Travis Pastrana and Garrett Mitchell, better known as Cleetus McFarland, will take to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway Friday night for an unlikely, yet picture-perfect team-up that, with the help of sponsors Black Rifle Coffee Company and BRUNT Workwear, will also support a good cause.
On February 23, 2013, Travis Pastrana sat on pit road at Daytona International Speedway, and like many drivers before him, rolled down pit road to the apron, and onto the track for what was the first race of his first full-time season in NASCAR.
Up until that point, Pastrana’s diverse motorsports portfolio was a series of firsts in almost anything that had at least one wheel and a somewhat running engine.
But this time, the former Rally America Champion, X Games Gold Medalist, and Monster Truck driver (all of which he had done before turning 30) was starting a journey that would last from February to November, taking him across the U.S. to over 33 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
Furthermore, Pastrana had been bestowed the honor of driving one of the series’ most accomplished entries, Jack Roush’s No. 60, which had dominated the series for years with names like Mark Martin, Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle behind the wheel.
In fact, the hype around Pastrana, a star with legions of fans from outside the NASCAR world, was intense, as many wondered if this season was the start of a future full-time career in NASCAR’s top divisions.
Ultimately, Pastrana would never attempt to make a full-time career in the sport, and though he still pops up from time to time to the pleasure of NASCAR fans, that first afternoon in Daytona Beach is still a core NASCAR memory for the now 42-year-old racer.
Up until that point, Pastrana had never raced at a superspeedway. Despite his lack of experience, he got a helping hand from NASCAR legend Tony Stewart, who Pastrana says fell back to draft with the No. 60 early on and stuck with him throughout the race.
“I was just running in the back, because that’s what Roush told me to do to stay out of trouble,” Pastrana told the Daily Downforce. “Tony dropped back to the back, and the spotter said, ‘Get behind Tony.’ So he came all the way back to pick me up.”
Pastrana says he and Stewart, with a little help from Kasey Kahne, worked all the way up to the top five before breaking up, with the No. 60 finishing tenth, and Stewart taking home the win in a memorable race marred by a last-lap crash that sent Kyle Larson flying into the catch fence.
Even though it wasn’t the dream first and second place finish for Stewart and Pastrana, the two motorsports drivers may have another chance to draft together this Friday as Stewart, in his first race since 2016, and returning Pastrana headline a star-studded NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opener at Daytona.
In his first race since the 2023 Daytona 500, Pastrana will pilot the No. 42 truck for Niece Motorsports, bringing on sponsorship from a familiar face in Black Rifle Coffee Company, with BRUNT Workwear on the hood of his Chevrolet.
For Pastrana, working with a brand like BRUNT, which makes products used by blue-collar workers across the country, is a match made in heaven. The two have been working together for over a year now, with Pastrana actually wearing BRUNT products before the partnership even began.
That relationship now extends outside of just supplying Pastrana and his friends with workwear, as BRUNT has helped send equipment and tradesmen to help with projects at his well-known property, known as Pastranaland.
“They’ve been super helpful and actually helping us not just with equipment that we need, or with financial support, they’re actually helping with bringing down tradesmen to help Nate Wessel and Hubert [Rowland] weld, and help with the track design, build, and whatever.” — Travis Pastrana
The motorsports legend is also thankful to carry long-time partner Black Rifle Coffee Company at Daytona. NASCAR fans may already know the brand from their work with drivers in the past, including their role as sponsor of Pastrana’s No. 67 at the 2023 Daytona 500.
Pastrana, whose father is a veteran, loves the work the brand does with veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces and the opportunity they give him to use his platform to meet with and raise awareness for causes supporting those who served.
While Black Rifle may not be on the hood of his entry as they have been in the past, the brand is still a part of this effort, as Pastrana called on his friend Garrett Mitchell, better known by his online persona Cleetus McFarland, to drive a second entry for Niece, sponsored by Black Rifle.
Over the past year, Mitchell, who has over 4.5 million subscribers on his Cleetus McFarland YouTube Channel, has turned the NASCAR world on its head, making four starts in the ARCA Menards Series in 2025.
Mitchell, who can be seen in NASCAR’s recent preseason hype video shooting flamethrowers with Spire Motorsports’ Carson Hocevar, has brought what many considered previously unheard of attention levels to one of NASCAR’s developmental divisions just through his mere presence on track.
