Someone Is Making The 'Cars' Prequel Pixar Never Did. And It Looks Legit

You've all seen the Cars movies, right? They follow the story of Lightning McQueen, his racing career, and his time in Radiator Springs. Now, someone is making a series about what happens before Lightning McQueen. And it actually looks awesome.

YouTuber Ariya Alexander Berenji is building a prequel nobody at Pixar asked for. And the fan film is already turning heads for one reason: the cars look flawless.

Berenji's project reimagines Strip Weathers, the character fans know as "The King," before he earned that nickname. The story is set in the 1980s with a cast of NASCAR-inspired vehicles rendered in detailed 3D.

Cars Prequel Centers On Strip Weathers

The film tracks a younger Strip Weathers, the character built on NASCAR legend Richard Petty, in the years before Radiator Springs and before Lightning McQueen ever showed up on his radar. Berenji's take puts him on dirt and asphalt alongside rivals who would later shape his legend.

Anchoring the story is Toni Jo Torque, an original character billed as "The Queen," a five-time champion who mentors both Weathers and a young Chick Hicks. She has no equivalent in the official films.

A place called Copper Canyon Speedway anchors the scenes, while a bowling alley and an ice cream parlor serve up a fictional treat called frozen coolant and help round out the world-building. They're period-appropriate touches for a decade the original Cars universe backstory never fully explored.

Berenji has said he wants to keep expanding the roster. "I'm hoping there's room for a David Pearson-based character as well," he said, pointing to one of stock car racing's most decorated drivers as a possible future addition to the cast.

NASCAR Icons Help Shape Designs

The clearest connection to real racing history shows up in the livery work. A character modeled on Dale Earnhardt carries the number three and a black paint scheme, a direct nod to the Intimidator's signature Chevrolet from his Richard Childress Racing years.

Young Chick Hicks gets the bigger visual swap. Instead of the green paint audiences remember from the first Cars film story, his prequel version wears a red-and-gold scheme lifted from Bill Elliott's Coors-sponsored No. 9 Ford Thunderbird, one of the most recognizable paint jobs of that NASCAR era.

The original feature trilogy ran from 2006 through sequels in 2011 and 2017, and Pixar still has no Cars 4 on its theatrical slate. But the universe has carried on through shorts and the Cars on the Road series on Disney+. A new Cars: Lightning Racers series from Disney Television Animation, made in association with Pixar, debuts on Disney Junior in 2027 before streaming on Disney+.

Berenji's film now sits alongside an expanding official canon instead of filling a dormant gap.

More From Pixar:

Pixar’s Radiator Springs Is Real, And It’s Hiding in Arizona

Porsche 911 Sally Carrera Edition Brings The Pixar Cars Character To Life

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