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Cleetus McFarland has already planned two of the scheduled three NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races for 2026, so what track would be the best fit for the RCR drivers’ final planned race of the season?
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Garrett Mitchell, aka Cleetus McFarland, has been living out his racing dreams this season. With solid finishes in ARCA, alongside debuts in NASCAR’s two lower National Series, the 31-year-old has rocketed through NASCAR’s lower levels.
Although he made his highly anticipated NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut at Rockingham Speedway, the 32nd finish didn’t quite turn heads. It was a moment of reckoning for fans and the driver himself, as NASCAR did not grant him approval to race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Since then, he has announced an alternate start planned for next month at Nashville Superspeedway, but, with past claims that his Richard Childress Racing contract is three races per year across the next two seasons, what will be the ideal venue for the 31-year-old to prove he is ready for this level?
There’s no denying that Daytona International Speedway or Talladega Superspeedway would be the most high-profile way for the YouTube sensation to close out his 2026 NASCAR OAP Series campaign. But as things stand, a start at either drafting track is possibly still off the table.
Of course, NASCAR already held him back from ‘Dega’ once, making it clear that superspeedway approval will depend on what he shows at intermediate tracks. As a result, his upcoming run at the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway on May 30 takes on added importance.
Case in point, if McFarland can deliver a clean, controlled race at Nashville, it could reopen the door for a superspeedway start later in the season, especially after his recent runner-up finish at Talladega in ARCA.
Still, if he wanted to get in a superspeedway race at the NASCAR OAP Series level this season, after Nashville, he could look into Daytona, after all, he has experience at the track in ARCA and Trucks, something that could give him an edge over racing at Talladega.
Still, another race on an intermediate could do the job for Mitchell. So, why not a returning track like Chicagoland Speedway?
The intermediate track at Jolliet, IL, would give him exactly that opportunity. A golden ticket to get up to speed, manage traffic, and show consistency over a longer green-flag run. In his case, for a driver with limited experience at this level, it’s a better evaluation tool than a superspeedway.
Not to mention, the Fourth of July weekend fits not only his personality, but also where Mitchell is in his racing career right now.
His debut at Rockingham showed there’s still work to do, and the same was clear in his Truck Series run at Daytona, which ended as soon as it began, six laps down.
With so few starts on intermediates across ARCA, windshield time there matters more than swinging for a headline.
In a nutshell, a strong, mistake-free run at Nashville followed by a solid showing at a track like Chicagoland could do more for his development in his short contract at RCR than a rushed superspeedway debut.
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