From the beginning, Cleetus McFarland has been a divisive personality in NASCAR. There’s one side that believes someone like him, with his following, can be good for the sport. But there’s another side that believes someone like him hasn’t earned his way into the sport. Now, which side is true is anyone’s guess. But Kenny Wallace believes that if one of those two sides is rubbed the wrong way, things can escalate.

Kenny Wallace warns against offending Cleetus McFarland fans

During a recent conversation on a Dirty Mo Media podcast, Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader discussed Cleetus McFarland. Wallace, the former FOX Sports broadcaster, claimed that Rockingham was ‘all about Cleetus McFarland’ whether one likes it or not.

Wallace warned Schrader, and in effect, to any of McFarland’s critics, that to pick on him would be inviting a lot of trouble. “This is like picking on Dale Jr., and this is like picking on Taylor Swift. If you pick on Cleetus, this mob’s going to come after you,” Wallace said.

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Just like Dale Jr. and Taylor Swift, Cleetus McFarland has a very loyal fanbase that naturally exists outside the traditional motorsport fanbase of NASCAR. With over 4.6 million subscribers, he already has a strong digital connection with his online community, who are ready to support him with whatever venture he chooses to pursue.

So, Wallace means going against McFarland will mean going against a huge, newly built fanbase of NASCAR that comes with him, which will naturally be a big blow to the sport.

Schrader further shared his issues with McFarland being in an O’Reilly race. “I got a problem with Cleetus being in the race because the whole NASCAR approval process has just changed over the years. I understand why he’s there. He’s got a heck of a following. He brought a lot of attention. That’s great,” he described.

Rockingham was McFarland’s first of three races under his contract with RCR for the O’Reilly Series. Before this, he raced once in the Truck Series, finishing in 37th place. Apart from that, he has fewer than ten ARCA starts to his name. So the fact that he was approved by NASCAR to race in the O’Reilly Series came as a controversial decision to many.

Later in their conversation, Wallace further wondered what Cleetus McFarland had done to have earned his opportunity in NASCAR, to which Schrader replied, “A following on YouTube. That’s what he’s got.”

It’s worth mentioning that currently, aside from his YouTube fanbase, Cleetus McFarland has 985,000+ followers on Instagram. To put it in perspective, NASCAR’s current most popular driver, Chase Elliott, has 512,000 followers. However, that wasn’t enough to hand him a big opportunity that he was eyeing next.

McFarland denied by NASCAR to race at an iconic track

While the races in which Cleetus McFarland would run under his 3-race agreement with RCR haven’t been decided, the YouTuber was hopeful of racing at Talladega Superspeedway. During an appearance in a Facebook video, he confirmed that NASCAR ‘did not see enough’ from him at Rockingham to grant him clearance for Talladega.

NASCAR’s John Probst said McFarland is approved for short tracks in the O’Reilly Series and all Truck and ARCA races. But the governing body wants to ‘see more’ from him before he’s allowed at bigger tracks where the stakes are higher.

The superspeedway at Talladega is one of NASCAR’s most brutal and demanding tracks. It takes years and years for drivers to understand not just how to go about the race, but also how to finish the race.

Given McFarland’s experience at Daytona earlier this year, another superspeedway, it makes sense that NASCAR did not see value in giving him clearance. One mistake from the YouTuber and he would not only potentially end his own race, but also that of his rivals, causing damage worth millions because of a lack of experience.

This would put NASCAR under intense scrutiny, and hence, they chose not to give McFarland the clearance.