a popular 1990s sitcom Horsin' Around , living off the show's residuals in present time. Multiple main characters of the series are other animals who possess human body form and other human-like traits and identity as well; Mr. Peanutbutter , a humanoid dog lives a mostly human life—he speaks American English , walks upright , owns a house , drives a car , is in
1068-405: A romantic relationship with a human woman (in this series, as animals and humans are seen as equal , relationships like this are not seen as bestiality but seen as regular human sexuality ), Diane , and has a successful career in television—however also exhibits dog traits —he sleeps in a human-size dog bed , gets arrested for having a drag race with the mailman and is once forced to wear
1246-500: A 4.1-mile (6.6 km) course, consisting of a 1.5–2.0-mile (2.4–3.2 km) stretch of beach as one straightaway, and a narrow blacktop beachfront highway, State Road A1A , as the other. The two straights were connected by two tight, deeply rutted and sand covered turns at each end. Stock car racing in the United States has its origins in bootlegging during Prohibition , when drivers ran bootleg whiskey made primarily in
1424-744: A Lightning McQueen and stuck out my tongue." Anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to abstract concepts such as nations, emotions, and natural forces, such as seasons and weather. Both have ancient roots as storytelling and artistic devices, and most cultures have traditional fables with anthropomorphized animals as characters. People have also routinely attributed human emotions and behavioral traits to wild as well as domesticated animals. Anthropomorphism and anthropomorphization derive from
1602-565: A bit different from the cars seen in America, being more akin to a late model , though steel tube-framed silhouette bodies powered by V8 engines is still the norm. In December 2006, NASCAR also announced the creation of a new series in Mexico, the NASCAR Corona Series (now Mexico Series), replacing the existing Desafío Corona Series, to begin in 2007. In 2004, NASCAR also began to sanction
1780-601: A car's worth by driving it from New York to Los Angeles. After his death, the famous transcontinental race the ' Cannonball Run ' and the film that was inspired by it were both named in his honor. Baker is enshrined in the Automotive Hall of Fame , the Motorcycle Hall of Fame , and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame. This level of honor and success in each diverse racing association earned Baker
1958-463: A challenge from the start, as the team struggled to define his character. They knew that it would be difficult to create a character that was both cocky but also likeable. To solve this, Pauley compiled biographies of celebrities with cocky but likeable personalities, including American boxer Muhammad Ali , American basketball player Charles Barkley , American football player Joe Namath and American musician Kid Rock . Pauley said that Lightning McQueen
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#17328587232492136-476: A champion racer. Cars 3 writer Mike Rich explained that everything had gone well for the character's career so far, but this was not the best way to begin a story. For inspiration, they decided to look at real sports celebrities like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, specifically analysing what athletes do about getting older. Their research showed that some dealt with the situation better than others, with some refusing to adapt. In Cars 3 , Lightning McQueen takes
2314-704: A circus run by their parents. The French-Belgian animated series Mush-Mush & the Mushables takes place in a world inhabited by Mushables, which are anthropomorphic fungi, along with other critters such as beetles , snails , and frogs . Sonic the Hedgehog , a video game franchise debuting in 1991, features a speedy blue hedgehog as the main protagonist. This series' characters are almost all anthropomorphic animals such as foxes, cats, and other hedgehogs who are able to speak and walk on their hind legs like normal humans. As with most anthropomorphisms of animals, clothing
2492-553: A common feature of cutting back to a scene in which McQueen says that Mater's story never happened and Mater replies that McQueen was there too. This was followed in March 2013 with the release of Tales from Radiator Springs , a series of three shorts on the Disney Channel titled "Hiccups", "Bugged" and "Spinning". The shorts feature Keith Ferguson as the voice of Lightning McQueen. In 2014, another short titled "The Radiator Springs 500 ½"
2670-400: A die-cast toy car amongst hundreds of Cars toy vehicles since 2006. In 2011, Mattel released a Lightning McQueen Alive toy, a three-inch reproduction with moving mouth, shoulders and a voice. To coincide with the release of Cars 3 , Mattel released a series of toy cars and toy sets, including a 20-inch Lightning McQueen and a "Movie Moves" version featuring dialogue and light effects. In 2011,
2848-541: A few laps, Lightning spots Mater in the pits and tries to apologize for his outburst in Tokyo, but when he approaches him, Mater speeds away because of a bomb planted in his engine. Lightning catches up and realizes that Mater was telling the truth about being on a spy mission. McQueen apologizes to Mater and inspires him to confront Miles Axlerod, who is revealed to be the mastermind behind the plot to discredit alternative fuel so that he can profit from oil. Mater forces him to disarm
3026-471: A full season in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition. These include Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards (who both ran for Roush Racing ). In addition, veteran drivers who have had only moderate success at the other two levels of the sport have revitalized their careers in the truck series, including Ron Hornaday Jr. , Todd Bodine , Mike Skinner , and Johnny Benson . Beginning in 2009, the series became
3204-457: A full-sized replica of the character with displays about his parts, such as his engine and suspension. Jay Ward, creative director of the Cars franchise said that it was necessary to ensure that Lightning McQueen was not dissected to avoid upsetting children, noting that he is "a living character who happens to be a car". Lightning McQueen has been widely merchandised as part of the Cars franchise. The character has been reproduced by Mattel as
3382-558: A full-time basis. Kevin Harvick was the first Cup series driver to compete full-time in the Busch Series and win a title, actually doing so twice; in 2001, he did this for Richard Childress Racing but only did so out of necessity as Dale Earnhardt 's death forced him into the Cup series ahead of RCR's intended schedule for him. His win in 2006, where he raced three cars for RCR and his race team ,
3560-426: A greater size than the original, Oldenburg created his sculptures out of soft materials. The anthropomorphic qualities of the sculptures were mainly in their sagging and malleable exterior which mirrored the not-so-idealistic forms of the human body. In "Soft Light Switches" Oldenburg creates a household light switch out of vinyl. The two identical switches, in a dulled orange, insinuate nipples. The soft vinyl references
3738-494: A lap, plus the driver who leads the most laps. Another significant change involves the qualifying process for the Chase. The number of qualifying drivers will remain at 12, but only the top 10 will qualify solely on regular-season points. The remaining two Chase drivers will be the two drivers in the next 10 of the point standings (11th through 20th) with the most race wins in the regular season. In 2014, NASCAR announced another revamp to
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#17328587232493916-401: A lesson about community and teamwork. Nick Schager of Slant described his story arc as the "maturation of narcissistic stock car rookie" and thought his character development was a simplistic transition from "materialistic, self-involved jerk to noble role model". Philip French of The Guardian described Lightning McQueen as a "cocky, callow, young racing car, a flashy red affair" but noted
4094-501: A liking to him immediately. The local judge Doc Hudson , Sally , and the other townsfolk vote to have Lightning repave the road that he destroyed as community service . He rushes and fails to repave the road properly at first before reluctantly starting over. In the process, Lightning learns about the history of Radiator Springs and begins to relate to the town and its inhabitants. He becomes best friends with Mater, falls in love with Sally and becomes less focused on himself. He also learns
4272-471: A lot of time in the movie trying to be somebody he's not". Lasseter explained that when he gets the vinyl wrap it is symbolic of him "getting back to who he is". Fee considered Doc Hudson and McQueen to be like father and son, thus Lightning is very emotional to discover that it meant such a lot to Doc to mentor him. For this reason, it is Cruz Ramirez who ends up wearing number 95, while Lightning displays "Fabulous Lightning McQueen" on his side in homage to Doc -
4450-556: A mini stock racing series in Mexico, known as the Mexico T4 Series. In early 2012, NASCAR announced that it would sanction the existing European-based Racecar Euro Series as a "NASCAR Touring Series". On July 1, 2013, with partnership from NASCAR Whelen Engineering , the series was renamed the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. In addition to the six main national series, NASCAR operates several other racing divisions under
4628-668: A mixed response from critics. Lisa Schwarzbaum writing for Entertainment Weekly said that McQueen's story arc, in which he learns that loyalty and community are more important than personal advancement, was nothing new and had already been done in numerous films including in Over the Hedge and by Michael J. Fox in Doc Hollywood . Paul Arendt of the BBC also noted the similarity to Doc Hollywood and expressed boredom over an "arrogant racing car" learning
