Tex

**Tex** is the current owner of Dinoco which is the biggest brand in the Piston Cup. Tex is well respected among the racers and the teams, and he serves as a very welcoming car to all that know him.

## Bio

"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 single handedly turned Dinoco from one tiny oil well into the largest oil empire in the world."

## Background

Tex inherited the CEO title of the Dinoco company in 1975. Even back then, the company was well established and already had representation in the Piston Cup through The King's team. Tex had big shoes to fill, but fortunately for the well-being of the company, he played all of his cards perfectly. Tex, The King, and Mrs. The King had mutual respect for each other. Tex could have replaced The King with a younger, faster car, but he never could do something like that to his longtime supporter and friend. After all, The King had been part of the company longer than Tex himself. Because of this, Tex and The King's remained close friends for decades.

When The King announced his retirement in the 2006 season, Tex wished him all the best and wanted to find a worthy replacement. Together, after the three-way tie at the Motor Speedway of the South, the two calculated a plan on how to find a good successor. The King would go around giving advice to the other racers they felt were worthy of the Dinoco sponsorship, and then they would see who would listen to the advice at the tie-breaker race in California. Tex had his eye on Chick Hicks and Lightning McQueen so The King told Chick to play fair and not to worry about coming in second place, and he told McQueen to get himself a good crew chief and a good team. Judging by the results of the tie-breaker race at the Los Angeles International Speedway, clearly Lightning McQueen listened to the advice more than Chick Hicks as he went above and beyond Tex and The King's expectations. Unfortunately for Tex, McQueen turned down the sponsorship because he wanted to keep his existing sponsor and team. With both options out, Tex was unsure of what to do. Then, The King told Tex about one other car who would be worthy of the brand. It turned out, during the course of finding a replacement, The King had been getting compliments from fellow racer, Junior, who was unaware of Tex's plan. After realizing how much Junior looked up to The King as a mentor, Tex only saw fit that he become The King's successor.

Since then, the Dinoco Oil Company has remained successful thanks to the great leadership of Tex. To this day, he still regrets that he wasn't able to convince Lightning McQueen to become his racer, but he understands why McQueen made the choice he did and respects his wishes. Fortunately for Tex, there was eventually one time McQueen was without a sponsor. In 2011, there was an international race called the World Grand Prix in which Lightning McQueen and Doc Hudson were invited to participate. At first McQueen declined the offer, but later accepted after finding out that Doc accepted the invitation behind his back. McQueen's old friends and sponsors, Rusty and Dusty had already been approached by Doc Hudson to be his sponsor in McQueen's absence. So, without McQueen not having a sponsor, Tex stepped right in and for once successfully recruited Lightning McQueen to race for him.

## Trivia

* Tex's name comes from the state he's from, Texas