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…
Following his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut this past weekend, NASCAR has not approved driver Cleetus McFarland for his planned second career OAP Series race at Talladega.
McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, signed a developmental contract with Richard Childress Racing in early March. Per NASCAR, Mitchell had to race at Rockingham first before gaining approval to race at Talladega in late April.
Despite finishing Saturday’s race at Rockingham, Mitchell claimed in a post to social media late Tuesday afternoon that he is not approved for that race at Talladega, saying that NASCAR “did not see enough” from him.
“I wanted you to hear from me first that I have been denied by NASCAR to run Talladega in my O’Reilly’s car,” Mitchell said. “[I] made my O’Reilly’s debut last Saturday with hopes of getting approval for Talladega, but they [NASCAR] did not see enough.”
Regardless of whether or not NASCAR approved the 30-year-old for Talladega, his approval to race in the OAP Series at all was questioned by NASCAR fans, with most frustrated with NASCAR as opposed to Mitchell.
In his video, Mitchell says that NASCAR wants to see him race more ARCA Menards Series races and more Craftsman Truck Series races before he goes superspeedway racing at the sport’s second-highest level, though he is still able to race short tracks in the OAP Series.
“Nonetheless, NASCAR has said, we’re going to need to see you run more ARCA and more Trucks. I’m fully approved for trucks, which I have some of those on my schedule coming up. But in O’Reilly’s, I am still limited to short tracks.” — Cleetus McFarland
So far, Mitchell has one ARCA Menards Series East start, five ARCA Menards Series starts, and one Truck Series start to his record. That Truck Series race is often pointed to as a reason for Mitchell not to be approved, as he spun himself early on, competing with limited knowledge of how the Trucks race.
In a statement, NASCAR Senior VP of Racing Developmentsenior VP of Racing Development John Probst said, “We’d like to see more out of Cleetus in the short tracks. So we’re not saying no, but there is more that we would like to see out of Cleetus before we would approve him for Talladega.”
Mitchell says that NASCAR’s decision “is what it is,” as he did not enter this level expecting to rise to the top with ease, and that given his short turnaround time from signing with RCR, he agrees he needs more “windshield time.”
“It is what it is,” Mitchell said. “I need more windshield time, regardless of whether it’s in an O’Reilly’s car, an ARCA car, or a Truck. More windshield time is gonna help me. I got a lot to learn, guys.”
Mitchell had plans to race in both the ARCA races at Kansas and Talladega this spring, something that seems to be on the table for now, though he says his superspeedway debut in the OAP Series may have to wait until next season.
“This isn’t as much of a step back or a push down as it seems, a little bit of a kick in the nuts, but I just got to get out there in the other cars, and do as much learning as possible,” Mitchell said. “And then hopefully I’ll get to run Daytona and Talladega next year.”
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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