4806-658: A move called "turn right-to-go-left" from Doc and how to drive backward from Mater, which he later uses in the tie-breaker race. During the final lap of the race, Lightning witnesses Chick Hicks perform a PIT maneuver on The King, causing him to suffer a rollover crash. He forfeits the win to help The King finish the race and is praised for his sportsmanship, so much so that Dinoco race team owner Tex Dinoco offers to hire him to succeed Weathers. Lightning declines, choosing instead to stay with Rust-eze out of newfound loyalty and respect for them. Tex instead offers to do him any favor whenever he needs it, which Lightning uses to get Mater
4984-401: A normal dog in other ways; for example, he cannot resist chasing a ball and barks at the mailman, believing him to be a threat. In a similar case, BoJack Horseman , an American Netflix adult animated black comedy series, takes place in an alternate world where humans and anthropomorphic animals live side by side, and centers around the life of BoJack Horseman ; a humanoid horse who was
5162-582: A point-fund money payout and even more goes to the National champion (driver with most points out of the four division winners). The Whelen All-American Series is the base for stock car racing, developing NASCAR names such as Clint Bowyer , Jimmy Spencer , Tony Stewart , the Bodine brothers, and many others along the way. The Whelen Modified Tour races open-wheel "modified" cars in Northern and Southern divisions. This
5340-456: A relationship with Bob Barkhimer and his partner, Margo Burke. He went to events with them, stayed weekends with them and generally became very familiar with racing on the west coast. "Barky", as he was called by his friends, journeyed to Daytona Beach and met with Bill France Sr. In the spring of 1954, NASCAR became a stock car sanctioning body on the Pacific Coast under Barky. Wendell Scott
5518-557: A result of that sponsorship, the Grand National Series became known as the Winston Cup Series starting in 1971, with a new points system and some significant cash benefits to compete for championship points. In 1972, the season was shortened from 48 races (including two on dirt tracks ) to 31. 1972 is often acknowledged as the beginning of NASCAR's "modern era". The next competitive level, called Late Model Sportsman, gained
Lightning McQueen - Misplaced Pages Continue
5696-587: A ride named Radiator Springs Racers . On March 31, 2019 an interactive show named Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy debuted at Disney's Hollywood Studios , featuring Lightning McQueen as a physical vehicle. At Walt Disney Studios Park in Disneyland Paris , Lightning McQueen is one of the characters encountered by guests on a Cars themed tram ride named Cars Road Trip, which debuted in June 2021. In 2012, Lightning McQueen appeared alongside five other vehicles from
5874-516: A ride on the Dinoco helicopter. He establishes his racing headquarters in Radiator Springs, reunites with Mater and Sally, and becomes Doc Hudson's pupil. Five years after the events of the first film, Lightning McQueen, now a four-time Piston Cup champion, returns to Radiator Springs to spend his off-season with his friends. His stay is interrupted when Mater inadvertently causes him to participate in
6052-459: A row by Cale Yarborough in the late 1970s, the only other time when a driver has won three or more NASCAR Cup Series championships in a row. The Cup Series had its first title sponsor in 1972. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company , which had been banned from television advertising , found a popular and demographically suitable consumer base in NASCAR fans and engaged NASCAR as a promotional outlet. As
6230-472: A season, along with the pre-season Clash and mid-season All-Star race. NASCAR runs races primarily on ovals , including superspeedways, short tracks, and dirt tracks , but also road courses and street circuits . Richard Petty holds the Cup Series wins record with 200. He is tied with Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson for the championship record, with seven each. Entering the 2025 season , Joey Logano
6408-581: A series of meetings held at the Streamline Hotel in Florida, beginning on December 14, 1947. At 1:00 pm, France called to order the 35 men who represented the NCSCC on the top floor of the hotel. The meeting was the first of four seminars in which France would outline his vision of an organized group of race car drivers. The name originally chosen for the series was National Stock Car Racing Association ; when it
6586-496: A slower journey. Out of this experience, he began to develop the story idea for the film. "I discovered that the journey in life is the reward", he recalled. In 2001, he and a group of Pixar staff took a trip on Route 66. Over nine days, they toured a number of places along the route, including Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma , and studied the landscape. Lasseter conducted research about automotives, befriending design chief J Mays of
6764-481: A stage", Fer interprets the artists in Eccentric Abstraction to a new form of anthropomorphism. She puts forth the thoughts of Surrealist writer Roger Caillois , who speaks of the "spacial lure of the subject, the way in which the subject could inhabit their surroundings." Caillous uses the example of an insect who "through camouflage does so in order to become invisible... and loses its distinctness." For Fer,
6942-402: A sub-culture known as furry fandom , which promotes and creates stories and artwork involving anthropomorphic animals, and the examination and interpretation of humanity through anthropomorphism. This can often be shortened in searches as "anthro", used by some as an alternative term to "furry". Anthropomorphic characters have also been a staple of the comic book genre. The most prominent one
7120-702: A taste for moonshine , and a number of the drivers continued "runnin' shine", this time evading the "revenuers" who were attempting to tax their operations. The cars continued to improve, and by the late 1940s, races featuring these cars were being run for pride and profit. These races were popular entertainment in the rural Southern United States, and they are most closely associated with the Wilkes County region of North Carolina . Most races in those days were of modified cars. Street vehicles were lightened and reinforced. Mechanic William France Sr. , moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, from Washington, D.C., in 1935 to escape
7298-424: A tie-breaker race, Lightning realizes he has no true friends. After an encounter with a quartet of tuner cars , he becomes separated from his transporter, a Mack truck named Mack, and ends up in Radiator Springs, a forgotten town along U.S. Route 66. He is soon arrested for accidentally destroying the town's main road and impounded there. In Radiator Springs, Lightning meets a tow truck named Tow Mater , who takes
Lightning McQueen - Misplaced Pages Continue
7476-496: A yellow sea sponge , living in the underwater town of Bikini Bottom with his anthropomorphic marine life friends. Cartoon Network 's animated series The Amazing World of Gumball (2011–2019) are about anthropomorphic animals and inanimate objects. All of the characters in Hasbro Studios ' TV series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010–2019) are anthropomorphic fantasy creatures, with most of them being ponies living in
7654-528: A young Bill France placed 5th at the end of the day. By early 1947, Bill France saw the potential for a unified series of racing competitors. France announced the foundation of the "National Championship Stock Car Circuit", otherwise known as NCSCC. France approached the American Automobile Association , or AAA, in hopes of obtaining financial backing for the venture. When the AAA declined support of
7832-661: A young man. Story supervisor Scott Morse said that the Pixar team thought it important to show the changes in his character because they felt that children comprehend circumstances above their level: "McQueen is maturing; he's evolving. McQueen's a character that kids grew up with. For kids in particular, to see somebody they're comfortable with going through an evolutionary change, it helps them understand how to do that." Cars 3 director Brian Fee also cited conversations with retiring racing driver Jeff Gordon , alongside his own personal experiences of mentoring his daughters, as inspiration for
8010-543: Is Cole Custer in 2023. The modern incarnation of this series began in 1982, with sponsorship by Anheuser-Busch Brewing 's Budweiser brand. In 1984 it was renamed to the Busch Grand National Series, then later just the Busch Series. The Anheuser-Busch sponsorship expired at the end of 2007, being replaced by Nationwide Insurance from 2008 to 2014, and the series is now sponsored by Comcast through its Xfinity brand. The season usually has fewer races than
8188-557: Is NASCAR's oldest division, and the modern division has been operating since 1985 as the Winston Modified Series and later in 1994 as the Featherlite Trailers Modified Series. The ARCA Menards Series ' feeder divisions, which consists of East and West divisions, race pro-stock cars that are similar to older Xfinity Series cars, although they are less powerful. The east division was originally divided into
8366-464: Is a human activity and to attribute it to nature misconstrues it as humanlike. Modern criticisms followed Bacon's ideas such as critiques of Baruch Spinoza and David Hume . The latter, for instance, embedded his arguments in his wider criticism of human religions and specifically demonstrated in what he cited as their "inconsistence" where, on one hand, the Deity is painted in the most sublime colors but, on
8544-401: Is a playable character. In the third game he is voiced by Ben Rausch. The character also appears in numerous other Cars themed video games, including Cars: Radiator Springs Adventures , Cars Mater-National Championship and Cars Race-O-Rama . Lightning McQueen is a character at Cars Land , a themed section of Disney California Adventure , which debuted on 15 June 2012 and features