But Mitchell’s outside fame, bringing attention to the world of NASCAR, isn’t that much different from Pastrana’s early days in the sport, which saw a similar buzz surrounding his first NASCAR start in the then-NASCAR K&N Pro Series West at Phoenix Raceway in February 2011.
Throughout last season and into this season, Mitchell, in his many videos and vlogs about his part-time racing career, has spoken about his goal of racing in the Daytona 500 one day.
Though he currently has no set plans to do so, the 30-year-old often speaks on how he wants to work his way through the sport’s lower divisions before taking on such a task, rather than, as he puts it, “force myself into Cup.”
However, when it came to his first Truck Series start, Mitchell told the Daily Downforce he didn’t seek this start out; rather, he allowed the opportunity to come to him, as this past offseason, an old friend called him to ask if he had any interest in running Daytona.
“Pastrana called me and was like, ‘Hey, I got a truck spot for you if you want to do it,'” Mitchell said. “And so I was like, ‘All right, let’s make it happen.'” That’s kind of my strategy, I’m going to wait for opportunities to arise versus trying to force myself into the next levels.”
If Mitchell continues to make occasional starts in NASCAR’s developmental divisions, he could find a ride for the 500 someday. After all, that path to the Cup Series would be similar to the one taken by Pastrana, who, after 48 starts in the lower two National Series, eventually made his Daytona 500 debut in 2023 with 23XI Racing.
While Mitchell might not be attempting to skyrocket to the next level with four, soon to be five ARCA starts under his belt, this move to trucks is just as challenging as moving up any rung of the NASCAR ladder, with the Floridian having to test his No. 4 at Rockingham before NASCAR cleared him to race in Friday’s Truck Series race.
That test helped Mitchell learn about the truck and, after a scrape with the wall at Rockingham Speedway earlier this week, the Truck Series rookie has some questions for his veteran Niece teammates ahead of Friday’s race.
“I actually beat the truck up a little bit, hit the wall in it a little bit,” Mitchell said. “I wasn’t really expecting it. Felt a little different in the ARCA car. So I got some questions for the big dogs.”
In spite of Mitchell’s run-in with the wall during his test at Rockingham, Pastrana remains confident in his teammate’s pure racing skills ahead of the Truck Series season opener, saying that, beyond all, Mitchell is “a hell of a wheelman.”
“What’s really cool about Cleetus is he’s a hell of a wheelman, don’t let all the jokes and shenanigans and whatever fool you. He’s competitive with some very, very good drivers.”
The two got to tangle with drafting together in Crown Vics at Daytona earlier this year while filming the announcement video for what they are calling “Team Shake and Bake.” During that experience, Pastrana got to see just how well Mitchell could run at Daytona.
“Obviously, he hasn’t had the experience in trucks or in a lot of the top cars,” Pastrana said. “But even [in] the Crown Vics. . . I thought it was gonna kind of be a joke driving around Daytona, and I was just pushing and shoving and smashing Cleetus, and that man could hold a line.” — Travis Pastrana
Either way things shake out during Friday’s Fresh From Florida 250, neither driver is getting in the way of what is most important about their star-studded team-up.
While also paying tribute to a shared NASCAR mentor, late Roush-Fenway Racing legend Greg Biffle, with their paint schemes, the partnership of Black Rifle Coffee Company, Pastrana, McFarland, BRUNT, and Niece is making a $100,000 donation to Boot Campaign.
Boot Campaign is a nonprofit organization that, since 2009, has helped provide free care to more than 13,000 veterans and military family members.
For his part, Pastrana sees this group effort to support Boot Campaign as a blessing, a way to connect with veterans, and a way to put life into perspective.
“They’re some of the greatest stories and best humans. And it really puts things in perspective when you’re down and out, and then you hear what they’ve gone through, and it’s really just motivation all the way around.” — Travis Pastrana
For Mitchell, getting to support Boot Campaign, alongside his team, his teammate, and his sponsor Black Rifle, was a no-brainer.
“Our whole thing is representing America, and we wouldn’t live this life without our veterans,” Mitchell said. “For them to arrange these things to help veterans, it’s a no-brainer to be a part of it. The whole thing is just more special.”
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