Cleetus McFarland has his fair share of detractors. He also has some NASCAR legends in his corner, one being Mark Martin.
Martin, the NASCAR Hall of Famer, is one of the millions who have tuned into McFarland’s work on YouTube. He believes McFarland can drive, based on what he’s done in Crown Vics. Martin is part of the McFarland fan club and to the 30-year-old, that means everything.
“I love Mark Martin. That guy has been so gracious to me. Honestly, him and Kenny Wallace have kind of been some of the few guys who have had my back. So, I love those guys,” McFarland said Thursday on the Gluckcast. “I definitely feel like I am not a bad driver, you know? Especially in a car that has symmetrical grip, feel like I’m very confident. It feels good to have their opinions sway that way, but I also know I have to learn to hopefully make those guys proud.
“I just can’t believe how far these guys drive these things in the corner, I mean, they are so damn good at turning left. I just have such a gap to get to where I can be competitive but learning as fast as I can.”
The NASCAR world will be watching Cleetus McFarland closely at Rockingham
McFarland’s NASCAR experience is five ARCA Menards Series races and one Truck Series start. This Saturday at Rockingham Speedway, he will make his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut. McFarland will be behind the wheel of the No. 33 Chevrolet, as part of a three-race deal he signed with Richard Childress Racing last month.
The NASCAR world will be watching McFarland’s every move as he looks to impress the sanctioning body enough for them to approve him for NOAPS superspeedway races. While McFarland admits he’s nowhere ready to compete at the highest level, RCR came calling, and he simply couldn’t turn down the opportunity.
“I’m pretty in tune with what’s going on, on the social media world. My job is probably more similar to yours than closer to the drivers. I am a social media guy, that’s how I got into this position. So, I see it a lot. Closer to Daytona when I had the big screw up in the truck, I was feeling a little down on myself about that. At this point, the record is so broken of people still talking about, I don’t care as much,” McFarland told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports on Tuesday.
“At the end of the day, all these guys can say whatever they want about me, but if Richard Childress called them and said, ‘Hey, wanna come drive our car,’ all of them would have taken that opportunity, too. If NASCAR is letting me do it, I’m in, I’m here, and no one can save me but myself at this point.”