8722-553: Is also a playable character in each of the Cars video game installments. Lightning is recognizable by his red body with yellow and orange lightning bolt stickers featuring his racing number on his sides. He is primarily voiced by Owen Wilson . In Cars , Lightning begins as a talented but cocky rookie in the Piston Cup racing series who becomes stranded in the small town of Radiator Springs , where he learns about humility and friendship from
8900-448: Is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing . It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in the world and is one of the largest spectator sports leagues in America. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and his son, Jim France , has been the CEO since August 2018. The company
9078-667: Is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida . Each year, NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 48 US states, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Europe. NASCAR, and stock car racing as a whole, traces its roots back to moonshine runners during Prohibition , who grew to compete against each other in a show of pride. This happened notably in North Carolina. In 1935, Bill France Sr. established races in Daytona Beach, with
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#17328587232499256-762: Is of little or no importance, where some characters may be fully clothed while some wear only shoes and gloves. Another popular example in video games is the Super Mario series, debuting in 1985 with Super Mario Bros. , of which main antagonist includes a fictional species of anthropomorphic turtle -like creatures known as Koopas . Other games in the series, as well as of other of its greater Mario franchise, spawned similar characters such as Yoshi , Donkey Kong and many others . Claes Oldenburg 's soft sculptures are commonly described as anthropomorphic. Depicting common household objects, Oldenburg's sculptures were considered Pop Art . Reproducing these objects, often at
9434-522: Is presented in gray primer. In another sequence, he secretly goes undercover at a demolition derby with the pseudonym "Chester Whipplefilter" and is masked by a layer of brown mud. His red design is later updated with a vinyl wrap in preparation for the next racing season. By the end of Cars 3 , he is redesigned with a dark blue paint job in reference to his mentor Doc Hudson. For the Pixar team, these design changes are significant parts of his story arc. Fee explained that in Cars 3 , Lightning McQueen "spends
9612-563: Is primarily a Midwestern United States series. NASCAR acquired the series on April 27, 2018 after being privately owned for 60 years. The NASCAR Canada Series is a NASCAR racing series in Canada that derives from the old CASCAR Super Series (founded in 1981 and bought out by NASCAR in 2006). The new series has races through six of Canada's provinces for a total of 13 events with TV coverage on TSN . Many drivers are content running in Canada while others move up to bigger NASCAR series including J. R. Fitzpatrick and D. J. Kennington . The cars are
9790-461: Is really gifted." Art department manager Jay Ward explained that the theme of the film is expressed in Lightning McQueen's character development. He said that, as a racing car, he is entirely self-centered and his goal at the start of the film is to reach the finish line, but by spending time in Radiator Springs, he has to learn that "life is about the journey, not the destination". He described
9968-591: Is scheduled to continue as planned. The series was renamed again in 2020 to the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series before returning to the Camping World Truck Series name in 2021. On August 26, 2022 it was announced that the original series' sponsor, Craftsman, would return as the title sponsor starting in the 2023 season. The ARCA Menards Series is a racing series that races at big touring series tracks and local racing series tracks. It
10146-480: Is the defending Cup Series champion. In the 1920s and 1930s, Daytona Beach supplanted France and Belgium as the preferred location for world land speed records . After a historic race between Ransom Olds and Alexander Winton in 1903, 15 records were set on what became the Daytona Beach Road Course between 1905 and 1935. Daytona Beach had become synonymous with fast cars in 1936. Drivers raced on
10324-523: The Appalachian region of the United States. Bootleggers needed to distribute their illicit products, and they typically used small, fast vehicles to better evade the police. Many of the drivers would modify their cars for speed and handling, as well as increased cargo capacity. The repeal of Prohibition in 1933 dried up some of their business, but by then the people of the American South had developed
10502-746: The Camping World Truck Series. In 2019, per a branding request made by Camping World, the series was rebranded as the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. As noted previously, the Chase format was extended to the Truck Series in 2016. The format is identical to that used in the Xfinity Series, except that only eight drivers qualify for the Chase (instead of 12 in the Xfinity Series) and only two drivers are eliminated at
10680-606: The Cars franchise in "Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy" at the Von Braun Center . The vehicles were custom created for the ice show as real cars that could be driven on ice. Their designs were built up from golf carts and featured animatronics including moving bumpers and blink headlights to represent the characters. In December 2015, a Pixar Cars Mechanical Institute exhibit launched at Petersen Automotive Museum , featuring interactive displays involving Lightning McQueen and some other Cars characters. The exhibit included
10858-540: The Ford Motor Company . During development, Pixar's animators also benefited from having Porsche 911 coupes delivered to Pixar's offices for inspection. Lasseter and the production team also met with General Motors designers in the early 2000s to discuss the new Chevrolet Corvette design. At that time, the story concept was very different to the final film and according to Pixar producer Darla K. Anderson it evolved over time. Cars reflects Lasseter's sadness over
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#173285872324911036-467: The Genesis creation myth : "So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them". Hindus do not reject the concept of a deity in the abstract unmanifested, but note practical problems. The Bhagavad Gita , Chapter 12, Verse 5, states that it is much more difficult for people to focus on a deity that is unmanifested than one with form , remarking on
11214-474: The Great Depression . He was familiar with the history of the area from the land speed record attempts. France entered the 1936 Daytona event, finishing fifth. He took over running the course in 1938. He promoted a few races before World War II. France had the notion that people would enjoy watching stock cars race. Drivers were frequently victimized by unscrupulous promoters who would leave events with all
11392-739: The World's Fair and the Olympics . These personifications may be simple human or animal figures, such as Ronald McDonald or the donkey that represents the United States's Democratic Party . Other times, they are anthropomorphic items, such as " Clippy " or the " Michelin Man ". Most often, they are anthropomorphic animals such as the Energizer Bunny or the San Diego Chicken . NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC ( NASCAR )
11570-706: The prophets , who explicitly rejected any likeness of God to humans. Their rejection grew further after the Islamic Golden Age in the tenth century, which Maimonides codified in the twelfth century, in his thirteen principles of Jewish faith. In the Ismaili interpretation of Islam , assigning attributes to God as well as negating any attributes from God ( via negativa ) both qualify as anthropomorphism and are rejected, as God cannot be understood by either assigning attributes to Him or taking them away. The 10th-century Ismaili philosopher Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani suggested
11748-623: The roadsters , which fans perceived as a Northeast or Midwest series. The roadster division was quickly abandoned, while the modified division now operates as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour . The Strictly Stock division was put on hold as American automobile manufacturers were unable to produce family sedans quickly enough to keep up with post-World War II demand. The 1948 schedule featured 52 Modified dirt track races . The sanctioning body hosted its first event at Daytona Beach on February 15, 1948. Red Byron beat Marshall Teague in
11926-433: The "Fabulous Hudson Hornet". Lasseter explained that his mentoring of Cruz makes Lightning realize that he is in the same position as Doc when he mentored him, adding that the color change was temporary and only for fun: "For a short time, he's going to get (Cruz) going, but he'll continue racing". Lightning McQueen is a rookie racecar in the Piston Cup series and secretly disdains his sponsor, Rust-eze, hoping to be chosen by
12104-656: The "Grand National" title passed down from the top division and soon found a sponsor in Busch Beer . In 2004, Nextel Communications took over sponsorship of the premier series, and formally renamed it the Nextel Cup Series. A new championship points system, the " Chase for the Nextel Cup ," (renamed "Chase for the Sprint Cup" in 2008) was also developed, which reset the point standings with ten races to go, making only drivers in
12282-471: The 16 participating in the Cup Series Chase. Four drivers are eliminated at the end of each preliminary round of the Chase in the Xfinity Series, which also mirrors the Cup Series Chase. This means that four drivers are eligible for the series title entering the final race, as in the Cup Series. Similar to Cup, starting in 2017 "The Chase" moniker was dropped and the final seven races are now referred to as
