Trivia: The company that offers work to Lightning McQueen is called Dinoco. Dinoco is the name of the gas station that Andy stops at on his way to Pizza Planet in Toy Story.
Trivia: 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.
Trivia: 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.
Trivia: 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 Also, the reason he told McQueen he was "out of date" and not wanted after "recovering" from his accident is the same reason the real Hudson Hornet ended its dominance of Nascar around 1955: the introduction by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.
Trivia: George Carlin, the voice of Fillmore, was born on May 12th of 1937. This is why his license plate reads "51237." It is also the zip code of George, Iowa.
Trivia: 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.
Trivia: 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 Monsters, Inc..
Trivia: On the 'Bonus Features' screen the postmark shown bears the date, Jan 12, 1957. This was the day the Creator, John Lasseter, was born.
Trivia: 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.
Trivia: Stay till the end of the credits for an extra scene.
Trivia: 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.
Trivia: In the teaser trailer for the movie, they show a race where one of the cars looks similar to Lightning McQueen. This car was an early build of Lightning.
Trivia: 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. (01:33:30)
Trivia: The 'Hidden Mickey' is revealed when all of Radiator Springs' neon lights are fixed after Lightning McQueen's makeover. On the roof of Flo's V8 Cafe, a rotating neon light lines up to form the 'Hidden Mickey'.
Trivia: The canyon around Radiator Springs looks like old car bonnets and ornaments.
