“Honestly, I just went out there and turned left for Greg Biffle,” an ecstatic Cleetus McFarland said in his post-race interview. McFarland bagged his first top-five finish at Rockingham Speedway in his ARCA Menards Series East run ahead of his NASCAR debut. McFarland finished fourth in the event, marking a career-best result in the series.
While he credited his late friend, Biffle, the NASCAR legend’s influence also affected McFarland’s Daytona 500 plans.
Greg Biffle’s “Not Possible” Assessment Gave Cleetus McFarland a Reality Check
At the beginning of April, McFarland spoke about his future in NASCAR ahead of his O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut. He also provided an update on his NASCAR plans through Motorsport.com’s Matt Weaver.
PREDICT THE CHASE: PFSN’s NASCAR Season Simulator
“The goal is to run the Daytona 500,” McFarland said. “Like, that was the original reason I started all of this, but in the original mission, I didn’t really understand what it took to do it.”
The YouTuber-turned-racer revealed that he shared his ambitious plan with Biffle. McFarland detailed, “When I first called [Greg Biffle] about it, I asked him if we could do it the next year and he said ‘well, that’s just not possible’… I think my future in NASCAR, it looks a lot longer now, and I’m trying to develop myself into a driver that’s capable of competing at the higher levels. I’m not saying I’m just going to make it to the 500 and then just be done.”
The Daytona 500 is the iconic 500-mile NASCAR Cup Series season-opener held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Considered the most prestigious and important race in NASCAR, the steepest climb naturally requires the hardest preparation. This is precisely why Biffle discouraged McFarland from embarking on that journey so soon, extending the latter’s timeline.
Who Is YouTube Star and Racer Cleetus McFarland?
PFSN’s Anmol describes McFarland as a 30-year-old American YouTuber and professional stock-car racing driver with over 4.6 million subscribers. His channel focuses on cars and motorsports. He adopted the name “Cleetus McFarland” in 2015 after a character he created went viral at the annual Rocky Mountain Race Week with Tom Bailey.
STAY UPDATED: The Side Draft: PFSN’s NASCAR Newsletter
Beyond YouTube, he has become a real racing figure. He made his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut on April 4, 2026, at Rockingham Speedway, driving the No. 33 Tommy’s Express Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. It is the first race for the YouTube personality after signing a deal that includes three races in 2026 and three in 2027. Notably, he also bought an abandoned speedway in Florida in January 2020 and renamed it the Freedom Factory.