12460-686: The 1920s to the present day. In the Disney/Pixar franchises Cars and Planes , all the characters are anthropomorphic vehicles, while in Toy Story , they are anthropomorphic toys. Other Pixar franchises like Monsters, Inc features anthropomorphic monsters and Finding Nemo features anthropomorphic sea animals (like fish, sharks, and whales). Discussing anthropomorphic animals from DreamWorks franchise Madagascar , Timothy Laurie suggests that " social differences based on conflict and contradiction are naturalized and made less 'contestable' through
12638-511: The 1960s, anthropomorphism has also been represented in various animated television shows such as Biker Mice From Mars (1993–1996) and SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (1993–1995). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , first aired in 1987, features four pizza-loving anthropomorphic turtles with a great knowledge of ninjutsu, led by their anthropomorphic rat sensei, Master Splinter. Nickelodeon 's longest running animated TV series SpongeBob SquarePants (1999–present), revolves around SpongeBob ,
12816-455: The 2011 season, drivers would be allowed to compete for the championship in only one of NASCAR's three national series in a given season, although they could continue to run in multiple series. This change was officially confirmed by France in a press conference less than two weeks later, and has remained in the NASCAR rules ever since. Beginning in 2010, the Nationwide cars adapted somewhat to
12994-726: The Busch North series, which raced in Northeastern states, and the Busch East Series, which raced throughout Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. The west division was originally known as the Winston West Series and raced throughout Southwestern and Coastal Pacific states. In 2008, the series came together in east and west divisions under sponsorship from Camping World as the Camping World Series. K&N Filters took over
13172-441: The Chase format, expanding the Chase pool to 16 drivers, and eliminating four drivers after every three races, leaving four drivers to compete for the championship at the season finale at Homestead . In addition, wins were given an increased emphasis, with the 16 drivers with the most wins (15 if the points leader is winless; points leader will receive an automatic berth) gaining a spot in the chase. If there are fewer than 16 winners,
13350-478: The Cup Series, and the prize money is significantly lower. However, over the last several years, a number of Cup Series drivers have run both the Xfinity and Cup Series events each weekend, using the Xfinity race as a warm-up to the Cup event at the same facility. Furthermore, several drivers not only participated in both Cup and Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity events on the same weekend but also began to compete in both series on
13528-710: The Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testaments , as well as in the texts of some other religions. Anthropomorphism, also referred to as personification, is a well-established literary device from ancient times. The story of " The Hawk and the Nightingale " in Hesiod 's Works and Days preceded Aesop 's fables by centuries. Collections of linked fables from India, the Jataka Tales and Panchatantra , also employ anthropomorphized animals to illustrate principles of life. Many of
13706-655: The Modified division race. Byron won the 1948 national championship. Things had changed dramatically by 1949, and the Strictly Stock division was able to debut with a 20-mile (32 km) exhibition in February near Miami. The first NASCAR "Strictly Stock" race ever was held at Charlotte Speedway , although this is not the same track as the Charlotte Motor Speedway that is a fixture on current NASCAR schedule. The race
13884-721: The NASCAR Regional banner. Many local race tracks across the United States and Canada run under the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series banner, where local drivers are compared against each other in a formula where the best local track champion of the nation wins the Whelen All-American Weekly Series National Championship. The Whelen All-American series is split into four car divisions as well as state and track championships separately. Each division champion receives
14062-470: The NCS and the ambiguous use of "NASCAR" as a synonym for the series is common. The 2023 NCS Champion is Ryan Blaney . The record for most championships is 7, held by three drivers: Richard Petty , Dale Earnhardt , and Jimmie Johnson . Johnson has the record for most consecutive with five consecutive Cup Series drivers' championships from 2006 to 2010. Previously, the most consecutive championships had been three in
14240-543: The Rabbit as research. Adams returned to anthropomorphic storytelling in his later novels The Plague Dogs (1977) and Traveller (1988). By the 21st century, the children's picture book market had expanded massively. Perhaps a majority of picture books have some kind of anthropomorphism, with popular examples being The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969) by Eric Carle and The Gruffalo (1999) by Julia Donaldson . Anthropomorphism in literature and other media led to
14418-574: The Road . He also voices the character in the short film Mater and the Ghostlight and the Cars Toons short "The Radiator Springs 500 ½" and the Cars and Cars 2 video games. Wilson said that he was cast in the role as a result of Lasseter and his children enjoying Shanghai Noon (2000), a film starring Wilson and Jackie Chan . When Wilson met with Lasseter, he told him about the upcoming animated project and thought that he would be suitable for
14596-504: The Tank Engine and other anthropomorphic locomotives . The fantasy genre developed from mythological, fairy tale, and Romance motifs sometimes have anthropomorphic animals as characters. The best-selling examples of the genre are The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955), both by J. R. R. Tolkien , books peopled with talking creatures such as ravens, spiders, and
14774-544: The US was in Canada, where on July 1, 1952, Buddy Shuman won a 200-lap race on a half-mile (800 m) dirt track in Stamford Park, Ontario , near Niagara Falls . The NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) is the sport's highest level of professional competition. It is consequently the most popular and most profitable NASCAR series. Since 2001, the Cup Series season has consisted of 36 races over 10 months. Writers and fans often use "Cup" to refer to
14952-460: The Vanna White v. Robot-With-A-Blond-Whig case. The verdict was based on an analysis of whether the audience would mistake the car in the film for Brill's car. The court decided that, "a fictional, talking, driver-less red race car with the number 95 on it cannot be construed as a likeness of a driver of a similarly colored/numbered race car." Lightning McQueen has been described by critics as one of
15130-648: The Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908); Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928) by A. A. Milne ; and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1950) and the subsequent books in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis . In many of these stories the animals can be seen as representing facets of human personality and character. As John Rowe Townsend remarks, discussing The Jungle Book in which
15308-497: The World Grand Prix contenders. Five years after the events of the second film, Lightning McQueen, now a seven-time Piston Cup champion and racing legend, races in the series with his long-time racing friends Cal Weathers and Bobby Swift. High-tech rookie racer Jackson Storm appears as the first of a new generation of racecars and begins to win race after race. Lightning pushes himself too hard while trying to compete with Storm in
15486-468: The Xfinity Playoffs. Even with restrictions limiting points earnings to one national series, Cup drivers were still running and winning a vast majority of Xfinity series races through 2015. Starting with the 2015 season finale, NASCAR began to add additional restrictions in regards to Cup drivers running Xfinity races. Beginning in the 2020 season, Cup drivers with more than three years of experience in
15664-480: The Yellow Car struggling to be accepted by the local residents due to being different but eventually earning its place in the community. Pixar chief creative officer John Lasseter liked the concept of a world inhabited by cars presented by Klubien, but felt that the Yellow Car needed to be a stronger character to create conflict in the story. He and co-director Joe Ranft began developing the various car characters in
15842-492: The aging process as the sculpture wrinkles and sinks with time. In the essay "Art and Objecthood", Michael Fried makes the case that " literalist art " ( minimalism ) becomes theatrical by means of anthropomorphism. The viewer engages the minimalist work, not as an autonomous art object, but as a theatrical interaction. Fried references a conversation in which Tony Smith answers questions about his six-foot cube, "Die". Q: Why didn't you make it larger so that it would loom over
16020-476: The anthropomorphic qualities of imitation found in the erotic, organic sculptures of artists Eva Hesse and Louise Bourgeois , are not necessarily for strictly "mimetic" purposes. Instead, like the insect, the work must come into being in the "scopic field... which we cannot view from outside." For branding , merchandising , and representation , figures known as mascots are now often employed to personify sports teams , corporations , and major events such as
16198-637: The basis of their story. Examples include Squid Girl (anthropomorphized squid), Hetalia: Axis Powers (personified countries), Upotte!! (personified guns), Arpeggio of Blue Steel and Kancolle (personified ships). Some of the most notable examples are the Walt Disney characters Mickey Mouse , Donald Duck , Goofy , and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit ; the Looney Tunes characters Bugs Bunny , Daffy Duck , and Porky Pig ; and an array of others from
