Tex Dinoco

Tex Dinoco is the team owner and talent scout of the Dinoco racing team, having been the creator of the most successful and popular oil product in the world. He appears in Cars and Cars 3, as well as the comic, Looking for Lightning.
==History==
===Cars===
In Cars, Tex is first seen driving alongside Strip and Lynda Weathers, complimenting The King on his racing. He is later present during Lightning's daydream, where he awards Lightning with the coveted Dinoco sponsorship and paint job.
Later, while Lightning is working on the road in Radiator Springs, he hears a report on Lizzie's radio about Chick Hicks' arrival at the Los Angeles International Speedway which leads him into a daydream about Tex giving Chick the Dinoco sponsor. Wanting to prevent this from happening, McQueen rushes the road's completion, but the town's residents make him tear it up and start over due to its poor quality.
At the tie-breaker race in Los Angeles, Tex and Lynda are inside one of the indoor booths above the stands, cheering on The King. In the final lap, they watch in horror as Hicks takes Weathers out of the race by performing a PIT maneuver on him, causing Weathers to fly out in the field, resulting in a large amount of damage much to his shock and concern.
However, Tex watches with pride as Lightning gives up his victory and backs up to help The King finish the final race of his career. After the race, despite Chick being the winner (who is later kicked off the stage by the angry fans who were upset by his poor sportsmanship), Tex instead offers the Dinoco sponsorship to McQueen for his good sportsmanship. McQueen politely rejects the offer, preferring to stick with his Rust-eze sponsors, but is able to get his best friend Mater a ride in Rotor Turbosky, Dinoco's helicopter.
Tex highly approved of McQueen's integrity in turning him down in addition to his sportsmanship and remained on good terms with him for years, with McQueen free to address him on a first name basis.
===Cars 3===
In Cars 3, Tex appears in the beginning of the film after the third race congratulating McQueen on his win with Cal on his side. He jokingly recommends McQueen to join team Dinoco to replace Cal which Cal responds with that he is right next to Tex with Tex just stating that he's joking. At the end of the film, Tex gives Cruz Ramirez the Dinoco sponsorship, replacing the retired Cal Weathers. Tex also buys Rust-eze from Sterling, so now Cruz and Lightning both race for him.
===Other appearances===
Tex also appears in the comic, Looking for Lightning in which he comes to Radiator Springs to invite Lightning to a charity Piston Cup race, only to find out that he went on a drive with Sally. He and Sheriff set out to look for them and find them up by Tailfin Pass.
==General information==
===Physical description===
Tex is a 1975 Cadillac Coupe De Ville. His license plate reads Dinoco. The performance stats are:
Top speed is 115 mph (185 km/h) with no governor/limiter. Engine is a 500 cu in (8.2 L) OHV V8, with a horsepower of 190, and transmission is a 3-speed TH-400 automatic. His 0-60 time is also 12.5 seconds.
Tex is painted gold, with chrome trim(s), and a cow roof. He also has chrome rims and bumpers. He sports a pair of Texas longhorns on his front grille.
===Personality and traits===
Tex is kind and shows care towards the Piston Cup racers, particularly the King and Lightning McQueen. However, he dislikes cheating, particularly Chick Hicks, and likes good sportsmanship as he offered to give McQueen the Dinoco sponsorship instead of Chick Hicks. This was due to McQueen's good sportsmanship when he purposefully decided to lose the race just so the King could finish his last race, having learned the lesson of friendship and helping others.
==List of appearances==
*Cars
*Looking for Lightning
*Cars Daredevil Garage
*Cars 3
==Official profiles==
===Car Finder Game===
*Tex has been Dinoco's team owner and talent scout for over 20 years. Sure, he's a smooth-talker from the Lone Star State, but he's also a genuine guy with a big heart. He knows it takes more than flash and big talk to win -- it takes loyalty, smarts and a lot of hard work. And Tex ought to know; he started Dinoco with just one tiny oil well, and now he runs the largest oil empire in the world.
===Meet the Cars (2008)===
*Tex has been Dinoco's team owner and talent scout for more than twenty years. Sure, he's a smooth talker from the Lone Star State, but he's also a genuine guy with a big heart. He knows it takes more than flash and big talk to win — it takes loyalty, smarts, and a lot of hard work. And Tex ought to know; he started Dinoco with just one tiny oil well. Now he runs the largest oil empire in the world.
