![\"Kyle](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-491122884-e1647116554783.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Kyle Petty is bringing back the charity ride after a two-year hiatus. <\/p>\n
Cleetus McFarland made his NASCAR<\/a> debut on April 4, 2026, at Rockingham Speedway, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing<\/a>. The event drew attention due to McFarland\u2019s background as a YouTube creator with limited national-series experience.<\/p>\n He completed all 250 laps and finished 32nd without incident. After the race, McFarland summed up his performance in simple terms. \u201cGot my butt kicked, but I finished.\u201d The result became a key talking point, especially after comments from Kyle Petty, who had expressed doubts before the race.<\/p>\n Cleetus McFarland Completes the Full NASCAR Race Distance<\/p>\n McFarland stayed on track for the entire race and avoided major issues. He spent time running low on the track while managing traffic and maintaining position.<\/p>\n He did not cause incidents and remained out of the way of leading cars. His approach allowed him to complete the event cleanly in his first appearance at this level.<\/p>\n Before the race, Petty had been critical of McFarland\u2019s entry. After watching the full event, he addressed the performance<\/a> during the broadcast.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw some great performances. Obviously from William (Sawalich). We saw Corey Day win those first two segments. We saw some guys do some things that I don\u2019t think we expected. And listen, if you\u2019re going to criticize, you\u2019ve got to give credit.\u201d<\/p>\n He then spoke directly about McFarland\u2019s run.<\/p>\n \u201cI have to say, Cleetus did what he needed to do. He ran every lap. A lot of them were on the apron. I\u2019m going to give him that. He got down on the apron a few times. But at the same time, he didn\u2019t tear anything up. He didn\u2019t really get in anybody\u2019s way, and that\u2019s what he needed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Kyle Petty Reflects on Rockingham Race<\/p>\n Petty said McFarland\u2019s performance met the expectations for a debut at the track. He also noted that it changed his earlier view.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what he needed to do to shut up guys like me, to make me quit talking about him. So I\u2019ve got to give him props too. It was a good, good day at the Rock.\u201d<\/p>\n He also spoke about the race itself and the track\u2019s history.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was so much fun, so many memories flash through your head when you\u2019re sitting down here in Turn 1 and you remember seeing Mark Martin, you remember seeing my dad when I was on his pit crew.\u201d<\/p>\n Petty added that the racing throughout the field stood out.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw some great racing out here today. Not only at the front of the pack but all the way through. You guys were screaming in my ear when they were three-wide, and that\u2019s what Rockingham is.\u201d<\/p>\n Debut Draws Attention Across NASCAR<\/p>\n McFarland\u2019s debut brought attention from fans across different backgrounds. His ability to complete the race without major issues became a key part of the reaction.<\/p>\n The event also highlighted the track conditions and racing style at Rockingham. Drivers drove closely throughout the field, with multiple battles breaking out during the race.<\/p>\n Petty\u2019s comments reflected a change in tone after the event. His post-race remarks focused on McFarland\u2019s ability to complete the race and meet basic expectations for a first-time driver at this level.<\/p>\n McFarland\u2019s result now stands as his first official NASCAR finish, following a race where he completed all laps and avoided major incidents.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a writer covering NASCAR, Formula 1, and the IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. He has also written for Sportsnaut, FanSided, Total Apex Sports, and Last Word on Sports. Wilberforce focuses on the NASCAR Cup Series, breaking down news, driver stories, and key moments with a clear, fast, and engaging style. His work connects headlines to context, helping readers understand what matters most in the sport. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Kyle Petty is bringing back the charity ride after a two-year hiatus. Cleetus McFarland made his NASCAR…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583806,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-583805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583805\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}