UPDATE: Cleetus McFarland Will Race in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series This Year
What’s Happening? YouTube star-turned-NASCAR driver Garrett Mitchell, best known by his online persona Cleetus McFarland, has signed a part-time deal to…
It was a quiet yet interesting weekend at Kansas Speedway. While some drivers found joy on the prairie, others, in need of a good run, found themselves down and out when it mattered most. So, who are the biggest losers from NASCAR’s weekend at Kansas Speedway?
Another weekend and more heartbreak for Chase Elliott fans. While it looked as if the No. 9 had race-winning speed, it wasn’t the driver or his Crew Chief that ended his day; rather, it was his pit crew, giving Kyle Larson the track position to walk home the field Sunday afternoon. It may hurt that Chase didn’t win, but even more brutal was his teammate, and race winner Kyle Larson literally saying to SiriusXM that he wasn’t sure he had the best car.
During a round of stops, and after leading 29 laps, his second most this season, a slow pit stop essentially ended the day for the No. 9 team, as Kyle Larson took back over his dominant lead shortly after. This was not on Elliott nor his Crew Chief Alan Gustafson, but with a losing streak well over a year long, and another weekend choked away, when will it be time to make some changes at the No. 9 team or even HMS?
Entering this year, the story surrounding Denny Hamlin was his uncertain future. With no anchor sponsor, a new, underperforming Crew Chief, and a changing of the guard at JGR, it seemed as if time was running out for the No. 11. However, so far this year, Denny has secured that support from sponsor Progressive and is a two-race winner.
Regardless, the No. 11 team’s downfall is happening as scheduled. It was roughly this time last season that Hamlin began his losing streak, and now, Hamlin is suffering from back-to-back mechanical failures. This week, it was a broken transmission; last week, it was a blown engine. His blown engine last week was his first non-lead lap finish since Daytona last Summer, and the last time he did so back-to-back was Sonoma and Iowa.
So, is this another start to a long losing streak for Hamlin? It’s hard to tell this early on, but it’s not unlike Denny or JGR to choke away a great start to the season.
If Denny had bad luck on Sunday, his 23XI Racing team is in a similar spot. This weekend, the team was set to enter four cars for the first time, with the addition of the No. 67 for prospect Corey Heim. At a track that 23XI has historically run so well at, their prospect, in his open entry, would have the best afternoon of all.
Heim scored a career-best 13th-place finish, beating out Tyler Reddick, a championship contender and fourth-place starter, in 17th, Riley Herbst in 27th, and Bubba Wallace in 33rd.
While Wallace and Reddick have not had bad seasons by any means, this weekend showed that the team has yet to ascend to the level most thought they had last season. As most suspected, Riley Herbst’s ascent to the Cup Series has been an absolute flop, and this weekend proved that with Heim in the wings, his term at 23XI could be a short one.
It’s hard to put into words just how pathetic Brad Keselowski’s 2025 season has been. So here’s a quick look at the stats behind his 2025 downfall. Of course, this year, Brad has yet to have a top ten finish; he had five through the first twelve races last season. Furthermore, his average finish has dropped from 15.6 last year to 27.2 this season.
Brad entered this weekend with a 26.3 average finish, and it appeared this number was trending upward as he charged to the front of the pack at the start of the final stage. The No. 6 snagged second from Kyle Larson and was faster than leader Chase Elliott. This speed lasted until his right-rear tire decided the No. 6 car’s good luck was over. Knasas was Brad’s fifth finish outside the top 30 this season, and he has finished on the lead lap just twice in 2025.
Of course, we’re not calling out all NASCAR fans, but we want to mention a select few this week. In modern NASCAR, fans often complain about the lack of characters or personality on the track on any given weekend. However, one character on track this weekend received a certain amount of pushback.
As a Cup Series driver competing in the Truck Series, people were going to push back at Carson Hocevar this weekend. However, the fandom’s reaction to his actions after a hard-fought battle with Layne Riggs was once again another shining example of NASCAR fans’ indecisiveness.
We are constantly looking for drivers with outgoing personalities who are not scared of the spotlight. While Hocevar has presented himself that way, some fans continue to push back. Whether it’s flipping of Riggs or streaming iRacing during the Daytona 500 rain delay, Hocevar continues to be one of the best personalities in the garage, so for once, can we all appreciate him for that?
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Garrett Mitchell, better known by his online persona Cleetus McFarland, says his 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series schedule isn’t set in stone, something the YouTube star explained to Dale Earnhardt Jr on the latest episode of The Dale Jr Download.
One of the biggest surprises in recent NASCAR news is that YouTube star Cleetus McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, will make his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut next month at Rockingham Speedway.
Mitchell, who has just won a NASCAR National Series start to his name, will make this start with Richard Childress Racing in their No. 33 car as part of a part-time development contract that will see him make starts in 2026 and 2027.
Per Mitchell, his contract will cover three races per season, though he hinted it could be more in a Facebook post. Nonetheless, fans are eagerly awaiting an official schedule of what other tracks Mitchell and RCR will tackle in 2026.
Unfortunately, fans will have to wait a little longer for this schedule, as the 30-year-old Floridian explained during a recent interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr, his 2026 schedule is still up in the air a month ahead of his first race.
During an interview on the latest episode of the Dale Jr Download, Mitchell told Earnhardt that while he plans to race the superspeedways after Rockingham, with his sights set on Talladega’s April 25 or October 24 race weekend, the decision lies in the hands of NASCAR.
“NASCAR said I cannot run Talladega unless I go to Rockingham first and do well,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell then clarified that while he will have a rookie test for Rockingham, the race at Rockingham will determine his eligibility to race at Talladega.
What’s Happening? YouTube star-turned-NASCAR driver Garrett Mitchell, best known by his online persona Cleetus McFarland, has signed a part-time deal to…
Mitchell, who has two ARCA starts at Daytona and one at Talladega, has already taken a rookie test this season at Rockingham for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Despite a minor crash during this test, Mitchell was cleared to race in the season-opening race at Daytona, crashing himself in a single truck spin five laps into the race, after a valiant qualifying effort.
Even with the barrier of Rockingham in the way, fans are already somewhat concerned about McFarland’s skills, given the result of his short time behind the wheel of a truck.
During this episode of The DJD, Mitchell expressed his intentions to work his way up the ladder and learn, but with the caveat that if an opportunity presents itself to him, he will take it, using the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series as a metaphorical example.
“I don’t want to drive a Cup car right now. But, brother, if someone calls me and says, ‘We got a spot in a Cup car in the Daytona 500?’ I mean, what am I supposed to do?” — Cleetus McFarland
Despite his doubters, with the support of RCR and their developmental tools, Mitchell seems confident about the opportunity, already getting in some sim time with RCR.
Either way, no matter how much support he has in his corner, Mitchell is diving in headfirst once again with this opportunity.
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.
Lionel has officially opened pre-orders for Garrett Mitchell’s (better known as Cleetus McFarland) first-ever NASCAR diecast.
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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.
