NASCAR 2026: Carson Hocevar to run Dale Earnhardt tribute scheme at Darlington as comparisons continue

Well, you can't accuse the kid of shying away from a challenge.

Carson Hocevar and his NASCAR sponsors have seen the young Spire Motorsports star being compared to Dale Earnhardt by some of the sport's legends, and are leaning into the idea.

The blue and yellow scheme that Hocevar will run at Darlington this weekend resembles Earnhardt's Wrangler schemes from all the way back in 1981, replicating the number font and the chevron across the hood.

The young driver spoke last month about being compared to the racing hero, admitting: "I take it as a massive compliment, you know, from Richard Petty, Kyle Petty, Dale Jr., all of them making comparisons. I’m appreciative of that. I would like to just have half the success any of those guys did.”

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Hocevar: It's a privilege to honor Dale's legacy

Chili’s Director of Media Tim Forman said of the paint scheme: “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.

"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.”

Hocevar himself hailed the work put into the design, saying: “Chili’s always knocks it out of the park with their suit and car designs, and the Marg Machine is no different. Everyone at Chili’s and Spire put in a lot of work to get the car as close to the original as possible, and they did a great job."

Even the fire suit design matches the blue jean and suede vest look that Earnhardt wore in promotional images at the time.

"We’ve had bold suits in the past," Hocevar said, "but this might be one of my favorites. It’s truly a privilege to honor Dale’s legacy on Alumni Weekend down in Darlington, and hopefully we can give him and all the folks from Chili’s a great run on Sunday.”