“If I cause the wreck, then I usually will not be in the wreck.” That was the very confident advice Cleetus McFarland says he got from Carson Hocevar before making his NASCAR Truck Series debut. Advice that did not age well! Just six laps into the Fresh From Florida 250, McFarland looped it off Turn 4 and slammed the inside wall, becoming the only driver involved in the early crash that ended his night.

But instead of sulking, Cleetus did what has made fans love him for years: he owned it. And only hours later, after running the ARCA race, he met up with Hocevar for a brutally honest (and surprisingly wholesome) debrief that showed just how committed he is to learning, improving, and proving he belongs in NASCAR.

Cleetus McFarland blocks out the noise

For every fan cheering Cleetus McFarland on, there’s another loudly insisting he doesn’t belong in NASCAR. And social media made sure he heard it after his early Truck Series crash. But instead of firing back, Cleetus is taking a very different approach: learning, adapting, and staying in the fight.

As he told fans after regrouping from his wild Daytona weekend, “I’m not giving up on trucks. Maybe I’ll hang out in the back a little bit, learning some.” And if his résumé is any indication, he means it. Cleetus isn’t some inexperienced rookie or another YouTuber getting to live his dream without any talent tossed into the deep end.

His stock car journey began last February in the ARCA Menards Series, where he ran a respectable four-race slate at Daytona, Talladega, Charlotte, and Bristol for Rette Jones Racing. If you guys remember, he scored two top-10 finishes in the process. For a newcomer transitioning from YouTube fame and grassroots racing into the world of superspeedways, that was no small feat.

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The 2026 ARCA opener at Daytona showed even more of that growth. McFarland spent the early laps inside the top five, climbing as high as third with clean, steady driving. His day could’ve gone off the rails when a broken jack on pit road dropped him a lap down, but he stayed composed. A wave of late-race cautions gave him the chance to fight back, and he capitalized. He clawed his way to an 11th-place finish.

For all the criticism he faces, Cleetus McFarland continues proving one thing: he’s not here for a cameo. He’s here to learn, improve, and earn his place. And if Daytona was any sign, the determination is very real. And the journey, well, it’s only getting started.

While Hocevar regroups after Truck Series heartbreak

While Cleetus McFarland bounced back with humility after his chaotic weekend, his best friend Carson Hocevar is doing some regrouping of his own. The 2026 Daytona 500 practice session wasn’t particularly kind to him, with Hocevar clocking a 49.08-second lap, placing him 29th on the speed charts. For comparison, Austin Cindric topped the session at 48.025 seconds, underscoring just how much speed the No. 77 team still needs to find before Sunday.

It comes on the heels of a rough outing in the Fresh From Florida 250, where Hocevar showed flashes of brilliance (and, in typical Hocevar fashion, even frustration). He stormed out to win Stage 1 in dramatic fashion, edging out Tanner Gray in a finish so close that timing and scoring initially got it wrong.

But the momentum didn’t last. On Lap 58, while once again leading, his truck stepped sideways after suffering another left-rear flat tire. The slide cost him the lead, the momentum, and ultimately the race. He eventually DNF’d in 35th, just two spots ahead of McFarland, who finished 37th.

Even so, Hocevar’s long-term outlook remains bright. Extremely bright, we’d say. Just one week ago, on February 5, 2026, Spire Motorsports locked him into a long-term contract extension, keeping him in the No. 77 Chevrolet “into the next decade.” The commitment solidifies the 23-year-old, the 2024 Rookie of the Year, as a foundational piece of the team’s future.

Daytona may have knocked him back, but Hocevar is nowhere near out. With a decade of racing ahead of him, this is just another chapter. Not the entire story.