Stars of Cars: Strip “The King” Weathers

Strip "The King" Weathers

Stars of CARS

In our new occasional series, we take a look at the real life inspirations behind the characters in the Pixar "Cars" film series. First up, Strip “the King” Weathers.

Picture the scene: The opening of the first “Cars” film. The “Dinoco 400” race is the final race in the Piston Cup season. Three cars are competing for first place: talented rookie Lighting McQueen; cunning Chick Hicks and retiring seven-time champion, Strip "The King" Weathers. The race ends in a tie, and the three cars must race each other again at the Los Angeles International Speedway in one week’s time.

Did you know that Strip Weathers is not JUST based on a car, but a real racing driver too? The car is called "Superbird", made by American manufacturer Chrysler under its Plymouth Brand. The Superbird was a special one off car made in 1970 to compete in American NASCAR stock car racing. It had a long, pointy nose and a big wing on the back. It was designed to be as FAST as possible. It could go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in just 5.5 seconds!

The Superbird was made for a driver called Richard Petty. Petty is from a racing family and is famous for winning LOTS of races. He was so good that people called him "The King"!

Together, Petty and the Superbird dominated the 1970 NASCAR season, winning 18 races. Sadly cars were getting TOO fast in 1971 the NASCAR rules were changed making the Superbird difficult to race. Petty would go on to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship seven times. He also won a record 200 races during his career!

Did You Know? The scene where Lightning pushes The King across the finish line was based on a real life incident! Richard Petty and David Pearson were racing neck-and-neck in the final lap of the 1976 Daytona 500. A collision between the two sent both cars spinning and crashing into the wall. Pearson’s car was able to restart, while Petty’s stalled. Petty’s pit crew pushed him to the finish line, though Pearson crossed the line first, securing the victory.