When all the places are shutting down for the day of the last race, a sign can seen that says: "City of Emeryville - Closed." This is a reference to Emeryville, California, where the Pixar studio is located. Submitted by Jazetopher

Doc Hudson's character is based on a real racing team from the early fifties, with a car named the "Fabulous Hudson Hornet". Also, the reason he told McQueen he was "out of date" and not wanted after "recovering" from his accident is the same reason the real Hudson Hornet ended it's dominance of Nascar around 1955: the introduction by Chevrolet of the OHV small-block V8 engine. There are history pics on the web showing cars with the same paint job Doc Hudsons had as he was shown being the pit crew boss in the final race.

The company Lightning McQueen is offered to work for is called Dinico. Dinico is the name of the gas station that Andy stops at on his way to Pizza Planet in "Toy Story". Submitted by BigOLB

"The King" is one big tribute to Richard Petty- The King of NASCAR. In his prime, he drove the 43 as pictured in the movie. In the movie the 43 is voiced by Richard Petty. His wife, who Mater calls "Mrs. The King" is voiced by Richard's wife, Lynda Petty.

Stay till the end of the credits for an extra scene.

George Carlin, the voice of Filmore, was born on May 12th of 1937. This is why his license plate reads: "51237" Submitted by Jazetopher

In small print on the racecar tyres, it says "Gamma Quadrant Sector 4," a reference to where Zurg's base is in Toy Story 2. Submitted by Jazetopher

The two Masserattis that are with Michael Schumacher Ferrari in the end of the movie actually appears earlier in the beginning of the final race; they are entering the security area with Fred when he cannot get in even when Mario Andretti says his name. We can see the license plate of the green Masseratti in the epilogue when the wheel well is being reopened. The license plate is B9513.

The red 8 car seen briefly in a couple of scenes was voiced by NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Jr, also drives the 8 car on the NASCAR circuit. Submitted by dablues7

When Mack is driving past the truck stop, you can see a truck with the "I" logo from The Incredibles. There is also a truck with "Monsters Inc." on the side of it, using the logo from the movie. Submitted by Jazetopher

At least two of the car numbers are significant. Chick Hick's number is 86. Pixar was formed in 1986. Lightning McQueen's number is 95. Toy Story was released in 1995.

When the "Our Town" song is playing and shows all the old cars driving in and out of Radiator Springs, one of the cars leaving the town resembles the one and only "Christine" from the movie of the same name.

The train which almost crashed into McQueen when he was on his way to Radiator Springs has the number A113 on it. Mater's license plate is also A113. This is a recurring inside joke in several animated shows and films, referring to the number of the classroom used by animation students at CalArts. Submitted by Jazetopher

A Dinoco gas station can be spotted in the "Life is a Highway" scene, on the far right of the screen as Mack follows the sign to Interstate 40. According to Pixar animator, this is the same gas station that Andy and his family stop at in Toy Story. Submitted by Jazetopher

Lightning McQueen uses Lightyear brand tyres (as opposed to Good Year), which is a reference to Buzz Lightyear from another Disney-Pixar movie, Toy Story.

During the "Life is a Highway" song, when Mac drives McQueen, there's a quick shot of birds on a telephone wire. They are the birds from the short film "For the Birds" that can be seen at the beginning of Monster's Inc.

As Mater, Larry the Cable Guy uses both of his trademark phrases: "Get-R-Done" and "I don't care who you are, that's funny right there." Submitted by Cubs Fan

At the big race at the end of the film, when the camera cranes down to the news crew, to the left you can see the pizza planet truck from Toy Story.

According to Richard Petty, The King's crash at the end of the final race is a frame-by-frame recreation of Petty's 1988 Winston Cup accident at the Daytona 500. The only difference is that the real crash was not caused intentionally, but rather by accident. Submitted by Jazetopher