Ever heard of a YouTuber turn into a racer? Cleetus McFarland didn’t just do that; he also stunned a better part of the field at the ARCA Menards Series East race at Rockingham Speedway, finishing fourth. McFarland, overcome with emotion, didn’t forget to honor his late friend and NASCAR legend, Greg Biffle.
Cleetus McFarland Remembers Late Legend, Greg Biffle
McFarland drove the No. 30 for Rette Jones Racing during the ARCA Menards Series East race at Rockingham Speedway, and when he secured his first top-five finish, he remembered his late friend, Biffle.
Biffle, one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers who became known in his later years for his humanitarian work, died along with three family members in a plane crash in December 2025. He was 55. The demise came as a shock to the racing world, including McFarland. This is precisely why he made sure to look up.
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“Honestly, I just went out there and turned left for Greg Biffle,” an ecstatic McFarland said in his post-race interview. “Ok, that’s what I was doing. I had more confidence today than I’ve ever had in a stock car.”
👏 Cleetus McFarland takes home a career-best ARCA finish, 4th at @Rockingham1965! #ARCA pic.twitter.com/75wo0DxSbK
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) April 4, 2026
“Even though I’ve got the world against me, I’ve got all these people here rooting for me. And I don’t know, I was feeling good. The Kenetik Rette Jones Racing 30 just turning so good. I mean, I had the leaders in my sight the whole time. I was a little off pace, but like, top four, I can’t believe it. I’m fired up and feeling good.”
McFarland was confident before starting the race. He ran the ARCA race at Rockingham Speedway, the same track where he will make his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut.
McFarland ran 125 laps at 11:30 a.m. and will later turn to a 250-lap stint. He had already logged a 27th-place finish in practice and will roll off from 35th after qualifying, having avoided the back of the grid.
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“I feel pretty good about it, especially because I get a I get 125 lap warmup in my ARCA car. So, depending on how the ARCA race goes, the nerve level should stay pretty low,” he told SiriusXM NASCAR.
In the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, McFarland will have a significant task ahead of him. Starting 35th, he will have to race through a lot of traffic and won’t benefit from there being only seven or eight fast cars.
