The restaurant brand continues to shine a spotlight on its iconic Presidente Margarita® through its standout NASCAR presence
DALLAS, Feb. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chili’s® Grill & Bar returns to the track March 1 in Austin, Texas, and it’s bringing Ride the ‘Dente™ along for more high-speed circuits with Spire Motorsports and driver Carson Hocevar.
Chili’s sells more margaritas than any restaurant brand in the U.S., nearly 30 million in 2025 alone, and the iconic Presidente, or ‘Dente, is one of the most popular. A menu staple since 1994, the ‘Dente features reposado tequila, brandy, orange liqueur and is served alongside its famous blue shaker, giving guests the opportunity to pour seemingly endless margaritas.
And the ‘Dente isn’t just a delicious margarita; it’s now become the rallying cry for Hocevar’s fans.
Appearing on Hocevar’s No. 77 Chevrolet ZL1 in 2025, “Ride the ‘Dente” is how Chili’s re-introduced the Presidente to the racing crowd, launching the brand’s first country music video before bringing its mechanical marg shaker ride to the Boulevard in the infield at Talladega Superspeedway. The off-track pieces accompanied one of the season’s fan-favorite car and firesuit designs. The car featured western flourishes and a custom Ride the ‘Dente logo, while the firesuit turned heads with a personalized Texas-sized belt buckle detail, faux denim jeans and a western, button-down motif.
“We love how fans have taken the campaign and made it a rallying cry for hard racing or a way to say they’re headed to Chili’s for margs and Triple Dippers,” said Chili’s Director of Media, Tim Forman. “This year, we’re making a few updates, starting with an intimidating black-and-white design and black suit, to reflect the mentality Carson brings to the track and give fans another reason to yell or post ‘Ride the Dente’.”
This newest ‘Dente car design is a classic black, white and red with the return of the recognizable Ride the ‘Dente logo and the addition of pepper vines crawling across the top and sides, a homage to Chili’s founder Larry Lavine and the fashion sense he displayed in the early days of the 50-year-old restaurant brand. The Chili’s firesuit gets an outlaw edit to its western-theme with a black faux button-down, jeans, and boot design, pepper vine flourishes, a Spire bolo tie and an updated version of the Texas-sized Ride the ‘Dente belt buckle detail. And as always, Chili’s is honoring the hardworking teams that bring the Chili’s experience to life every day, using the names of the nearly 1,100 general managers at corporate-owned Chili’s restaurants to make up the pepper logos on the doors.
“Chili’s set the bar last year with the Ride the ‘Dente scheme and firesuit,” said Hocevar. “This year they’ve outdone themselves with the full look. I don’t think you’ll find another car or campaign in the garage that is as detailed and unique as this one. Every little thing has been thought out and it’s really cool to be able to represent a brand I love in the sport I love. I hope everyone enjoys seeing the black-and-white Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente Chevy on track, and when we take it to Victory Lane, they can join us at the nearest Chili’s for some margs and Triple Dippers.”
The race weekend at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) kickstarts a multi-year partnership extension for Chili’s to stay on the No. 77 with Hocevar. The Ride the ‘Dente No. 77 Chevy will be on track throughout the COTA race weekend, culminating Sunday, March 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX with 95 laps on the 17-turn road course.
Race fans in the Austin area have a chance to see Hocevar and the No. 77 Ride the ‘Dente Chevy on track both Saturday and Sunday of race weekend. For Chili’s guests who aren’t in Austin, the opportunity to Ride the ‘Dente always exists on the menu at their local Chili’s.
About Chili’s® Grill & Bar
Hi, welcome to Chili’s! A proud leader in the casual dining industry and the flagship brand of Dallas-based Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE: EAT), Chili’s was named Ad Age’s 2025 Brand of the Year. Founded in 1975, Chili’s is known for serving Big Mouth Burgers®, Crispy Chicken Crispers®, and sizzling fajitas, while hand-shaking more margaritas than any other restaurant brand in the United States. Chili’s operates 1,600 restaurants in 29 countries and two territories with over 70,000 team members. With a purpose to make everyone feel special, Chiliheads take food, drink and service seriously – but not themselves. Chili’s was a proud winner at the 2025 MenuMasters Awards for Best New Menu Item for Nashville Hot Mozz, the breakout addition to the social media-famous Triple Dipper. For more than 20 years, Chili’s has been a proud supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and has raised more than $120 million for the organization through generous guest and team member donations. Find more information at chilis.com, follow on X or Instagram, like on Facebook, or join Chili’s on TikTok.
About Spire Motorsports
Spire Motorsports fields full-time entries in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series and High Limit Racing.
The team, co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executive Jeff Dickerson and TWG Motorsports CEO Dan Towriss, earned its inaugural NASCAR Cup Series victory in its first full season of competition when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway on July 7, 2019. Less than three years later, William Byron drove Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado to its inaugural NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series win on April 7, 2022, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The team’s most recent win came on May 30, 2025, when Rajah Caruth took the checkered flag in the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.
In 2026, Spire Motorsports will campaign the Nos. 7, 71 and 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s in the NASCAR Cup Series and the Nos. 7 and 77 Chevrolet Silverado RSTs in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. The Mooresville, N.C., organization will also field the No. 77 410 sprint car in Interstate Batteries High Limit Racing competition.
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SOURCE Chili’s Grill & Bar
