For a while, the dream was simple for Garrett Mitchell, aka Cleetus McFarland: ride like the wind and get to the top of the NASCAR Cup Series. But that mindset didn’t last long once he made his highly anticipated NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut.
After getting a closer look at NASCAR’s upper levels, the YouTube star-turned-racer is now hitting pause on any Cup Series ambitions, and he’s not sugarcoating why.
Cleetus McFarland Reflects on NASCAR Reality After Greg Biffle’s Advice
McFarland made his ARCA Menards Series debut in 2025, picking up top-10 finishes at tracks like Talladega Superspeedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. He followed that up with a Truck Series start earlier this year at the famed Daytona International Speedway, a step too far and demanding as the result suggests.
His debut ended on a sour note on Lap 6 when his No. 4 truck slammed into the inside wall, resulting in a 37th-place DNF. However, despite the setback, opportunities haven’t slowed, and this weekend at Rockingham Speedway, the 30-year-old is set for his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut.
Speaking ahead of his one-off stint with Richard Childress Racing, McFarland explained why he is hitting a pause button on his Cup ambitions.
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“When I first started wanting to do this NASCAR thing with Biff, I was like, ‘I want to race Cup, I want to race Daytona 500 next year,'” Mitchell said, referring to the late great Greg Biffle during an exclusive to SiriusXM NASCAR. “He’s like, ‘No, you can’t do that.’ I didn’t understand that at all.”
“And now that I’m in this, I don’t want to race Cup at all,” he admitted. “Like, that’s terrifying to me. The gap between my skills and those guys’ is massive, and I know that.”
It’s a candid assessment and an important one. In a sport where confidence often borders on bravado, McFarland is taking the opposite approach: patience.
Instead of rushing toward NASCAR’s biggest stage, he’s focusing on development. His next step comes in the NOAPS, where he’s set to make his debut in 2026 in the No. 33 Tommy’s Express Chevrolet as RCR’s third entry.
He will enter one of the most competitive proving grounds in stock car racing, an environment far better suited to learning than leaping straight into Cup competition. And if his recent journey is any indication, he’s embracing that process.
“I had no desire to race in this series either,” the Omaha native added, referring to the O’Reilly level. “I love ARCA, I’m like ARCA’s No. 1 fan.”
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That line speaks volumes about McFarland’s identity. While many drivers treat lower series as stepping stones, he seems genuinely to enjoy learning the craft, which could ultimately work in his favor.
The Cup Series remains the sport’s highest level, where experience and precision make all the difference. For a driver still learning the fundamentals, rushing that jump can backfire.
McFarland understands that now.
Instead of chasing the spotlight, he’s focusing on building his craft step by step. It may not be the quickest route, but it’s the right one, and if progress continues, that once “terrifying” goal might not feel so distant after all.