16376-451: The bomb. Following the arrest of Axlerod, Lightning happily declares that Mater can come to all future races. Back in Radiator Springs, it is revealed that Lightning's Allinol supply was switched with Fillmore's organic fuel by Sarge prior to the start of the World Grand Prix, thereby protecting Lightning from danger during the race in London. A mini Grand Prix is held in the town, featuring all of
16554-402: The boy Mowgli must rely on his new friends the bear Baloo and the black panther Bagheera , "The world of the jungle is in fact both itself and our world as well". A notable work aimed at an adult audience is George Orwell 's Animal Farm , in which all the main characters are anthropomorphic animals. Non-animal examples include Rev. W. Awdry 's Railway Series stories featuring Thomas
16732-472: The character after being in the middle car in a three-wide finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway . He commented, "I hate that we had a Lightning McQueen-style finish there", referring to a moment in Cars when the character finishes in a three-wide race by sticking his tongue out to reach the finish line. In May 2024, Chris Buescher made a similar joke after losing to Kyle Larson in a close photo finish at Kansas Speedway by commenting, "Guess I should've pulled
16910-529: The characters in Walt Disney Animation Studios ' Zootopia (2016) are anthropomorphic animals, that is an entirely nonhuman civilization. The live-action/animated franchise Alvin and the Chipmunks by 20th Century Fox centers around anthropomorphic talkative and singing chipmunks . The female singing chipmunks called The Chipettes are also centered in some of the franchise's films. Since
17088-611: The characters' facial expressions right. In early tests, the team found that their eyes were too far from their mouths, so the animators worked to improve their expressions by repositioning the lower eyelids. Although most of the car characters were inspired by real models, Lightning McQueen was given special treatment. Production designer Bob Pauley explained, "He’s the new rookie, he's kinda sexy, he's fast, he's different". The team took their favorite parts from different models, including GT40s and Chargers , to create him. Directing animator James Ford Murphy said that Lightning McQueen posed
17266-508: The classificatory matrix of human and nonhuman relations ". Other DreamWorks franchises like Shrek features fairy tale characters, and Blue Sky Studios of 20th Century Fox franchises like Ice Age features anthropomorphic extinct animals. Other characters in SpongeBob SquarePants features anthropomorphic sea animals as well (like sea sponges, starfish, octopus, crabs, whales, puffer fish, lobsters, and zooplankton). All of
17444-460: The current " Car of Tomorrow " (or COT) design used by Cup cars, with different bodies from the Cup Series. In 2016, the Chase format was extended to both the Xfinity and Truck Series. Instead of the four-round, 10-race format used in the Cup Series, the Chase in each of the two supporting series consists of three rounds and seven races in all, with each preliminary round consisting of three races. The Xfinity Series Chase involves 12 drivers instead of
17622-507: The decline of small towns on Route 66, which he said "died overnight" following the construction of interstate highways after World War II . Pixar's animators found it challenging to inject personality into the characters due to their rigid forms. Lasseter was of the opinion that the cars in the film had to feel like they had the weight and movement of real cars. In early animation tests, the cars featured big smiles and had less rigid tops, but Lasseter decided this needed to be changed to reflect
17800-584: The divine as deities with human forms and qualities. They resemble human beings not only in appearance and personality; they exhibited many human behaviors that were used to explain natural phenomena, creation, and historical events. The deities fell in love, married, had children, fought battles, wielded weapons, and rode horses and chariots. They feasted on special foods, and sometimes required sacrifices of food, beverage, and sacred objects to be made by human beings. Some anthropomorphic deities represented specific human concepts, such as love, war, fertility, beauty, or
17978-468: The dragon Smaug and a multitude of anthropomorphic goblins and elves . John D. Rateliff calls this the " Doctor Dolittle Theme" in his book The History of the Hobbit and Tolkien saw this anthropomorphism as closely linked to the emergence of human language and myth : "...The first men to talk of 'trees and stars' saw things very differently. To them, the world was alive with mythological beings... To them
18156-576: The earliest ancient examples set in a mythological context to the great collections of the Brothers Grimm and Perrault . The Tale of Two Brothers (Egypt, 13th century BCE) features several talking cows and in Cupid and Psyche (Rome, 2nd century CE) Zephyrus , the west wind, carries Psyche away. Later an ant feels sorry for her and helps her in her quest. Building on the popularity of fables and fairy tales, children's literature began to emerge in
18334-536: The earliest known evidence of anthropomorphism. One of the oldest known is an ivory sculpture, the Löwenmensch figurine , Germany, a human-shaped figurine with the head of a lioness or lion, determined to be about 32,000 years old. It is not possible to say what these prehistoric artworks represent. A more recent example is The Sorcerer , an enigmatic cave painting from the Trois-Frères Cave , Ariège, France:
18512-399: The emotional core of Lightning McQueen feeling pride in helping someone else to win rather than being preoccupied with his own achievements. American actor Owen Wilson is the voice of Lightning McQueen in the Cars filmography. He was cast in the original Cars film and returned to voice the character in Cars 2 and Cars 3 , while also voicing him in the television series Cars on
18690-571: The end of each preliminary round (instead of four in the Xfinity Series). As in both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series, four drivers are eligible for the series title entering the final race. Similar to Cup, starting in 2017 "The Chase" moniker was dropped and is now simply referred to as the Truck Series Playoffs. On May 8, 2018, NASCAR and Camping World announced the Truck Series title sponsor would be moved to Camping World subsidiary Gander Outdoors starting in 2019. The contract through 2022
18868-474: The figure's significance is unknown, but it is usually interpreted as some kind of great spirit or master of the animals. In either case there is an element of anthropomorphism. This anthropomorphic art has been linked by archaeologist Steven Mithen with the emergence of more systematic hunting practices in the Upper Palaeolithic. He proposes that these are the product of a change in the architecture of
19046-402: The film makes it clear that he is "the star of the universe" and felt that it is "the righteous conclusion longtime fans have been waiting for". Disney and Pixar won a legal case on November, 30, 2010, brought by stock car driver Mark Brill, who alleged that the design of Lightning McQueen misappropriated his own car. The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals upheld the lower court judgement based on
19224-461: The film should have spent more time developing McQueen's struggle instead of trying to focus on both him and Cruz. Simon Abrams of The Hollywood Reporter questioned whether children could really relate to a character who is being forced into retirement. He noted that although the story makes McQueen a sympathetic character due to being "soft-spoken and neurotically obsessed with going back to his roots", children would struggle to relate to him because
19402-432: The film, particularly scenes involving McQueen and Mater, and a dating sequence with Sally. The Washington Post ' s Stephen Hunter found similarities to Lightning McQueen in the boxing stories of the 1930s as a "champ who's really a chump" who learns lessons in humility and respect. He also likened him to American racing driver Jeff Gordon . Jeff Otto of IGN found Wilson's vocals "a bit irritating" and commented on
19580-606: The film. It was released on DVD on November, 7, 2017. Lightning McQueen appears alongside other Pixar characters in a series of mini short films titled Pixar Popcorn , which was released on Disney+ in January 2021. Lightning McQueen appears in the animated series Cars Toons , which premiered on the Disney Channel on October 27, 2008. The first series of shorts titled Mater's Tall Tales centers around Mater reminiscing to Lightning McQueen about his past hero days. The shorts feature
19758-460: The first film. IGN ' s Eric Goldman applauded the depth in McQueen's character, stating that his story arc is "filled with allegory and metaphor" and praising the film for its detailed portrayal of what it means to be an ageing athlete. Jeremiah Vanderhelm writing for The Michigan Daily commented that his story had already been done in other films like Rocky Balboa and Creed and felt that
19936-472: The first race on account of Mater's secret involvement with spies Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell, Lightning angrily tells him he does not want his help, causing Mater to feel hurt and leave. Soon after, Lightning receives a note from Mater telling him that he left before he could apologize and begins to regret his actions. Lightning wins the second race in Porto Corsa, Italy; more cars suffer engine damage in
20114-551: The formation of the NASCAR SuperTruck Series presented by Craftsman . The first series race followed in 1995. In 1996, the series was renamed the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to emphasize Craftsman's involvement. The series was first considered something of an oddity or a "senior tour" for NASCAR drivers, but eventually grew in popularity and has seen drivers move straight to the Cup Series without running
