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…
NTT IndyCar Series fan favorite driver Pato O’Ward jokingly backtracked on his comments in which he said he was “sick and tired” of IndyCar being treated like a “support race” on joint NASCAR weekends, in a recent social media post.
This past weekend, ahead of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series joint race weekend with the NTT IndyCar Series at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward told reporters that while he likes the joint race weekends, he does not like IndyCar being treated as a support race.
“I think it’s a good thing. I’m sick and tired of IndyCar being like the support race.” – Pato O’Ward
This was, of course, in reference to the upcoming joint weekend at Phoenix Raceway in which the NTT IndyCar Series opens action on Saturday before the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race that night, and the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday afternoon.
These comments, nonetheless, have sparked a debate over IndyCar’s stature within the fabric of North American Motorsports. Many have called out O’Ward for his comments, while others agree that IndyCar should always be held to the same bar as NASCAR on a race weekend.
Wednesday morning, in reaction to the rating report from this past weekend, in which NASCAR scored 3.9 million viewers for the Cup Series race at COTA, and IndyCar scored 1.4 million viewers at St. Petersburg, O’Ward somewhat jokingly backtracked on his passionate take.
In a post to social media, O’Ward joked, “I stand corrected, I’m so happy to be here with NASCAR this weekend.”
Of course, this debate is far from over, as this weekend is an interesting reflection on the state of motorsports in the United States.
A point made by many on both sides of this debate is that while the Cup Series gets its own raceday, the IndyCar Series is sharing Saturday with the OAP Series, even opening for NASCAR’s second-highest national series that afternoon.
This weekend is not the first time the two series have shared a race day, doing so at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2020. But, even that weekend, the IndyCar Series, at their home track, raced before the then Xfinity Series.
Nonetheless, it’s hard to evenly split attention in a weekend where the three most popular American oval racing series are all competing at one track.
For one, FOX Sports has done a solid job of promoting both series as equals ahead of this weekend, with the brand promoting it as the “Desert Double,” highlighting the IndyCar Series as an equal to the Cup Series.
All things aside, if this weekend is a success, who’s to say that the two series don’t grow their relationship in the future, sharing some tracks that many IndyCar fans have longed to see return to the series calendar.
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Lionel has officially opened pre-orders for Garrett Mitchell’s (better known as Cleetus McFarland) first-ever NASCAR diecast.
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
YouTube star-turned-NASCAR driver Garrett Mitchell, best known by his online persona Cleetus McFarland, has signed a part-time deal to race with Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for the next two seasons.
UPDATE 3:00 PM EST: Per RCR Mitchell will make his debut at Rockingham Speedway on April 4.
What’s Happening? Despite his internet fame, Garrett Mitchell, by his screen name Cleetus McFarland, has recently taken to stock car racing…
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
NTT IndyCar Series fan favorite driver Pato O’Ward jokingly backtracked on his comments in which he said he was “sick and tired” of IndyCar being treated like a “support race” on joint NASCAR weekends, in a recent social media post.
This past weekend, ahead of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series joint race weekend with the NTT IndyCar Series at the St. Petersburg Grand Prix, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward told reporters that while he likes the joint race weekends, he does not like IndyCar being treated as a support race.
“I think it’s a good thing. I’m sick and tired of IndyCar being like the support race.” – Pato O’Ward
This was, of course, in reference to the upcoming joint weekend at Phoenix Raceway in which the NTT IndyCar Series opens action on Saturday before the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race that night, and the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday afternoon.
These comments, nonetheless, have sparked a debate over IndyCar’s stature within the fabric of North American Motorsports. Many have called out O’Ward for his comments, while others agree that IndyCar should always be held to the same bar as NASCAR on a race weekend.
Wednesday morning, in reaction to the rating report from this past weekend, in which NASCAR scored 3.9 million viewers for the Cup Series race at COTA, and IndyCar scored 1.4 million viewers at St. Petersburg, O’Ward somewhat jokingly backtracked on his passionate take.
In a post to social media, O’Ward joked, “I stand corrected, I’m so happy to be here with NASCAR this weekend.”
Of course, this debate is far from over, as this weekend is an interesting reflection on the state of motorsports in the United States.
A point made by many on both sides of this debate is that while the Cup Series gets its own raceday, the IndyCar Series is sharing Saturday with the OAP Series, even opening for NASCAR’s second-highest national series that afternoon.
This weekend is not the first time the two series have shared a race day, doing so at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2020. But, even that weekend, the IndyCar Series, at their home track, raced before the then Xfinity Series.
Nonetheless, it’s hard to evenly split attention in a weekend where the three most popular American oval racing series are all competing at one track.
For one, FOX Sports has done a solid job of promoting both series as equals ahead of this weekend, with the brand promoting it as the “Desert Double,” highlighting the IndyCar Series as an equal to the Cup Series.
All things aside, if this weekend is a success, who’s to say that the two series don’t grow their relationship in the future, sharing some tracks that many IndyCar fans have longed to see return to the series calendar.
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.