Michigan International Speedway is a special track in itself for NASCAR fans. After all, it gave Greg Biffle his final Cup Series win while competing for Roush Fenway Racing. And this weekend, this same racetrack promises something rather special for the NASCAR fans. But this time, it will be Biffle’s protege behind the wheel instead of him, looking forward to a career first.

Cleetus McFarland is now a pole position winner

For the first time in his ARCA Menards Series career, Cleetus McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, will lead the field to the green flag at Michigan International Speedway. His lap of 38.987 seconds narrowly edged out current points leader Jake Bollman, who will share the front row starting second. He beat Bollman to the pole by just 0.025 seconds at the two-mile speedway, the biggest non-superspeedway oval he has ever raced on.

So, love him or hate him, Cleetus McFarland is here to stay in NASCAR.

He signed a part-time deal with Richard Childress Racing to compete in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, three races in 2026 and three in 2027, in the No. 33 Chevrolet, alongside established RCR drivers Austin Hill and Jesse Love.  But people in the NASCAR community were highly critical of his attempt to run in the NASCAR national divisions while coming from a background with no formal racing experience or training.

Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, publicly questioned NASCAR’s approval process. “Crash at the Rockingham truck test. Crash Lap 5 of your only truck start. Good enough for me. Approved,” Kraft wrote on X.

His ARCA programme, however, runs separately through Rette Jones Racing, and that is where the development curve has been most visible. At Talladega in April, McFarland not only led laps in the Alabama Manufactured Housing 200 but positioned himself in the middle of a thrilling three-wide dash to the checkered flag, ultimately settling for a runner-up photo finish in just his third start of the season. Tonight’s race at Michigan will be his eighth career ARCA start and his fourth in the national series this season, with an additional start at Rockingham in the ARCA East.

And not only has his performance increased his chances of claiming his first victory, but he also has the opportunity to dedicate it to his late mentor, Greg Biffle. Just like Daniel Suarez felt the push from Kyle Busch in the final laps of the Coca-Cola 600 this year, it seems like Biffle is riding along with McFarland for this special race. And undoubtedly, McFarland was unable to contain his excitement and happiness post-session as he informed his fans about his latest accolade.

McFarland has also spoken up about his future plans, which may include a full-time season in the ARCA Menards Series. This proves that with enough experience and effort, any racing series is not far away. All he ever needed was the right push in order to blow past the criticism and concentrate his efforts in the right direction before he started playing with the veterans in the NASCAR field.

And now, Cleetus McFarland’s fans have an even better reason to be proud of him, turning down the critics.

Cleetus McFarland draws appreciation from the NASCAR community

McFarland’s pole position for the weekend did not come without its own set of difficulties. As a fan summarized, “Cleetus McFarland hit the wall in practice, fixed the car, and is on the pole for the ARCA race in Michigan. Let’s Freaking Go!”

In fact, his ability to recover from a crash and become the best driver for the session is exactly what racing is all about. Earlier, McFarland had confessed his inferiority to NASCAR drivers when he ran with them in the O’Reilly series. It seems that in the ARCA series, McFarland can get over it and power through with results.

His result and achievement even prompted the likes of Steven Taranto to post, “Cleetus McFarland is fastest in ARCA qualifying. Ripped it around Michigan like a bald eagle, and he starts on pole later today.”

Even NASCAR’s official social media channel couldn’t help but join in on this occasion. “Rippin’ around MISpeedway like a bald eagle for his first ARCA Racing pole! What a lap, Cleetus,” they wrote as they posted a snippet of him driving at Michigan during the qualifying session.

With McFarland achieving something that others had deemed impossible in the past, one of the fans couldn’t help but add in a little note from internet pop culture. “We got a Cleetus McFarland pole before GTA 6.”

The Henry Ford Health 200 at Michigan International Speedway is set to take place from 5 PM Eastern Time later today. It will be broadcast on FS2, so make sure to tune in and watch a bald eagle spread its wings out for glory for the first time.