This was Paul Newman's last American feature film before his death of lung cancer in 2008. It turned out to be the highest-grossing movie of his career. George Carlin died of heart failure three months earlier. This was the highest-grossing film of his career as well.
Even with a farm of computers that ran four times faster than the ones used for Gli Incredibili - Una 'normale' famiglia di supereroi (2004), and 1,000 times faster than the ones used for Toy Story - Il mondo dei giocattoli (1995), each frame of this movie took an average of 17 processor hours to render.
The production wanted to use a little-known version of the song "Route 66" by Chuck Berry, which had appeared on the B-side of one of his singles. They approached Berry's record company, who didn't know anything about such a version. After they trawled through their record vaults, they realized that Pixar was right.
The Doc Hudson character is based on real-life NASCAR pioneer Herb Thomas, who drove Hudson Hornets to Grand National championships in 1951 and 1953. He was beaten out for the title in 1954 by Lee Petty, father of Richard Petty ("The King"). Crashes in 1955 and 1956 effectively ended Thomas' career.
Paul Newman considered his performance as Doc to be the best he'd done since Il verdetto (1982). Newman was known as a skilled racecar driver, owner, and enthusiast.
Larry the Cable Guy: [catchphrases] During the final race, Mater says "Git-R-Done," Larry's most famous line. "I don't care who you are, that's funny right there," said during the tractor tipping scene, is another of Larry's famous lines.
Tom Magliozzi, Ray Magliozzi: [catchphrase] The Rust-eze sponsors each send Lightning off with a warning: "Don't drive like my brother!" This is the sign-off phrase for the popular NPR radio show "Car Talk", hosted by "Click and Clack", who also voice the sponsors.
Michael Keaton: Voice of the security guard who yells "Hey, no cameras" during the instant replay sequence after the first race. He did this voice cameo, as well as voicing Chick Hicks.