20292-473: The gods' shapes and make their bodies of such a sort as the form they themselves have. ... Ethiopians say that their gods are snub–nosed [ σιμούς ] and black Thracians that they are pale and red-haired. Xenophanes said that "the greatest god" resembles man "neither in form nor in mind". Both Judaism and Islam reject an anthropomorphic deity, believing that God is beyond human comprehension. Judaism's rejection of an anthropomorphic deity began with
20470-567: The greatest or most iconic movie cars. In 2011, Liam Lacey writing for The Globe and Mail opined that Lightning McQueen should change his catchphrase to "ka-ching", due to the success of Cars merchandise, which had earned almost $ 10 billion from the first film alone. In motorsport, the Japanese team APR Racing drove the Lightning McQueen-based livery No. 95 Toyota MR-S during the 2008 Super GT Series . In April 2021, fifteen years after
20648-841: The hope that people would come to watch races and that racers would race for him, as other organizers tended to fleece the winners of their payouts. This was a success, and the series was founded in 1948. Races were held in several divisions, which eventually morphed into what is the "ladder:" the Cup Series at the top, the Xfinity Series second, and the Truck Series third, with smaller series spread out below. Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota compete in each series. The vast majority of NASCAR drivers are American, but drivers from Canada, Mexico, Europe, and other places have competed. All Cup Series races are held across America. There are 36 points-paying races in
20826-432: The human mind , an increasing fluidity between the natural history and social intelligences , where anthropomorphism allowed hunters to identify empathetically with hunted animals and better predict their movements. In religion and mythology, anthropomorphism is the perception of a divine being or beings in human form, or the recognition of human qualities in these beings. Ancient mythologies frequently represented
21004-475: The idea of a separate inside; an idea mirrored in the human form. Fried considers the Literalist art's "hollowness" to be "biomorphic" as it references a living organism. Curator Lucy Lippard 's Eccentric Abstraction show, in 1966, sets up Briony Fer 's writing of a post-minimalist anthropomorphism. Reacting to Fried's interpretation of minimalist art's "looming presence of objects which appear as actors might on
21182-458: The idea of making a film about cars, having a particular love of cars and NASCAR racing. Lasseter said that he became hooked on cars at an early age after buying Hot Wheels toy cars. He cited childhood vacations with his family on Route 66 and the animated films of Japanese producer Hayao Miyazaki as his inspirations. In the summer of 2000, he and his family went on a two-month road trip that avoided interstate highways, which forced him to take
21360-499: The idea to seek out Doc Hudson's old crew chief and mentor Smokey , a Hudson pick-up truck, and eventually meets him at the Thomasville Motor Speedway. After completing training with Smokey, Lightning runs the first half of the Florida 500 with Smokey as his crew chief before pulling out and giving Cruz her chance to become a racer with him as her crew chief. Cruz and Lightning share the victory due to Lightning starting
21538-491: The idea to write an animated feature based on a three-wheeled electric car in Denmark that had proven to be unpopular for being ugly. He thought of this as The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen , a character that is not initially accepted but later proves to be a success. He began to write the story concept with the title "The Yellow Car", which was set in a small town populated by cars rather than people. The story involved
21716-490: The inaugural World Grand Prix, sponsored by former oil tycoon Miles Axlerod, who hopes to promote his new biofuel, Allinol. Lightning is reluctant to bring Mater along, but agrees after being persuaded by Sally. The night before the first race in Tokyo , Lightning and Mater enjoy exploring the city together. Later at a pre-race party, Lightning is briefly embarrassed by Mater, who mistook wasabi as pistachio ice cream . After losing
21894-501: The lack of chemistry between Wilson and Bonnie Hunt 's Sally. Film critic Roger Ebert noted that in Cars 2 , Lightning McQueen is "eclipsed" by the supporting character Mater. Matt Fowler of IGN also commented on this, stating that he is reduced to playing the "straight man", but thought that giving Mater the main role in the film was a positive move because he felt that McQueen is a "dry character". He also opined that Pixar had forced him into additional scenes just because he had been
22072-413: The locals. Over his professional racing career he wins several Piston Cup victories. In Cars 2 , he competes in the World Grand Prix, while his friend Tow Mater is unwittingly dragged into a spy mission. In Cars 3 , he struggles to come to terms with retirement and assumes the role of Cruz Ramirez 's mentor. Despite receiving a mixed reaction from critics in the first film, Lightning McQueen has become
22250-597: The main character in the first film. Empire ' s Ian Freer felt that the relationship between McQueen and Mater is too simple and too direct, particularly McQueen's expectations for his friend to change in order to fit into his lifestyle. Simon Reynolds of Digital Spy found their friendship to be lacking in warmth. A.O. Scott writing for The New York Times also criticised Lightning's racing exploits being upstaged by Pixar's "redneck Jar-Jar Binks ". Peter Travers of Rolling Stone thought that McQueen's determination to not let his career break his friendship with Mater
22428-500: The many positive lessons that he learns over the course of the film. Mick LaSalle writing for the San Francisco Chronicle opined that the film raises too many questions about the motivations of its protagonist, describing him as an "armless, legless, cumbersome creature, inhabiting a lonely landscape in which no real connection is possible". Conversely, Michael Agger of Slate praised the "heartwarming on-screen bondings" in
22606-457: The method of double negation; for example: "God is not existent" followed by "God is not non-existent". This glorifies God from any understanding or human comprehension. In secular thought, one of the most notable criticisms began in 1600 with Francis Bacon , who argued against Aristotle 's teleology , which declared that everything behaves as it does in order to achieve some end, in order to fulfill itself. Bacon pointed out that achieving ends
22784-529: The mid-1960s, the vehicles were purpose-built race cars with a stock-appearing body. Early in NASCAR's history, foreign manufacturers had shown interest in entering the series; the British car manufacturer, MG , found a few of its vehicles entered, with some placing. For example, on August 16, 1963 in the International 200, Smokey Cook drove an MG to a 17th-place finish. The first NASCAR competition held outside
22962-708: The money before drivers were paid. On December 14, 1947, France began talks with other influential racers and promoters at the Ebony Bar at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida , that ended with the formation of NASCAR on February 21, 1948. The first Commissioner of NASCAR was Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, a former stock car, motorcycle, and open-wheel racer who competed in the Indianapolis 500 and set over one hundred land speed records. Baker earned most of his fame for his transcontinental speed runs and would prove
23140-403: The more prestigious Dinoco team. Initially ungrateful, obnoxious, selfish, and sarcastic, Lightning believes that he doesn't need a crew chief or much help from his pit crew to win races. During the final race of the season, he blows his rear tires and finishes in a three-way tie with the soon-to-retire Strip 'The King' Weathers and perennial runner-up Chick Hicks . On the road to Los Angeles for
23318-500: The newcomer Jackson Storm is too fast to beat. Robbie Collins writing for The Telegraph described the film as a "profound victory lap" for Lightning McQueen, noting the emotional significance of losing his mentor Doc Hudson and the "touching contemplation of legacies" shared with Cruz. Julia Alexander of Polygon praised Cars 3 for bringing the franchise back to its roots, noting that the film focuses entirely on Lightning McQueen, who had been sidelined in Cars 2 . She commented that
23496-525: The nineteenth century with works such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Carroll , The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) by Carlo Collodi and The Jungle Book (1894) by Rudyard Kipling , all employing anthropomorphic elements. This continued in the twentieth century with many of the most popular titles having anthropomorphic characters, examples being The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1901) and later books by Beatrix Potter ; The Wind in
23674-450: The observer? A: I was not making a monument. Q: Then why didn't you make it smaller so that the observer could see over the top? A: I was not making an object. Fried implies an anthropomorphic connection by means of "a surrogate person – that is, a kind of statue." The minimalist decision of "hollowness" in much of their work was also considered by Fried to be "blatantly anthropomorphic". This "hollowness" contributes to
23852-686: The original series sponsor's name with the notion of being bushwhacked. In May 2007, NNS director Joe Balash confirmed that NASCAR was exploring options to deal with the Buschwhacker controversy. One of the most often-cited proposals was for Cup Series drivers participating in the Nationwide Series to receive no points for their participation in a Nationwide race. In 2007, NASCAR chairman Brian France indicated that all options, except an outright ban of Cup competitors, were still being considered. On January 11, 2011, NASCAR.com reported that beginning with
