Disney Pixar CARS: 42 Losers … A Little Light Shined on the Mystery
In one of the first lines we hear in “voice-over” from CARS is …
“1 winner, 42 losers, I eat losers for breakfast.”
Meaning, of course, there are 42 OTHER racers out there … just as with a typical NASCAR starting grid – 43 cars out there.
We were sure of the 36 before the Motor Speedway of the South set came out and now, obviously we have confirmation. The 36 are …
In alphabetical order by sponsor:
Bumper Save (#90) – Ponchy Wipeout
Clutch Aid (#121) – Kevin Shiftright
Creme Filled Gask-its (#80) – Sage Vanderspin
Dale Jr. (#8) – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dinoco (#43) – Strip “The King” Weathers
Easy Idle (#51) – Ruby “Easy” Oakes
Faux Wheel Drive (#54) – Johnny Blamer
Fiber Fuel (#56) – Brush Curber
Gasprin (#70) – Floyn Mulvihill
Hostile Takeover Bank (HTB) (#86) – Chick Hicks
Leak Less (#52) – Claude Scruggs
Lil Torque Pistons (#117) – Ralph Carlow
Mac iCar (#84) – Axxelo Fission
Mood Springs (#33) – Chuck Armstrong
N20 (#68) – Manny Flywheel
Nitroade (#28) – Aiken Axler
No Stall (#123) – Todd “The Shockster” Marcus
Octane Gain (#58) – Billy Oilchanger
Re-Volting (#84) – Davey Apex
Retread (#79) – Paul Inngas
Rev-N-Go (#73) – Misti Motorkrass
RPM (#64) – Winford Bradford Rutherford
Rust-Eze (#95) – Lightning McQueen
Shifty Drug (#35) – Kevin Racingtire
Shiny Wax (#82) – Darren Leadfoot
Sidewall Shine (#74) – Slider Petrolski
Spare Mint (#93) – Earnie Gearson
Sputter Stop (#92) – Murray Clutchburn
Tach-O-Mint (#101) – Greg Candyman
Tank Coat (#36) – Eugene Carbureski
Tow Cap (#4) – Rusty Cornfuel
Transberry Juice (#63) – Lee Reukins
Trunk Fresh (#34) – Dirk D’Argostino
View-Zeen (#39) – Ryan Shields
Vinyl Toupee (#76) – Crusty Rotor
Vitoline (#61) – James Cleanair
So, where is the other 7?
The short answer (unconfirmed) is presumably they did not think anyone would bother to count … just as there are only 21 pit stalls.
Who is going to stop to count?
Little did they know that millions would raise their hands. 🙂
People have studied it frame by frame for 2 years now and while there are other “sponsors” stickers that appear throughout the track and in other scenes, there is no definitive proof that they are the main sponsors of a racer. There are no definitive haulers, for example, that we have not matched up with a Piston Cup racer. There is one faint possibility as there’s one in a shadow where the answer is not obvious but it’s not definitive and so … well, not definitive.
Now, there are “other” sponsors that appear in the original CARS movie trailer but again, nothing definitive.
Who are the other 7?
It turns out we actually have a real life parallel in NASCAR.
In theory, there are 43 competitors on the starting grid but it turns out that some NASCAR racers out there fall under the moniker, “start and park.”
They are there for the show but not necessarily much more …
From AutoWeek magazine …
“It is easy to identify start-and-parkers. In Gateway’s pit stall No. 1–the closest to the pit exit–the Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned No. 88 team of pole sitter Brad Keselowski has 16 tires mounted on rims, with a full pit crew, a three-level pit box with six seats on top and several computer and TV screens. Keselowski is here to win.
In the second pit stall, chosen by the No. 90 team, sits a small, rolling toolbox that still has a vinyl cover on it. No tires. No jacks. No gas cans. No people. Former NASCAR driver Phil Parson owns this team, named MSRP, along with real-estate developer Randy Humphrey and their wives.
MSRP targets maximum financial return. Even its pit location is suspect: Well-funded Keselowski, contending for the championship, has no other pit box in front of his, and with MSRP directly behind, no vehicle will impede his progress into or out of his stall during the race. No one would say whether money changed hands for the arrangement.
MSRP fields two plain white cars, No. 90 for Johnny Chapman and No. 91 for Chase Miller; they finished 39th and 42nd at Gateway. Total winnings: $43,880. Total laps completed: six, in a 200-lap race. The payoff is good. Each car, with a skeleton crew, used one set of tires and barely warmed its engines. NASCAR requires teams to state a reason for retiring, so the official results say Chapman retired with a “brake problem” and Miller “overheated.” After one lap.
