News broke Wednesday that Cleetus McFarland will race part-time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He will man a car for Richard Childress Racing for three races, starting at Rockingham.
Already there’s been significant pushback on NASCAR for its approval process. Freddie Kraft, a spotter for Bubba Wallace in the Cup Series, expressed his dismay at Cleetus getting cleared.
But just as shortly thereafter, Cleetus McFarland punched back. He’s not worried about the criticism.
“I think being a YouTuber for so long, like I’ve just had everything in the world said about me,” McFarland said on the Dale Jr. Download. “I expect way more. When I went into drag racing, I was the class clown. They all thought I was a joke because of the way I had my car set up and the way we ran it. It was a joke.”
This feels different for Cleetus McFarland, who is just beginning to get his feet wet behind the wheel of some very powerful racecars. He explained.
“I think right now I’m the rookie and people can say whatever they want,” he said. “But when I keep coming back every time and they realize that their words don’t affect me time and time again they’re going to run out of breath. Because as long as I’m having fun, I’m going to keep showing up at these NASCAR races. Whether I’m in ARCA, Truck or O’Reilly’s, their words on Facebook will not change the fact that I’m going to come back and try again as long as I’m having fun.”
Cleetus McFarland doesn’t have much experience. He has four starts in the ARCA Menards Series and one at Daytona this year in the Truck Series. He’s set to run a part-time ARCA schedule in 2026 with Rette Jones Racing.
Now he’s got the opportunity with RCR. It’s a big one. Not everyone is sure he’s ready.
“Crash at the Rockingham truck test. Crash Lap 5 of your only truck start. Good enough for me. Approved,” Kraft wrote on Twitter. “I don’t blame Cleetus one bit. We’d all jump at the chance to just show up and get approved.”
Now it’ll be on Cleetus McFarland to prove he can play the part. It won’t be easy.