Cleetus McFarland’s 2026 NASCAR Racing Schedule
What’s Happening? Despite his internet fame, Garrett Mitchell, by his screen name Cleetus McFarland, has recently taken to stock car racing…
Kevin Harvick believes Cleetus McFarland’s upcoming plans to race in Late Models could provide the YouTube star the time behind the wheel that he needs right now.
Speaking on SPEED with Harvick and Buxton, the 2014 NASCAR Cup Champion explained that McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, is competing against drivers who accumulate dozens of stock-car races every year, making additional seat time crucial as he works toward his NASCAR ambitions.
“Look, Cleetus needs seat time,” Harvick told Will Buxton. “And you look at all the kids that he’s competing against, and they’re racing 40-50 times a year in a stock car.”
Harvick sees the Super Late Model platform as an effective training tool because Mitchell can compete at numerous tracks while developing those racecraft instincts. He pointed to his own experience with the division as evidence of how useful the cars can be for driver development year-round.
“You can race that car all across the country,” Harvick said. “It’s just a good car to learn in. You can go to a lot of different racetracks.”
Besides that, Mitchell owning a racetrack is another advantage in his case. That gives him an unusually convenient place to accumulate laps and work on the car without constantly having to travel to find somewhere to practice.
“He just needs laps, and I think this is a great step,” Harvick said. “He doesn’t have to go far to practice his car.”
Harvick believes that McFarland’s first outing will be a serious measure of his racing skills. “He’ll be in Berlin Wednesday night to run this,” Harvick said. “So, that won’t be easy because that is a difficult racetrack against a pretty stout field.”
As Harvick mentioned, Mitchell is scheduled to make his Super Late Model debut at Berlin Raceway Wednesday night in the Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin, a $40,000-to-win event featuring several established names from NASCAR and short-track racing.
The race at the Michigan half-mile oval will put McFarland alongside 2024 Berlin winner Carson Hocevar and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Ty Majeski, among others.
Berlin is a demanding half-mile track that regularly attracts some of the strongest Super Late Model competitors in the country. The Battle at Berlin is also one of the track’s two major Super Late Model events each summer, following the Money in the Bank 150, which Majeski won in June.
What’s Happening? Despite his internet fame, Garrett Mitchell, by his screen name Cleetus McFarland, has recently taken to stock car racing…
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