Granted I don't fully know the ins and outs of the testing, but 15th out of 70 in just about any racing series is impressive.
Photo by Cleetus McFarland/YouTube
Last weekend, we saw the first on-track activity for the 2025 NASCAR season with the annual preseason ARCA test at Daytona. This test usually has some interesting names on the list, as it’s used to determine if drivers will be approved to race at Daytona in February.
In 2024, we saw Australian supercar legend (and inaugural NASCAR Chicago Street Course race winner) Shane van Gisbergen forced to run the Daytona ARCA race before he was approved to run the Xfinity season opener later that day.
This year, most eyes were drawn to a very decorated racing driver on the preseason test list: one Hélio Castroneves, who is already locked into the Daytona 500 with NASCAR’s new Open Exemption Provisional.
But eagle-eyed fans, especially those who spend their days watching automotive YouTubers (such as us), might have noticed the name Garrett Mitchell on the entry list. Garrett, better known by his internet persona, Cleetus McFarland, has always professed his love for Dale Earnhardt and his wish to one day race in NASCAR. When the entry list made its way online, he said, “Wrong Garrett Mitchell. Must be someone else.” But the day of the test, many of us were proved right when a video circulated from the official ARCA page of Cleetus climbing into a stock car at Daytona.
During the last few years, Cleetus has pivoted from strictly drag racing to racing just about anything he can fit into. In 2022 he competed in Robby Gordon’s Stadium Super Trucks series, and he was a straightaway from winning a race at Long Beach. Two years ago, he raced a dirt late model around Bristol–on dirt. He’s also the host of the Freedom 500, where participants race identical Crown Vics around his race track, the Freedom Factory. His Crown Vic races have attracted some big names in the NASCAR world, including Tony Stewart, Hailie Deegan, Alex Bowman and Greg Biffle.
Cleetus and Greg drew national attention last fall for their efforts to support the people of North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. They, along with many other pilots, brought their personal helicopters into the affected areas to bring supplies and coordinate rescue missions.
They’ve teamed up again to jump-start Cleetus’ NASCAR career, starting with the Daytona ARCA test. In a YouTube video posted to the Cleetus McFarland YouTube channel, Cleetus documented his test day down in Daytona with guidance from Greg and the Rette Jones Racing team. At the end of the video, he announced that his driving in the test gave ARCA enough confidence to clear him for the season-opening Daytona ARCA 200, where he will attempt to qualify for the race. He said he wants to run more ARCA races this year and that he plans to attempt the 2027 Daytona 500.
For those wondering, Cleetus' fast time placed him 15th among 70 drivers. That Hélio Castroneves guy finished 12 spots behind him.
Granted I don't fully know the ins and outs of the testing, but 15th out of 70 in just about any racing series is impressive.
The man is nothing if not ambitious .
Seems like he's doing what any of us would be doing in a similar situation in terms of money and time.
Maybe bringing in known character drivers is a chance for nascar to not drown.
good for Garret! I didn't care for the early "cleetus" persona but im glad he evolved into what he is today. Dude is killin it and helping motorsports.
It's a skill just takes time to do. And maybe some talent.
Paul Newman. Frankie Muniz. Both actors who became respectable race car drivers. So it's been done before.
He is negotiating with the sanctioning body (officially ARCA, but really run by NASCAR) over rights to use in car video he collected. He is trying to monetize his time in the seat rather than just opening his wallet as a sponsor. NASCAR is very tight-fisted with data/video/images when they think there might be some money in it so this should be interesting.
It look's like he got a feel for the drafting effects and caught himself not being relaxed in the car. That should help him on Feb 15th.
I jus hope that he's learned from his past experience and properly prepares the electrical system. So many of his videos end with car failure due to a wiring or sensor problem. Given that he flies a helicopter, I suggested in the comments that he needs to wire the car using the same standards as an aircraft, which it essentially is.
Fueled by Caffeine said:It's a skill just takes time to do. And maybe some talent.
Paul Newman. Frankie Muniz. Both actors who became respectable race car drivers. So it's been done before.
Rowan Atkinson deserves mention. Podium finishes at the Rolex and Sebring.
I hope Garret does well.
In reply to kb58 :
He is running a car prepared by an existing team, so the build and preparedness of the equipment is not on his shoulders. He is approaching it from the professional driver point of view.
Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:Fueled by Caffeine said:It's a skill just takes time to do. And maybe some talent.
Paul Newman. Frankie Muniz. Both actors who became respectable race car drivers. So it's been done before.
Rowan Atkinson deserves mention. Podium finishes at the Rolex and Sebring.
I hope Garret does well.
Patrick Dempsey also did well with racing with a Le Mans podium.
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