Mechanical Woes End Cleetus McFarland’s Day Early in Kansas

What’s Happening?

When it was announced earlier this spring that YouTube sensation Cleetus McFarland had signed a part-time contract with Richard Childress Racing to run part-time in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, it raised a few eyebrows. Up to his debut in the RCR No. 33 car at Rockingham, Cleetus’s only stockcar racing experience was a handful of modest races in the ARCA Menards Series and an ill-fated outing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to start the 2026 season. So, the race at the Rock went about how one would expect. He qualified in the back, spun out a couple of times, and brought his RCR Chevy home in the 32nd position by the race’s end.

The hope was that with that race, he’d be approved to run Talladega in a few weeks’ time. Unfortunately, NASCAR was unimpressed with the outing and suggested that he run more ARCA races before trying his hand at a superspeedway in NASCAR’s second-tier series. As a response, he geared up to make his ARCA debut at Kansas Speedway this weekend. Ultimately, McFarland had a quiet but respectable run in the Tide 150 at Kansas, going from the 25th starting position and climbing up the scoring pilon into the top 10 by the halfway point. Unfortunately for the rookie, his engine expired on Lap 77 with 24 to go. He was running 10th at the time of the failure and was running as high as 8th late.

Notes:

• Cleetus had his word cut out for him today. Due to qualifying being rained out on Friday, he was forced to start his No. 30 Ford based on the qualifying metric. This meant that he’d start today’s Tide 150 in the 25th starting spot.
• From the drop of the green flag, Cleetus started to methodically work his way through the field. Following two cautions, including a competition caution on Lap 20, McFarland was able to work his way up and crack inside the top 10 by halftime on Lap 50. He restarted the race with 42 laps remaining in the 10th position.
• Shortly after the restart, disaster struck. On Lap 77, while he was running in the 10th position, Cleetus McFarland’s engine let go. He started to spin but displayed amazing car control, able to keep it off the wall and straight.
• Due to his late race misfortunes, Cleetus McFarland will be scored with a 22nd place finish. At one point, he was running as high as 8th.
• While he was not approved to run Talladega in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for RCR next week at Talladega, McFarland will attempt to rebound in the ARCA Menards Series. He finished 10th at the track a year ago in the series.

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