Spire Motorsports has announced a major partnership with Chili’s for Carson Hocevar ahead of the 2026 Cup Series season. On Tuesday, January 13, the NASCAR team issued a press release, sharing the details of the partnership for the #77 Chevy.
The partnership began as a 1-2 race deal and has now grown into a major sponsorship for the team. The Cup Series team revealed that the restaurant chain not only sponsors the #77 Chevy but also the High Limit sprint car and dirt model project. This year, Chili’s will debut in the Circuit of the Americas race and will sponsor the #77 Chevy in multiple events.
Reflecting on the news, Carson Hocevar expressed his excitement to run with the restaurant’s logo on his ride again. He said:
“The team at Chili’s has really become students of the game. 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,” he added.
Carson Hocevar made his full-time Cup Series debut with Spire Motorsports in 2024 and clinched the Rookie of the Year title. Following that, he secured two runner-up finishes at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway in the 2025 season.
“I’ve Been Analyzing Racing Since I Was 4”: When Carson Hocevar Rejected Criticism on His Driving Style With a Bold Defense
During the 2025 Nashville race, Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar was involved in a heated incident with Hyak Motorsports driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. His last-minute maneuver led to his career-best finish while sabotaging Stenhouse Jr.’s chances to advance to the playoffs.
However, the tension between the two was not over, and Hocevar again spun Jr. during the Mexico race. This time, the Hyak Motorsports driver confronted the #77 Chevy driver and threatened him. This led to massive backlash for the Spire Motorsports driver, and fans even called him a reckless driver.
Following that, Carson Hocevar appeared on the ’12 Question’ interview with Jeff Gluck and defended himself. Hocevar told Gluck:
“I think the consensus is, ‘He doesn’t try. He doesn’t put in any effort. He just shows up.’ I feel like I do. I’ve been alive for 22 years, and I’ve been analyzing racing since I was 4… Now I’ve done this long enough that I can show up ‘blind,’ but I’m not actually blind. I’ve got so many years of watching and studying.”
Carson Hocevar finished the 2025 season in P23, bagging 702 points in his #77 Chevy Camaro ZL1. He clinched two top-five finishes, nine top-10 finishes, and one pole position at Texas Motor Speedway. Hocevar led 122 laps with an average start of 17.639.
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