By the time Cleetus McFarland landed an opportunity with Richard Childress Racing, he had already built a following through his automotive videos and grassroots racing ventures. Known to millions through his YouTube channel, McFarland had gradually moved from creating automotive content to competing in stock car racing. Now, as Richard Childress prepares to bring his organization back to full-time ARCA competition, a NASCAR veteran believes his next chapter could look very different from what anyone expects.
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“Everybody’s gonna watch the rise of Cleetus. Mark my words, I’m gonna put it right here. Cleetus is gonna win three ARCA races next year. Oh yeah, I think so. And I think he’s gonna learn a lot. Cleetus is now gonna run consistently, and that’s what he’s been missing. And that’s what nobody else has said. And so that is my opinion. I can see it right now,” Kenny Wallace said in a video uploaded on his X account.
Wallace’s prediction comes as McFarland prepares for his first full ARCA Menards Series campaign with Richard Childress Racing. The YouTube personality, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, will drive the No. 33 Chevrolet, with Robert Strmiska serving as crew chief.
The announcement also marks Richard Childress Racing‘s return to full-time ARCA competition, bringing together an organization with a championship-winning history in the series and a driver looking to establish himself in stock car racing.
For Wallace, the biggest difference will be the opportunity to race consistently. McFarland has already experienced several levels of competition, but his starts have been spread across different teams and schedules. A full season should give him more opportunities to understand the cars, learn from mistakes and build on what he picks up from one race to the next.
That is the central point behind Kenny Wallace’s three-win prediction. He is not simply expecting a popular content creator to become an overnight contender. He believes regular competition could help turn McFarland’s developing experience into more consistent results. And while the prediction is ambitious, the driver’s progress over the past two seasons gives the upcoming campaign an interesting starting point.
From YouTube Creator to Richard Childress Racing’s Full-Time ARCA Driver
McFarland’s route into professional stock car racing has been different from that of many drivers entering the national ranks. He first built his name through automotive content on YouTube, where videos featuring high-performance cars, racing challenges and motorsports projects attracted millions of subscribers.
His interest in racing eventually extended beyond creating content. He became a competitor himself and established the Freedom Factory, a short track in Bradenton, Florida, where he has hosted events and brought his online audience closer to grassroots motorsports.
His ARCA journey began with Rette Jones Racing in 2025. McFarland made his series debut at Daytona International Speedway and competed in four races that season. He finished 10th at Talladega Superspeedway, ninth at Charlotte Motor Speedway and 17th at Bristol Motor Speedway, with a 30th-place result at Daytona.
Those appearances gave him an initial taste of the competition and the demands of racing against established ARCA drivers.
He returned for a partial ARCA schedule in 2026 and came close to securing his first victory at Talladega. McFarland finished second by just 0.111 seconds after leading 19 laps. He also earned his first Sioux Chief PowerPEX Pole Award at Michigan International Speedway. Those results offered a glimpse of what he could achieve when he found his rhythm against experienced competitors.
His experience has not been limited to ARCA. McFarland also made two NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts for Richard Childress Racing in 2026, finishing 32nd at Rockingham and 35th at Nashville.
He also competed in three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races for Niece Motorsports. Those opportunities exposed him to the demands of different stock car divisions, although his results also reflected the learning curve involved in moving up the racing ladder.
The move to a full-time ARCA schedule is therefore a significant change. Rather than piecing together occasional starts across different series, McFarland will have an entire season with the same organization and crew chief. That continuity could help him develop a better understanding of the cars, improve his racecraft and carry lessons from one weekend into the next.
Richard Childress‘ organization adds another dimension to the opportunity. Richard Childress Racing previously guided Ty Dillon to the 2011 ARCA Menards Series championship, when he won seven races and recorded 16 top-10 finishes across 19 events.
The team’s history in the series also includes victories with drivers such as Charlie Glotzbach and Tim George Jr., underlining its experience in developing and supporting ARCA competitors.
Dillon’s championship provides a relevant example of what Richard Childress Racing can accomplish with a driver competing regularly across an ARCA season. McFarland will have a different challenge, entering with a substantial online following but still developing his experience in national-level stock car racing. The comparison is not about expecting him to immediately replicate Dillon’s success. It is about the opportunity to develop within a team that understands the series.
Wallace’s three-win forecast will now give fans another benchmark to watch throughout 2027. The ARCA schedule will test McFarland across superspeedways, intermediate ovals, traditional short tracks, road courses and dirt tracks. He will need to adapt to different racing conditions rather than rely on the strengths that have served him at individual events.
A full season will provide the consistency Wallace believes has been missing, but converting that opportunity into victories will be the real test. Richard Childress Racing has the experience and infrastructure to support his development. Whether McFarland can turn that backing into the three wins Wallace expects remains to be seen.