Hocevar to Ride the 'Dente For Years to Come With Multi-Year Extension

Chili's Grill & Bar has extended its partnership with Carson Hocevar and the No. 77 Spire Motorsports team in a multi-year deal beginning in 2026.

Chili's will return as a multi-race primary sponsor for Carson Hocevar and the No. 77 Spire Motorsports team in 2026 and beyond. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Chili's Grill & Bar, which worked its way into the heads of NASCAR fans last season with its catchy 'Ride the 'Dente' country music video ad campaign, will keep that energy rolling in 2026 and beyond. On Tuesday, Spire Motorsports announced the team has reached a multi-year contract extension with Chili's, which will keep the brand as a primary sponsorship partner of Carson Hocevar for years to come.

Hocevar, the driver of the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series, will carry the Chili's colors and logos for the first time in 2026 at Circuit of the Americas, a picturesque road course in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, March 1.

Along with the advertising campaign, the Ride the 'Dente paint scheme, and unique blue-jeans firesuit design, Hocevar feels that Chili's has the how to maximize its impact in the NASCAR space figured out.

“The team at Chili’s has really become students of the game,” said Hocevar. “I think the Ride the ‘Dente look was one of the cleanest and most iconic schemes of the season, and it feels like we’re becoming one of the most talked about team and partner relationships in the garage. I'm really excited to build on that in 2026. Every race we were in the Chili's colors, we were really fast, and our plan is to give back to their commitment by getting them a lot of TV time up front, and hopefully, in Victory Lane.”

Chili's has enjoyed its partnership with Spire and Hocevar so far, and the company is elated to attempt to push the envelope together more in 2026.

“Our partnership with Spire Motorsports continues to grow as we see excitement build at the track and with race fans across the country,” said Chili’s Director of Media Tim Forman. “We both take our business seriously but are eager to embrace opportunities to have fun and show up in unexpected ways together. Last season, Carson took it to a new level, giving fans an authentic reason to connect with Ride the ‘Dente, and we can’t wait to continue that push this year.”

Over the last several seasons, Spire Motorsports has grown from an also-ran in the NASCAR Cup Series to being a three-car organization on the cusp of collecting multiple victories in NASCAR's top division. The Spire team is prideful in the fact that Chili's feels their vision of collecting wins, and competing for championships in the NASCAR Cup Series is realistic enough to warrant their investment into the racing program.

“I am infinitely thankful for the relationship Spire Motorsports has built with Chili’s,” said Spire Motorsports Co-Owner Jeff Dickerson. “From what started as a one- or two-race opportunity, to where we find ourselves in 2026 is a true testament to Chili’s commitment to this platform. We’ve built a solid NASCAR Cup Series program with Carson (Hocevar) and our No. 77 team and expanded the relationship to connect with our High Limit sprint car team and dirt late model project. We’ve had a pit road seat to their story too, so we truly appreciate how Chili’s has re-emerged as the go-to, casual dining destination across the country. We’re more than proud Chili’s has joined us on our mission to win races and compete for championships. We’ve enjoyed so much to this point and still have much to accomplish.”

Hocevar, 22, was the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year. To date, the native of Portage, MI, has accumulated three top-five finishes, two of which came in 2025, and 15 top-10s over 81 career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series. Hocevar has finished 21st and 23rd, respectively, in the championship standings in 2024 and 2025. The driver, who led 122 laps last season, will look to break through to victory lane in the upcoming campaign.