Garrett Mitchell (dba Cleetus McFarland) began this journey into high level Stock Car racing in the pursuit of an appearance in the Daytona 500, briefly wavered, and is now once again chasing that goal.
He detailed that process during a Monday appearance on the Door Bumper Clear podcast.
“When I set out with this with Greg Biffle, I called him up, and I said, ‘Biff, I want to run the Daytona 500. Could I run it if I ran ARCA this year?’ He’s like, ‘No,’” Cleetus said. “I started running ARCA, and I realized I have no intentions of running Cup or the Daytona 500 anytime soon. A way bigger skill gap than I imagined, and I realized that immediately.
“Obviously, I took a lot of hell from you guys and other people when this O’Reilly’s opportunity popped up. There’s a lot of reasons why I shouldn’t have the seat. But I never seeked out driving higher than ARCA. Since the opportunity came to me, absolutely. More seat time, more opportunities for me to make mistakes and get better.”
The hell he referred to came from hosts Freddie Kraft and Tommy Baldwin Jr., whom both took time to explain to them that their problem was NASCAR’s expedited approval process more than with the YouTuber, specifically and personally.
But it’s also true that Cleetus has gained an even greater respect for those who race full-time at all three NASCAR national touring levels. But, his still-new partnership with Richard Childress Racing has him once again dreaming of The Great American Race.
“Now looking at the ultimate goal, it’s to make it to the Daytona 500, but I’m having so much fun that I think it’s gonna end up being more than that,” Cleetus said. “One day I’ll race the Daytona 500. I’m in no rush. We want to just enjoy the hell out of the process, just see where we end up.”
The YouTuber’s most recent stop on the tour towards the Daytona 500 came on Saturday in the NOAPS race at Nashville Superspeedway. He finished 35th with a spin on the final lap of the first stage and a pit road penalty.
He will compete in both the ARCA and Truck Series races this weekend at Michigan International Speedway.
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