The ultimate goal of anyone aspiring to get into NASCAR is to race in the Cup Series and the Daytona 500 race. The same was the case with YouTuber-turned-driver, Cleetus McFarland.  However, after experiencing racing at the highest level, his priority has changed.

Cleetus McFarland gives up on Cup Series dream

“I want to race Cup. I want to race the Daytona 500 next year,” These were Cleetus McFarland’s words to the late Greg Biffle when McFarland was first introduced to NASCAR. Although he managed to compete in the historic Daytona 500 race, McFarland is now done with Cup Series racing.

“Now I am in this, I don’t want to race the Cup at all. Like, that’s terrifying me. The gap between my skill and those guys’ is massive, and I know that. And I have no desire to race in this series either,” said McFarland in an interview on Sirius XM Radio.

McFarland admits his current level of talent can only take him so far. Right now, he is only able to challenge the ARCA drivers. That’s because how more laid-back it is compared to NASCAR’s national series; in comparison, the O’Reilly and Truck series look like a far cry to him.

McFarland agreed that his confidence had taken a little bit of a hit after his incident at the Daytona 500 earlier this year. While he believes his talent does not match the rest of the field in the Cup Series, the YouTube sensation did not want to refuse the opportunity to drive in the upcoming O’Reilly Series race, despite being aware of his shortcomings.

“I am not going to turn down this opportunity, so here I am. To circle back to your question, this O’Reilly thing takes a lot more skill than anything I have ever done, and, as I said, I have put myself in the position now where it’s all up to me,” said McFarland. “And I don’t have the skill to back it up, but I am doing my best to obtain that skill as fast as possible. I know that sounds impossible, but I am going to try my damn best to do it.”

Even Dale Earnhardt Jr. advised him to stay away from the news. Dale Jr. does not want McFarland to try something that is way out of his reach and wreck someone in the process. At the end of the day, there is no doubt about his love for racing. If he works on his abilities as a driver, things could change for him,  but if offered a full-time seat, will he be able to take it?

Cleetus McFarland debates turning down full-time seat

It was only recently that McFarland signed a three-race deal with Richard Childress. Even though many people were against it, his reputation and social media following certainly were a factor in helping him get to the position.

McFarland pushed back on criticism from fans about him being allowed a seat, but stated that it would be tough for anyone to say to Richard Childress if they came calling.

His current three-race deal could be further extended based on how things go for him, but McFarland does not want to jump steps.

“We were talking the other day about how we cannot get roped into doing this full-time. I don’t know what I would do if Richard Childress called me and said, ‘I need you to run full-time in 2027. That’d be a hard phone call to turn down. That would be hard for me,” said McFarland.

To understand where he is coming from, we need to keep in mind that Cleetus McFarland did not start as a racing driver. He is an automotive content creator, and for him, racing in the ARCA and Truck series is like a hobby. To commit to a full-time NASCAR seat, he will have to give up content creation. This is certainly a tough choice to make, and only time will tell if he will make that difficult call.