The YouTuber Garrett Mitchell, better known by his alias “Cleetus McFarland,” was on a call with reporters this week when he was asked how closely he had monitored the social media criticism surrounding his accelerated foray into NASCAR.

It turns out he’d seen most of it, if not all of it. After all, Mitchell noted, a YouTuber must live on social media as much as journalists do.

“My job is probably more similar to yours than closer to the drivers,” he said.

And yet, unlike those staring back at him on the Zoom session, Mitchell will be much closer to the drivers Saturday when he makes his debut in NASCAR’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series — the equivalent of Triple-A baseball, one level below NASCAR’s premier Cup Series — at the challenging Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina.

The 30-year-old’s sudden emergence in NASCAR has sparked everything from fascination to excitement, skepticism to scorn — seemingly all at once.

Mitchell’s massive audience — 4.7 million YouTube subscribers, 3.1 million followers on Facebook and another 1.6 million on Instagram — gives him “a stronger following than any Cup driver in NASCAR,” as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin said in a recent video.

And in a sport based on sponsorship dollars to fund expensive race cars, where drivers often have to bring their own money to secure a seat, the idea of an attention-grabbing YouTube personality behind the wheel was attractive for his new team, Richard Childress Racing. The longtime home for the late Dale Earnhardt Sr., RCR secured sponsorship from Tommy’s Express Car Wash to back Mitchell’s ride — and give him a $1 salary, making him a paid driver rather than one who buys a ride.

“We would only want to do this if you can stay original to who you are,” RCR’s Ty Dillon said of his pitch to McFarland. “We wouldn’t want this to take you off of who Cleetus is, what your channel is and what makes you fun. And if we’re not having fun doing this whole project, we’re failing.”

Mitchell’s channel is fun, but his YouTube videos aren’t something totally unrelated to NASCAR. For more than a decade, he’s made a career out of automotive content, often using the skills that could come in handy for his new NASCAR venture.

While making videos, Mitchell has developed extensive experience drag racing, drifting, racing Crown Victorias, high-performance boating and piloting aircraft — as well as a variety of stunts that defy simple explanation. His skills have impressed the likes of pro race car drivers, many of whom have become his friends and have participated in Mitchell’s events.

Cup driver Ryan Preece, a longtime fan of Mitchell’s who recently recorded a video with him drafting Crown Vics at Talladega Superspeedway, cited the YouTube star’s ability to top 261 mph down a quarter-mile drag strip.

“Listen, he’s a wheelman,” Preece said. “Don’t let him fool you by any means.”

The biggest believer in the NASCAR world was retired driver Greg Biffle, who hit it off with Mitchell immediately after they met. Biffle quickly became a trusted friend and mentor who guided Mitchell toward stock car racing; they were two peas in a pod and even flew helicopter rescue missions together in the North Carolina mountains after Hurricane Helene.

But in December, tragedy struck. Biffle and his family were on their way to visit Mitchell in Florida when Biffle’s plane crashed — killing the driver, his wife, two children, a friend and two pilots. The devastated Mitchell confirmed the news on social media and later gave a tearful eulogy at Biffle’s memorial service.

In that sense, the NASCAR journey marks a continuation of something his friend wanted to see him do. But Mitchell’s entry into NASCAR’s national series got off to a rough start in February.

Upon making his Craftsman Truck Series debut — NASCAR’s equivalent of Double-A baseball — at Daytona International Speedway, Mitchell lost control of his truck and crashed by himself after completing just five laps. It drew a harsh spotlight from some in NASCAR who felt the incident showed Mitchell wasn’t ready to compete at a professional level and shouldn’t have been approved by NASCAR’s licensing committee to participate.

“If I was NASCAR, I wouldn’t be worried about making content and making clicks and how can we put him in front of the camera and how can we make a YouTube video that gets two million views — I wouldn’t worry about that s—t,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said afterward on his “Dale Jr. Download” podcast. “I would be making him a race car driver.”