24030-578: The other, is degraded to nearly human levels by giving him human infirmities, passions, and prejudices. In Faces in the Clouds , anthropologist Stewart Guthrie proposes that all religions are anthropomorphisms that originate in the brain's tendency to detect the presence or vestiges of other humans in natural phenomena. Some scholars argue that anthropomorphism overestimates the similarity of humans and nonhumans and therefore could not yield accurate accounts. There are various examples of personification in both
24208-581: The past, NASCAR also sanctioned the AutoZone Elite Division, which raced late-model cars that were lighter and less powerful than Cup Series cars, and was originally split into four divisions: Northwest, Southwest, Southeast, and Midwest. At the end of 2005, NASCAR announced that the AutoZone Elite Division would be discontinued after the 2006 season due to having trouble securing NASCAR-sanctioned tracks to successfully host AutoZone Elite Division events, plus escalating costs of competing and downsizing of
24386-425: The perspective of adherents to religions in which humans were created in the form of the divine, the phenomenon may be considered theomorphism , or the giving of divine qualities to humans. Anthropomorphism has cropped up as a Christian heresy , particularly prominently with Audianism in third-century Syria, but also fourth-century Egypt and tenth-century Italy. This often was based on a literal interpretation of
24564-529: The pony-inhabited land of Equestria . The Netflix original series Centaurworld focuses on a warhorse who gets transported to a Dr. Seuss -like world full of centaurs who possess the bottom half of any animal, as opposed to the traditional horse . In the American animated TV series Family Guy , one of the show's main characters, Brian , is a dog. Brian shows many human characteristics – he walks upright, talks, smokes, and drinks Martinis – but also acts like
24742-531: The premier series title name became the Sprint Cup Series, as part of the merger between Nextel and Sprint . In 2011, NASCAR announced a number of major rules changes, the most significant being abandoning the points system. The winner of a race now receives 43 points, with one-point decrements for each subsequent position (42 for second, 41 for third, and so on). The winner also receives 3 bonus points, and single bonus points are awarded to all drivers who lead
24920-419: The race, and the pair receive a sponsorship under the merged Dinoco–Rust-eze brand. Lightning decides to continue racing but spends the rest of the season as Cruz's mentor and crew chief. Lightning McQueen appears alongside Mater in the animated short film titled Mater and the Ghostlight. An animated short film titled Miss Fritter's Racing Skoool was created for the Cars 3 DVD and features characters from
25098-488: The race, causing controversy and increased fears over Allinol's safety. In response, Axlerod decides to remove Allinol as a requirement for the final race in London . Lightning chooses to continue with Allinol on account of Fillmore telling him the fuel is safe, unknowingly endangering himself. Before the London race, Lightning considers dropping out so he can look for Mater, but is persuaded by Axlerod to continue. After completing
25276-404: The race, the heavier cars got bogged down in the sand, while the lightweight Fords navigated the ruts of the course, eventually claiming the top 6 finishes for the race. Of the 27 cars that started the event, only 10 managed to survive the ordeal, as officials halted the event 10 miles (16 km) short of the scheduled 250-mile (400 km) distance. Driver Milt Marion was declared the winner, and
25454-441: The racing aspect as the "bookends" in his story arc: "the racing world he started in and the racing world he returns to, and he is a different character". Lightning McQueen is not named after actor and race driver Steve McQueen , but after Pixar animator Glenn McQueen who died in 2002. Creating the story for the third film in the franchise presented the creative team with some character issues due to Lightning McQueen already being
25632-505: The recognizable face and mascot of the Cars franchise, being widely merchandised in the form of branded toy cars and products. He has been mentioned in commentary by NASCAR racing drivers, including Kyle Busch and Chris Buescher , and his achievements have been discussed by sports journalist Stephen A. Smith . Critics have described him as one of the greatest or most iconic cars in film. The concept for Cars originated in 1998 when Danish story development artist Jorgen Klubien had
25810-447: The release of Cars , "Lightning McQueen crocs" trended on Twitter , after the Crocs shoe company released a limited edition pair of adult crocs designed in the character's likeness. In October 2021, Wilson appeared in a sketch on Saturday Night Live which involved him recording Lightning McQueen's dialogue for a fourth Cars film. In the script, the character is increasingly presented as
25988-450: The remaining spots will be filled based on the conventional points system. Monster Energy became the title sponsor in 2017, which changed the series' name to Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. With Monster Energy's title sponsorship, NASCAR also abandoned "The Chase" name and now refers to the last 10 races simply as "the playoffs" similar to most other sports. After the 2019 season, NASCAR declined an offer from Monster Energy to remain
26166-528: The rigidity of real cars. The animators spent a lot of time working on the face to ensure that the characters felt like they were alive; thus the grill of the car was designed as its mouth. For the eyes, Lasseter took inspiration from the Disney short film Susie the Little Blue Coupe (1952), in which the character's windscreen panes are used for the eyes. This brought other challenges, in particular, how to get
26344-412: The role. Wilson admitted that he liked the "street cred" he got from his two sons for voicing the character. The Cars production team consulted a variety of experts, including racers, engineers and historians, to ensure that the characters in the film were designed to have the appearance of real cars. Lightning McQueen is not based on a particular vehicle. Lasseter explained that the shape of NASCAR cars
26522-403: The same role as Strip 'The King' Weathers , an ageing character from the first film, because, like him, he is threatened by newcomer Jackson Storm . For McQueen, Storm represents the end of his beloved sport. After experiencing a devastating crash, McQueen finds the solution in the form of Cruz Ramirez , who repeatedly reminds him of his age and helps him learn that he no longer has to train like
26700-709: The season's final race and damages his engine, causing him to lose control and suffer a rollover crash. After being rebuilt, Lightning decides to continue racing. He heads to the Rust-eze Training Center and trains with Cruz Ramirez, a yellow high-performance coupe , during the off-season in the hope of increasing his top speed and beating Storm. Lightning's new sponsor Sterling , a successful business car, tells him he will have to retire if he loses his next race, with Sterling planning to profit off Lightning's retirement merchandise. After several unsuccessful attempts at training, Lightning asks Mater for help, who gives him
26878-413: The seasons. Anthropomorphic deities exhibited human qualities such as beauty , wisdom , and power , and sometimes human weaknesses such as greed , hatred , jealousy , and uncontrollable anger . Greek deities such as Zeus and Apollo often were depicted in human form exhibiting both commendable and despicable human traits. Anthropomorphism in this case is, more specifically, anthropotheism . From
27056-407: The sequel. Lasseter wanted him to stand out next to the other World Grand Prix contestants so flames were added to his body due to them being a common style feature of American hot-rods. His body work took a year to design and involved many contributors, including Chip Foose . In Cars 3 , his design varies, beginning the film with a new Rust-Eze logo. During his recovery after his near fatal crash, he
27234-421: The several animals and think of some of them as royal animals, of others as silly, of others as witty, and others as innocent. Apollonius noted that the fable was created to teach wisdom through fictions that are meant to be taken as fictions, contrasting them favorably with the poets' stories of the deities that are sometimes taken literally. Aesop, "by announcing a story which everyone knows not to be true, told
27412-640: The sponsorship in 2010. 2019 was the last season for both of the series before they are to go under the ARCA banner in 2020 as part of the unification of the NASCAR K&;N Pro Series East and West and the ARCA Menards Series. The series became known as the ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West starting in 2020, meaning 2019 was also K&N's last year as the series title sponsor. In
27590-536: The stereotypes of animals that are recognized today, such as the wily fox and the proud lion, can be found in these collections. Aesop 's anthropomorphisms were so familiar by the first century CE that they colored the thinking of at least one philosopher: And there is another charm about him, namely, that he puts animals in a pleasing light and makes them interesting to mankind. For after being brought up from childhood with these stories, and after being as it were nursed by them from babyhood, we acquire certain opinions of
27768-641: The story, while the Yellow Car was eventually replaced by Lightning McQueen. From the start, Pixar's new film project was referred to as Cars . Lasseter decided that the main character should be a racing car because it represents speed, power and individuality. The Pixar team began to focus their research on racing cars, with Lasseter attending numerous races to ensure that the film was "authentic in every single detail". The team visited Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte and met with Richard Petty . Story artist Steve Purcell said that meeting die-hard fans and experiencing