None of the S&P cars lasted until the first caution on lap 69. Besides MSRP’s Chevrolets, the rest finished as follows: Mark Green’s Chevy (“engine”) ran 61 laps, was 35th and won $22,330. Chad Blount’s Toyota (“electrical”) ran 12, was 36th and won $28,688. He won more than Green, though he finished behind him, thanks to NASCAR’s arcane payout policy, which utilizes contingency programs that individual teams belong to and takes into account which manufacturers they run for.”
You can read it the rest & the entire feature from AUTOWEEK MAGAZINE.
So, as with NASCAR, 43 racers were on the starting grid but apparently the other 7 racers are “start & park” racers just there to run a few laps, drink some free Nitroade, oogle the showgirls, & collect some simollians. Hello, TakeFive racer 🙂
So, CARS is 100% authentic … I guess the other 6 racers can be released as ‘blank’ piston cup racers … 🙂 with no sponsors … though we’d be happy to customize and sticker them, won’t we?
| « Mattel Disney Pixar Diecast CARS: Diecast Authority Display Cases + Grading + Contest + Coupon Code! | Mattel Disney Pixar Diecast CARS: 1:24 McQueen on Matty + No Clown CARS? Not For Long … » |
14 August 2009
27 Comments
real Nascar small tracks like BRISTOL have 21 pits on one side and 22 pits on the other side of the track, and since the motor speedway of the south looks like bristol, that’s the reason for only 21 pits.
Look on chick hicks. i have him. One of the stickers says slugde.
Start n parks should be banned.
race if your gonna race. go party in the infield if your gonna SnP
If you pay attention to the article this is for the Nationwide series. This rarely happens in the Sprint cup series. The entry fees are too big for it to be feasible. In the Nationwide series they are just trying to fill the field. I’m sure this happens with the Truck series as well.
Speaking of which does anyone do custom Pixar Truck racers?
I’m Ok with SnP what the Nationwide series needs to do is limit the races that Sprint cup drivers can race… that is the problem in my eyes. But whatever gets fans in the seats.
I was at an antique mall yesterday. I noticed a miniature NASCAR display item which had exactly 43 cars on the simulated blacktop. The display box was a banked black roadway with cheering crowds in the background. Each car maybe was no more than 3/4 inch long. It was an interesting piece.
HAHAHA. Nice Met.
Oh, and I dare Mattel to start selling blank white cars. I am sure there will be piles of little gray apple decals for sale on the web then…
Count me in for a dozen.
That’s a dare I think it’s safe to assume they would decline. It’s a good thing we have customizers out there to take up the slack.
Yeah -And ten different versions of it too, Dude!!!
Break Less white car… Over-heatin’ white car…
Matty’ll jump on that one for sure!
Plus he’ll stick ’em in three packs with McQueen and Leak Less or somethin’ like that!
Looks like McQ w/rubber tires is going on sale on Matty on Monday.
It looks like it is 1:24 scale.
and cough, cough, gasp, $45. I won’t be getting this one, but only because it isn’t 1:55, but I wouldn’t pay $45, or even $25 for one car.
Oh my! Now I have to decide if I want to send $45 + shipping for this car. Decisions…Decisions 🙂
Well maybe my MiaSenorita racer is part of these… I do like Nitroade after all 😉
I had Nathaniel make me a custom “MiaSenorita” racer – similar to the Take5aDay racer. I will have to post pictures – she is a beauty!! Definitely the prize of my collection.
We HAVE a MiaSenorita…….is there a TiaSenorita out there???
I think XiaSenorita once posted on here.
Yes, that’s my sister. She is a slacker though. She just likes to get all the breaking Cars news from me. She knows all too well how attached I am to this site 🙂
Can we start a petition to see the TFAD car and crew in Cars 2–and not as a start and park, but in it to win it???
i vote that Team Pirate Dad be one of the missing race teams,
AGREED!!!!!
I’m just glad that PirateDad has long forgotten my offer regarding the Costco and Christmas offerings!!!
He has to park after 2 laps because the eye patch keeps making him crash into the neighboring cars 🙂
I’m concerned about the peg-tire, how does he even make one lap?
He just uses his hook to latch onto the car in front of him.
Wooden wheels, Dude!!
Our car seems to have a knot in him somewhere!!! Should’ve warmed up more!
Either that or he hijacks some poor unsuspectin’ car…
I only counted 19 Pit stalls.
Dinoco
HTB
Rust-Eze
Nitroade
RPM
Easy Idle
Gask-its
Vitoline
No Stall
Rev-N-Go
Mood Springs
Trunk Fresh
Octane Gain
Leak Less
Shiny Wax
N2O Cola
Bumper Save
Spare-O-Mint
Tank Coat
Can someone confirm others?
I referenced the magazine pic posted here by Arnaldo, mostly.
I will never look at Hostile Takeover Bank the same way again.
I think I remember thie being discussed once or twice before… 🙂