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<\/p>\nWhen it comes to the YouTuber known as Cleetus McFarland making his NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Series debut this weekend at Rockingham Speedway, future NASCAR Hall of Famer Rodney Childers articulated the benefits and potential concerns as well as anyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need the publicity and we need the personalities,\u201d Childers told Motorsport.com on Friday morning. \u201cYou know, we have a lot of drivers these days that are kind of ‘blah’ and it\u2019s awesome that Cleetus has the following that he has and I am thankful that he\u2019s here.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, is he going to struggle? Yes, he is going to struggle and if he finishes the race, that would be a miracle, and that\u2019s just being honest, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
Childers, now the crew chief for Carson Kvapil at JR Motorsports, went on to say that he ‘loves Cleetus to death but it\u2019s going to be tough’ and just doesn\u2019t want to see anyone get caught-up in a potential mistake.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t need the drama and he doesn\u2019t either,\u201d Childers said.<\/p>\n
Childers is comforted by the fact that this is being done with Richard Childress Racing because there is confidence that the tenured organization will ensure that everything is treated with the utmost respect.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s the most important part, that he is with good people that can coach him and teach him, having a good spotter,\u201d Childers said. \u201cJust people that really understand the sport and will tell him out to get out of the way and stuff like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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What Childers said is the general consensus throughout the field in advance of the race on Saturday afternoon. There is a great deal of respect for how the man named Garrett Mitchell built a social media sensation as long as there is respect for what takes place between the green and checkered flags.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Justin Allgaier, the 2024 champion and winner of 30 races, echoed much of what the 2014 Cup Series champion crew chief said prior to practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I think that it\u2019s a lot tougher for him than it\u2019s going to be for all of us, right,\u201d Allgaier said. \u201cHe\u2019s used to the spotlight on social media and all the things he does on YouTube. So listen, I will give him credit, but this is going to be tough.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust from the outside looking in, it seems like he has put a lot of effort into this based on his interviews over the last week and a half. It looks like his perception of what this world is has changed a lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I think it\u2019s cool that he\u2019s doing it. It brings eyeballs to our sport and I think we could always use more of those.\u201d<\/p>\n
A very different challenge<\/p>\n
His teammate, Kvapil, says the biggest concern is just how much harder to drive the\u00a0NOAPS car is compared to ARCA and Trucks. These cars are extremely aero-sensitive and are light in the back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like those cars are pretty stuck in the racetrack and these O’Reilly cars are pretty out of the race track,\u201d\u00a0Kvapil said. \u201cWhen you get around other cars, they really get out of the race track, and it\u2019s hard. We see veteran guys with experience spin out due to the air, and these are guys that know what they\u2019re doing — and they aren\u2019t even making their first start like Cleetus — so that is going to be tough for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be interesting to see. I wish him the best. I just need to steer clear of him, I guess you could say. Let\u2019s get through practice and qualifying and see how he\u2019s doing but it\u2019s definitely a lot different with 37 cars out there than by yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
“I don’t want to be racing around him”<\/p>\n
\u00a0Jeb Burton had the bluntest expectation.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, and no offense to him, I don\u2019t want to be racing around him,\u201d Burton said. \u201cI want to be running up front and I don\u2019t expect him to be running up front right now. He shouldn\u2019t be, right? He just started racing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully we can have a good day and just finish. I think that’s hopefully his first priority too, racing these guys with respect and not doing something dumb to hurt one of our days. Other than that, it\u2019s not a bad thing that he\u2019s in the sport and brings a lot of eye balls.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is kind of where his cousin, Harrison, leans too.<\/p>\n
“I think he knows where he is at, right,” said the younger Burton. “He knows that. I think he’s got this big personality but there’s this other side to him, where he has to know he’s in over his head, right?<\/p>\n
“Not in a bad way, but he’s learning, and being thrown to the wolves. I don’t expect anything crazy but he’s raced enough to at least to know the etiquette. Hopefully we’re fast enough to not have to be worried about it.”<\/p>\n
Just finish the race<\/p>\n
What Cleetus most needs to avoid is what happened in his Truck Series debut at Daytona, where he got loose and spun from inside the top 10. He was fortunate that he was able to avoid contact with anyone else but destroyed his car in the process.<\/p>\n
Allgaier just wants him, for everyone\u2019s sake, to just finish the race without incident.<\/p>\n
“Look, Daytona for him, that was a tough situation, right,” Allgaier said. “He wedged himself near the front of the field. That was lap 5, 6 or 6, whatever the number was but it was a 250-mile race so he lost out on all of those miles, right?<\/p>\n
“Those are learning experiences that he can’t get back. So, my advice to everyone is always just ‘finish the race.’ Realistically, it doesn’t matter if you finish dead last but get the experience. Don’t put yourself in the most difficult positions, but realistically test yourself, push yourself to be better. He’s just going to have to learn. He’s run some ARCA races, so he has that experience and it will help, but this is going to be different.<\/p>\n
“I think he can. I think he can go out there and have fun and learn. I think he is capable of having a productive weekend.”<\/p>\n
Inside the Court:<\/p>\n
Sam Mayer, of Haas Factory Team, isn’t concerned at all.<\/p>\n
“I’m not worried,” he said. “He got six to eight hours of testing and you can absolutely get a feel for it at just one racetrack. I think he’ll do good. He, obviously, doesn’t have the experience to run up front with these guys but I bet he is going to soak up as much as he can. I’m curious to see how he does.”<\/p>\n
Childers wants to see him treat this race as if he were in an underfunded car and improve on something that happened last year when William Sawalich drove into the back of Katherine Legge.<\/p>\n
He just didn\u2019t say it by name.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was rewatching the race here last year (and) one of those wrecks was somebody just not explaining how to get out of the way and it wasn\u2019t the drivers fault as much as everyone involved in that situation,\u201d Childers said. \u201cSo, I think Cleetus has the right people around him and can coach him on how to get through that situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kvapil said Cleetus needs to be \u2018eyes forward\u2019 and just hyper aware.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he somehow gets cycled to the front half of the field at the end of the stage, he needs to back off a little bit and realize there is going to be a lot of stuff happening,\u201d Kvapil said. \u201cIt’s going to be a lot going on all at once.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo wherever he rides, whether it\u2019s near the front, or the middle, I just hope he\u2019s smart and lifts early and knows what the expect with the air. If he does all of that, I don\u2019t have any problems with this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lastly, Allgaier thinks he has the tools to do all of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe understands how to race really well,\u201d Allgaier said. \u201cLike, I don\u2019t have any issues with that. Will he have speed? That\u2019s to be seen. He\u2019s raced enough cars that he\u2019s started to develop some race craft.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut at this level, he\u2019s going to have to focus on the detailed stuff that is so unique to our sport. Hopefully for him, this is a bucket list item, and he does everything right and wants to come back and do it again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he does, that\u2019s going to bring more attention and sponsors to our sport. It\u2019s going to supplement what all of us have going on. It\u2019s going to be great for everyone. There are a lot of positives. Everyone just has to put in the work to make sure it goes the way he wants it, and really, all of us want it to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
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