===Meet the Cars (2017)===
*Ever since Lightning McQueen was the hottest rookie sensation blazing up the racetrack, iconic Dinoco team owner Tex has been in pursuit to see the iconic number 95 in his Dinoco blue. He asks McQueen every chance he gets, even in front of Tex's current Dinoco racer, Cal. Psst, Cal, he's not kidding.
==Gallery==
TexDinocoandDinocoLightningMcQueenCars.jpg|Cars
TexDinocoCars12.jpg|Cars
Cars-disneyscreencaps.com-12280.jpg|Cars
Cars-disneyscreencaps.com-12487.jpg|Cars
Cars-disneyscreencaps.com-12558.jpg|Cars
Tex and Cal.png|Cars 3
Tex, Strip and Cal Wheathers.png|Cars 3
Cruz Ramirez -6.png|Cars 3
Tow Mater -6.png|Cars 3
Tex Dinoco -3.png|Cars 3
Texx.jpg|Tex, new owner of Rust-eze Racing Center and Rust-eze
Tex Dinoco die-cast.jpg|Diecast
File:Td07.jpg|2007 Release
Tex dinoco world of cars single.jpg|2008 release
File:Tex Dinoco's 2009 release.jpg|2009 release
File:Tex Dinoco's 2012 release.jpg|2012 release
File:Mrs king tex dinoco.jpg|2013 release (with Mrs. The King)
File:Tex dinoco cars 2015 single - dinoco.jpg|2015 release
File:Tex dinoco cars 2016 single - dinoco daydream.jpg|2016 release
File:Tex Dinoco's 2017 release.jpg|2017 release
Tex dinoco blue desert single - dinoco daydream.jpg|2020 release
Tex dinoco cars 2021 single.jpg|2021 release 
Tex dinoco cars 2022 single.jpg|2022 release
File:Bling Bling LMQ and Tex Dinoco 2025 release.jpeg|2025 Release (with Bling Bling Lightning McQueen)
Mini racer tex.jpg|Mini Racer
==Names in other languages==
*Japanese: テックス・ダイナコ
*Lithuanian: Teksas Dainokas
*Russian:
**Тэкс Диноко (transcription: Teks Dinoko)
**Тех (transcription: Tekh)
*Ukrainian: Тех (transcription: Tekh)
==Trivia==
*There is a character in Heavy Metal Mater named Dex, who is identical to Tex and is the owner of Dinoco Records. It's unknown if he is related to Tex or not.
**However, Mel is a different Cadillac model, an Eldorado.
*Tex's first name is a reference to his home (Texas) and strong Texan dialect.
**It could also be a reference to THX's mascot of the same name (who Pixar also created).
*Depending on the diecast, Tex would have green eyes, although his eyes are blue.
*It is still likely that if Strip Weathers won the tiebreaker or the Dinoco 400, Tex wouldn’t offer Dinoco to Chick Hicks due to the fact that he is still playing dirty, and would offer it to someone else instead.
==Quotes==
*"Ooh-ee! That was one close finish. You sure made Dinoco proud. Thank you, King." - Cars
*"Ha Ha, look at that boy out there!" - Cars''
*"Hey Lightnin' how bout comin' over here and talkin' to me for a minute. Son that was some real racing out there. How'd you like to become the new face of Dinoco?" - Cars
*"C'mon King make us proud boy." - Cars''
*"Lightnin' there's a whole lot more to racin' than just winnin'." - Cars
*"Well, I sure can respect that. Still ya know if there's ever anything I can do for ya just lemme know." - Cars
*"Just say the word and... I'll boot Cal off the Dinoco team and replace him with you." - Cars 3
*"Come on now. I'm joking." - Cars 3
*"Well then, race for me!" - Cars 3
*"Miss Cruz, I would be tickled pink to have you race for Team Dinoco. As you know, we have a long history of great racers... 'cept for Cal." - Cars 3
*"Ahem! Hey, Sterling, why don't you and I take a drive and talk... billionaire to billionaire..." - Cars 3
*"I made that Sterling fella a Texas-sized offer!" - Cars 3
==References==
Category:Cars characters
Category:Cars 3 characters
Category:Comic characters
Category:Playable characters
Category:Cars Daredevil Garage characters
Category:Cadillac
Category:Businesspeople
Category:Dinoco
Category:Rust-eze
Category:Magazine models
de:Tex
es:Tex Dinoco
pl:Tex Dinoco
pt-br:Tex Dinoco
ru:Тех Диноко
Category:Vintage cars
Category:The King fans
Category:Lightning McQueen fans
Category:Radiator Springs townies
Category:Race Fans
Category:Cruz Ramirez fans
Category:Male characters
Category:Characters with whitewall tires