27946-748: The title of "King of the Road". In the early 1950s, the United States Navy stationed Bill France Jr. , at the Moffett Federal Airfield in northern California. His father asked him to look up Bob Barkhimer in San Jose, California . Barkhimer was a star of midget car racing from the World War II era, and later ran about 22 different speedways as the head of the California Stock Car Racing Association. Young Bill developed
28124-494: The title sponsor of the top series. On December 5, NASCAR revealed their new sponsorship model. Instead of a singular title sponsor, four "premier partners" ( Coca-Cola , Xfinity , Busch Beer and GEICO ) would be closely affiliated with the top series, which was simply renamed the NASCAR Cup Series. The NASCAR Xfinity Series is the second-highest level of professional competition in NASCAR. The most recent series champion
28302-431: The top series were limited to five races per season. Furthermore, those same drivers are ineligible to run the regular season finale, NXS playoff races, or Dash 4 Cash races. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series features modified pickup trucks . It is one of the three national divisions of NASCAR, together with the Xfinity and Cup Series. The most recent series champion is Ben Rhodes in 2023. In 1994, NASCAR announced
28480-410: The top ten or within 400 points of the leader eligible to win the championship. In 2007, NASCAR announced it was expanding "The Chase" from ten to twelve drivers, eliminating the 400-point cutoff, and giving a ten-point bonus to the top twelve drivers for each of the races they have won out of the first 26. Wins throughout the season would also be awarded five more points than in previous seasons. In 2008,
28658-539: The track first hand was the ideal education needed for the film's development. Lasseter took driving lessons at the Infineon Raceway from instructors at the Jim Russell Racing School to get an authentic experience of motorsport, which became invaluable for giving direction to Owen Wilson , the voice of Lightning McQueen. Lasseter, who had previously worked on Toy Story , had for many years toyed with
28836-482: The truth by the very fact that he did not claim to be relating real events". The same consciousness of the fable as fiction is to be found in other examples across the world, one example being a traditional Ashanti way of beginning tales of the anthropomorphic trickster -spider Anansi : "We do not really mean, we do not really mean that what we are about to say is true. A story, a story; let it come, let it go." Anthropomorphic motifs have been common in fairy tales from
29014-632: The usage of anthropomorphic icons ( murtis ) that adherents can perceive with their senses. Some religions, scholars, and philosophers objected to anthropomorphic deities. The earliest known criticism was that of the Greek philosopher Xenophanes (570–480 BCE) who observed that people model their gods after themselves. He argued against the conception of deities as fundamentally anthropomorphic: But if cattle and horses and lions had hands or could paint with their hands and create works such as men do, horses like horses and cattle like cattle also would depict
29192-460: The venture, France proceeded to announce a set of rules and awards for the NCSCC. France declared that the winner of the 1947 NCSCC season would receive $ 1000.00 (equivalent to $ 13645 in 2023) and a trophy. The season would begin in January 1947 at the Daytona Beach track, and conclude in Jacksonville the following December. Nearly 40 events were logged during the season, and attendance often exceeded
29370-445: The venue's capacity. The competitors were paid as promised, and by the end of the season, driver Fonty Flock was declared the season champion after winning 7 events of the 24 that he entered. Bill France delivered the $ 1000 and 4-foot high trophy to Flock at the end of the season, along with $ 3000 in prize money to other drivers who competed throughout the season. At the end of the 1947 season, Bill France announced that there would be
29548-613: The verb form anthropomorphize , itself derived from the Greek ánthrōpos ( ἄνθρωπος , lit. "human") and morphē ( μορφή , "form"). It is first attested in 1753, originally in reference to the heresy of applying a human form to the Christian God . From the beginnings of human behavioral modernity in the Upper Paleolithic , about 40,000 years ago, examples of zoomorphic (animal-shaped) works of art occur that may represent
29726-520: The villain of the story. In November 2023, he was added as a DLC car in the vehicular soccer video game Rocket League . A debate over Lightning McQueen's status as the greatest of all time raged with fans on social media in November 2023, eventually involving American sports journalist Stephen A. Smith , who opined that he could not be regarded as such in comparison to Strip 'The King' Weathers. In February 2024, NASCAR racing driver Kyle Busch referred to
29904-535: The whole of creation was 'myth-woven and elf-patterned'." Richard Adams developed a distinctive take on anthropomorphic writing in the 1970s: his debut novel, Watership Down (1972), featured rabbits that could talk—with their own distinctive language ( Lapine ) and mythology—and included a police-state warren, Efrafa . Despite this, Adams attempted to ensure his characters' behavior mirrored that of wild rabbits, engaging in fighting, copulating and defecating, drawing on Ronald Lockley 's study The Private Life of
30082-462: Was Neil Gaiman 's the Sandman which had a huge impact on how characters that are physical embodiments are written in the fantasy genre. Other examples also include the mature Hellblazer (personified political and moral ideas), Fables and its spin-off series Jack of Fables , which was unique for having anthropomorphic representation of literary techniques and genres . Various Japanese manga and anime have used anthropomorphism as
30260-554: Was changed to 95, referencing the release year of Pixar's first film Toy Story . In addition to his catchphrase "Ka-chow!", Lightning McQueen is recognizable by his red exterior, yellow lightning bolt and number 95 displayed on his sides. Yet over the course of three films in the Cars filmography, he is presented with a variety of appearances. In Cars , his cocky attitude is illustrated by having stickers for headlights. In Cars 2 , he again appears in his red paint but with working headlights. Pixar updated Lightning McQueen's design for
30438-461: Was held on June 19, 1949 and won by driver Jim Roper when Glenn Dunaway was disqualified after the discovery of his altered rear springs. Initially, the cars were known as the "Strictly Stock Division" and raced with virtually no modifications on the factory models. This division was renamed the "Grand National" division beginning in the 1950 season. Over a period of more than a decade, modifications for both safety and performance were allowed, and by
30616-446: Was one of the film's strengths. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle praised the "recognizable earnestness" in Wilson's vocal performance. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian found the story concept of Cars 3 to be "a bit contrived" by presenting a story arc about a character that is still a champion but also struggling with the idea of being replaced by a younger generation. He noted that Lightning McQueen appears no older than in
30794-555: Was pointed out that that name was already in use by a rival sanctioning body, "National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing", proposed by mechanic Red Vogt , was selected as the organization's name. NASCAR was founded by William France, Sr. on February 21, 1948 with the help of several other drivers of the time. The original plans for NASCAR included three distinct divisions: Modified, Roadster, and Strictly Stock. The Modified and Roadster classes were seen as more attractive to fans. It turned out that NASCAR fans wanted nothing to do with
30972-412: Was problematic due to being shaped quite flat for aerodynamics, but this meant that their designs were not very interesting. Consequently, Lightning McQueen is a hybrid based on a stock car and a Le Mans endurance racer , which has a more curvaceous body. Lasseter added that the character also has "some Lola and some [Ford] GT40 ". His number was originally 57, a reference to Lasseter's birth year, but
31150-491: Was released on Disney Movies Anywhere , in which Lightning McQueen is challenged to race by off-road racers. In this short, Owen Wilson reprised his role as Lightning McQueen. An animated spin-off series titled Cars on the Road premiered on Disney+ on September, 8, 2022. The plot involves Lightning McQueen (voiced by Wilson) and Mater setting off on a road trip to the east of Radiator Springs to meet Mater's sister. Lightning McQueen also appears in video games. On June 6, 2006,
31328-479: Was successfully drawn once they created him as an Owen Wilson character. The movement of the cars was also a defining part of their personalities. For Lightning McQueen, the team wanted to bring beauty to his movement, so they took inspiration from surfers, snowboarders and athletes like American basketball player Michael Jordan . Murphy explained: "We wanted to have that same type of feeling, so that when they're talking about 'the rookie sensation,' you're seeing that he
31506-444: Was the first African-American to win a race in the Grand National Series, NASCAR's highest level. He was posthumously inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina , January 30, 2015. On March 8, 1936, a collection of drivers gathered at Daytona Beach, Florida . The drivers brought coupes , hardtops , convertibles, and sports cars to compete in an event to determine the fastest cars, and best drivers. Throughout
31684-421: Was the first of five consecutive titles in NBS/NNS that were won by Cup series regulars. The practice received criticism because it was thought to give the Cup Series teams an unfair advantage, and that the presence of the Cup Series drivers squeezes out Nationwide Series competitors who would otherwise be able to qualify. These dual-series drivers have been labeled " Buschwhackers ", a play on words which combines
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