But the criticism only grew louder when Mitchell and RCR suddenly announced on March 4 that he would already be moving up to the second-tier O’Reilly Series — beginning with Saturday’s race. RCR signed Mitchell to a two-year deal that will see him run three races per season.

The idea is to race on the superspeedways — Daytona and Talladega — which are wide and allow drivers to draft in large packs. Although dangerous, fewer racing skills are required to drive on those tracks because drivers never take their foot off the gas pedal.

Even though Mitchell would like to run the Talladega race later this month, there’s a hitch: He’s not yet allowed to do so. NASCAR’s approval process means he first must run a short track in the O’Reilly Series and perform competently enough to earn officials’ trust for Talladega, which means there are real stakes for Mitchell’s performance Saturday.

To prepare, RCR has gone all in. It funded a full-day test session at Rockingham — which Mitchell, of course, documented in a fascinating, behind-the-scenes YouTube video — and has given him simulator time with some of its drivers.

“The plan is to grow Cleetus in the sport,” Dillon said. “We believe with the resources that RCR has that we can take his inexperience but surround him with confidence and people who care and want to push him to get the best out of himself and get to that goal.”

But the critics who view Mitchell’s entry as premature include even RCR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch, who said Mitchell lacks the requisite experience to race at such a high level of NASCAR.

“My son has probably run more races than he has, and he’s 10 years old,” Busch said. “So I don’t think that sits well with many of us.”

Cup Series drivers who were asked about Mitchell last week said he should have the most modest goals possible: Finish the race and stay out of trouble. Earnhardt, who has been advising Mitchell, also said as much on his podcast this week.

“Run all the laps,” two-time Southern 500 winner Chase Briscoe said. “In a perfect world, you need to not be more than a lap or two down (from the leaders). You can’t go there and be 10 laps down. Especially in an RCR car.

“He’s going to be part of the conversation just because of who he is, but try to be out of the conversation on the racetrack.”

Mitchell is on board with the low-key expectations for his performance, but said he can sense the external pressure more than other races he’s done, specifically because of his early Daytona crash.

“This sport has a ton of scrutiny,” he said. “Everyone is at each other’s throats. Like, you make one mistake, and it gets pretty chaotic. I don’t have the driver skill to back up and prove these people wrong.”

Until he can show it on the track, Mitchell said his message to NASCAR fans is this: “Just know that I am not trying to wedge my way into this sport and show the world anyone can do it. I’m simply here to enjoy the sport and go turn left with a bunch of other people who love turning left.”

Meeting a skeptical crowd has been an adjustment for Mitchell, who is used to bringing his audience with him wherever he goes and performing in front of a wildly supportive crowd. Many NASCAR fans haven’t seen Mitchell’s videos nor know the origins of his Cleetus persona.

In 2015, as an on-the-spot joke between friends, he filmed a video in character — introduced for the first time by an off-camera interviewer as “Cleetus McFarland,” a race car driver who loves America and Chevrolet.

“This here vehicle was built in America, and so was I,” Mitchell said as McFarland.

The video blew up, and Mitchell ended up sticking with the persona to the point where he now prefers people call him “Cleetus” instead of “Garrett.” He’s a man who believes in making shirts sleeveless, purchased baldeagle.com and bought an abandoned racetrack in Florida to rename it the “Freedom Factory.” The popular venue now hosts races and serves as a giant filming ground for his content.

Next weekend’s annual “Freedom 500,” for example, features an assortment of pro drivers, celebrities and fellow YouTubers. He’ll be greeted by an adoring crowd, many of whom will be watching Saturday’s race as new NASCAR fans to see how Mitchell fares in his O’Reilly Series debut.

And while he knows it could all go wrong, Mitchell said the opportunity to push his own limits in NASCAR was one he couldn’t refuse.

“They called me, and who the hell would I be to say no to Richard Childress Racing, saying, ‘Come get in my car?’” Mitchell said. “There’s a zero percent chance I’m turning that down.

“Now here I am, going to race in a level that, yeah, I may not deserve to be at. But it’s up to me now. I put myself here, so if you want to come along for the ride, we’d love to have you.”