There continues to be a considerable jump in viewership for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, which has posted year-over-year gains a handful of times this season. Could Cleetus McFarland racing on Saturday at Rockingham have contributed to the latest instance?

That certainly appears to be the case. According to a report from Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal, the CW drew a 0.65 rating and 1.165 million viewers for the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 at Rockingham.

Those figures represented a 12% and 11% jump, respectively, from last year’s comparable race. And that’s been a pattern for the NOAPS early this year.

Through the first seven races of the season, the NOAPS had averaged 1.282 million viewers per race. That’s an increase of 3.6% year-over-year.

Four of the first eight races of the season this year have drawn a larger viewership total than a year ago. The last three races have all posted year-over-year beats.

Now, Cleetus McFarland hasn’t raced in all those events, obviously. But it’s impossible to deny that when he’s on the track, more viewers are tuning in. So when might McFarland next hit the track in NOAPS?

Cleetus McFarland needs Talladega approval

Cleetus McFarland needs approval from NASCAR to compete in the April 25 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Part of the approval process involved McFarland making a NOAPS start at a short track, which he accomplished this past Saturday at Rockingham Speedway. The YouTube sensation finished 32nd at Rockingham, six laps down.

It’s now up to NASCAR to determine if the 31-year-old did enough to earn approval for a NOAPS superspeedway race. McFarland revealed Monday that an official decision will come Tuesday.

“Now we’ve got to wait for an approval for Talladega which will come tomorrow, whether we’re approved or not for me to run the O’Reilly car,” McFarland said on Bald Eagles. “Really want to, but it’s in NASCAR’s hands.”

Cleetus McFarland had an eventful afternoon in his NOAPS debut, going for a spin on Lap 206 and narrowly avoiding four others. Important to McFarland, he finished the race and didn’t impact anyone else’s.

Was it enough to gain approval? McFarland will learn of his fate on Tuesday, though he admitted “I don’t care” either way.

On3’s Nick Geddes also contributed to this report.