Carson Hocevar shocked everyone when he and Spire Motorsports decided to run the Chili’s Marg Machine paint scheme at Darlington this year. The paint scheme directly reflects the legacy left behind by none other than Dale Earnhardt, someone that Hocevar has been compared to lately for his aggression and driving style. But as he went one step further to drive the race in the same paint scheme amid fans’ objections, he finally came clean on it.

Hocevar raced with the #77 Chili’s Marg Machine paint scheme, the same yellow and light blue paint with which Earnhardt drove the #3 Richard Childress Racing’s Wrangler Chevrolet. Speaking to Matt Weaver in the post-race interview, Hocevar mentioned how he was under a lot of pressure to deliver the same ride.

“I wanted to put the pressure on a lot of this game with Chilis, and everybody they deserve good runs, and they put a lot into this. They put a lot of this program in; they changed all the guidelines to do this. But there’s a lot of pressure when you run this scheme, in my opinion. So, just wanted to give it a shot and mission accomplished.”

Following this, he reflected on his day and how he was able to make the most of it with the racing package he had for Darlington. Hocevar started the race from the 16th, but came home in an impressive fourth place.

“I didn’t think it was too big of a difference for me, but it seemed like [for] everybody [it] was a big difference for a lot of people, which I’m all for. I felt like we kind of hit it. So yeah, it would make sense while I’m like, it’s a little different but it’s not huge, where obviously I felt like it was easier for me to pass because everybody else’s stuff was driving really bad.”

Notably, Carson Hocevar and Spire Motorsports’ decision to use the paint scheme was regarded as misuse and disrespectful by a section of fans. They argued that the scheme was given to a driver who is yet to win a race in the Cup Series, whereas Earnhardt won seven championships.

Moreover, Earnhardt’s paint scheme came with “Jeans Machine” at the back of his car, which Chili’s and Spire removed and put Marg Machine, something the fans questioned and felt was a mockery of a classic historic paint scheme.

With this, the fans also mentioned that the 1981 paint scheme was used to gain attention and was inappropriate to have been used in Carson Hocevar’s car. While fans had their say, Chili’s revealed why they chose the #77 driver for the same.

Carson Hocevar’s sponsor revealed why it chose the Spire man

Carson Hocevar’s Darlington paint scheme was sponsored by Chili’s® Grill & Bar, one of Spire Motorsports’ leading sponsors. Speaking to Taylor Kitchen on X, Chili’s Director of Media, Tim Forman, stated that the comparison of Dale Earnhardt to Hocevar was what made them consider the same.

“Last year, we noticed the chatter comparing Carson’s driving style to a young Dale Earnhardt, and it’s only grown louder as big names in the sport make the comparison,” Forman said. “Given the discussion, we wanted to honor Dale’s legacy, using his 1981 paint scheme as the inspiration for what we’re calling the Marg Machine. Spire and Carson were all in, and we hope fans enjoy seeing the iconic blue and yellow on track again.”

Lately, many have considered the 23-year-old the closest thing to ‘The Intimidator.’ This is because of the incidents where he has raced hard and made contact and been unapologetic about it.

Notably, leading NASCAR figures such as Richard Petty, the driver with 200 Cup wins to his name, also compared Hocevar to Dale Earnhardt. He stated that Hocevar and Earnhardt have similar aggressive driving styles and are unapologetic about their moves on track.

However, Carson Hocevar stated that he wants to be himself and does not want to imitate the Intimidator, to be like Dale Earnhardt.