Cleetus McFarland’s NASCAR involvement had largely been off the track for a long time. But that changed quickly after he made his ARCA debut in 2025, followed by his Truck and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut this season. However, he seems to have something far more exciting for the future after a successful Talladega run.

Cleetus McFarland eyeing a full-time seat

Most of the sponsorship that McFarland managed to get while racing in the ARCA Series was brought through his YouTube partnerships and related brands. But as it appears, he feels positive about running a full-time season in the future, after his second-place finish in this past weekend’s ARCA Menards Series race at Talladega.

“If we can do this and pay for a full season of racing, that’s absolutely bonkers. So that’s what I’m looking forward to trying to do, is race a full season of ARCA,” Garrett Mitchell A.K.A Cleetus McFarland, said.

His full-time ARCA debut would be a lot more sensible. His debut in NASCAR’s National Series did not go well in both the Truck and NOAP Series. He struggled to keep pace and also found the wall, ending his race poorly. But he has been far better in ARCA with a much more competitive pace and overall skills to suggest strong racecraft.

This weekend was especially a defining moment for Garret Mitchell, aka Cleetus McFarland. His best career finish came during the ARCA event, where he teamed up with his friend Squirrel McNutt and was just one move away from pulling off the win for Rette Jones Racing. Mitchell’s success was not confined to the track. He discussed how the Talladega race exposure turned into a major benefit for his business on his Bald Eagles podcast.

Mitchell said the visibility, especially with the new Mr. Sam’s Spray Wax paint scheme, led to a surge in demand, with his online store selling thousands of bottles of the product.

He highlighted how unusual that outcome is: “There are not many people who get to say they can make money while racing in NASCAR with their own sponsor.”

For the longest time, McFarland has only been an automobile YouTuber. In the past 16 years of uploading, he has managed to build a massive audience with around 4.7 million subscribers on his main channel. Although he wasn’t formally a driver in the past, it was quite apparent that he wanted to try out stock racing. His huge automobile collection also includes some interesting race cars.

Moreover, his friendship with prominent NASCAR figures, including the late Greg Biffle, only strengthened his involvement with the sport, and he managed to make his ARCA debut last year, as mentioned.

While Mitchell has dipped his toe in ARCA competition before, making four starts in the main series last year (and planning another this season), he had never shown a strong desire to commit full-time. Previously, while he recognized the appeal, he also acknowledged the trade-offs, saying, “It would be really fun, but also, I just don’t know that it’s worth it,” to balance a full racing schedule with his work as a content creator.

Denny Hamlin believes McFarland could have won at Talladega

Having raced in the Cup Series for two decades now, Denny Hamlin knows when he sees a race-winning car. And this was the #30 on the ARCA field at Talladega.

“Cleetus was just one solid move away from actually winning,” Hamlin said on the Actions Detrimental podcast.

During the final restart, Cleetus McFarland had managed to place himself within the top five, and following a strong order from his crew chief, he backed up, getting enough support from the cars behind to make it into the top three. This was a strong battle to the finish line, and for a moment it seemed that McFarland had taken the lead and would win, but then a minor issue hampered it.

“He had all the help behind him, but he was so concerned with the car that was on the inside. He goes down, he’s trying to block it. Meanwhile, the guy that was about to push him just goes on by on the outside and wins the race,” Hamlin added.

In an attempt to block Gus Dean, McFarland moved completely towards the bottom and made contact; meanwhile, Andy Jankowiak capitalized on this and took the chequered flag, followed by the #30.

While he missed out on a potential race win, Cleetus McFarland’s performance on the 2.6-mile superspeedway proved to be a strong statement building towards his career as a racing driver. The Cup Series currently looks far from him, but with a potential plan to make a full-time ARCA debut, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him on the path to race with the more experienced drivers in the future.