“Charlotte is a whole different ballgame compared to Daytona or Talladega.” These words came from Cleetus McFarland, aka Garrett Mitchell, two days ago. The popular YouTuber has created waves in recent news, making his stock car debut with his over 4.2 million subscribers rooting for him. Although his Daytona outing turned ugly with a 30th-place finish, McFarland salvaged a remarkable top ten in Talladega. McFarland hoped to continue that good luck into Charlotte, but in vain.
To entertain his fans, Cleetus McFarland had an in-car camera installed for his ARCA Menards Series start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. With 40,000+ fans watching, you would think the show would be spectacular. Unfortunately, multiple calamities descended on NASCAR’s social media king.
Cleetus McFarland laments about a forgettable finish
Well, the finish was extremely commendable. Cleetus McFarland finished 9th in his third career start and his first non-superspeedway attempt. However, what happened before the climax drew raised eyebrows from the community. He stayed out during the first caution, restarting on the outside with 62 laps to go. But he spun his tires with William Sawalich behind him, and tagged the rear of Isabella Robusto’s car. This collected several other competitive cars, and only McFarland and Sawalich were able to continue. McFarland’s frustration was visible as fans watched him slam the wheel and slap the top of his helmet.
In a post-race interview, the YouTuber looked cheerful as always, but with a hint of deep regret. He recounted his disastrous Charlotte start: “I took some guys out, real rookie maneuver…Great time. I learned a ton. This track is so much harder than a superspeedway, you can’t even put the words to it. Obviously, everyone told me, but damn, I got my butt kicked. It’s too tight, so I killed the front tires, and everyone was blowing my doors off in the last ten laps. That felt terrible.” Cleetus McFarland tried to explain that even the tires did not give him a forewarning. “I didn’t even know they were old tires. I just thought I was a terrible driver. So I don’t know. It’s just weird how we were hoping that another caution would come out and I could get the new tires on, but we didn’t get it.”
“Damn, I got my butt kicked.”
Cleetus McFarland hitting the pace car and getting loose restarting on the front row, triggering a massive accident at Charlotte. He compared the difficulty between Talladega and Charlotte. pic.twitter.com/fps4tscGR1
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) May 24, 2025
Besides setting off that multi-car melee among his rivals, Cleetus McFarland did something else. Prior to the calamitous restart, he said that he ‘fulfilled his life dream’ by tagging the pace car on the front row. He had few regrets to share about that little act, though, as McFarland said in his hearty tone, “But then I got to the front row at the end of the pace car…might get a penalty or whatever. But hey, you get to the front row of a NASCAR race, how do you not tap the damn pace car? That’s like the American dream, okay? I’m in a freaking VA-powered bald eagle.”
He wreaked havoc and took home a solid top-ten finish. However, Cleetus McFarland duly apologized for his wrecking antics as well.
Bowing his head in humility
We all know how humble the YouTube personality can be. When Hurricane Helene hit South Carolina in 2024, Cleetus McFarland lent a helping hand to Greg Biffle in the rescue and relief efforts. This immensely shot up his respect among motorsports fans, and eventually, McFarland ended up pursuing his racing dreams. So even though Charlotte ended on a spectacular note for him, McFarland acknowledged his mistakes. Isabella Robusto is a rising phenom, as the female speedster had recorded a jaw-dropping 6th-place finish on her 2024 ARCA debut in Phoenix. Driving the No. 55 Toyota for Venturini Motorsports in 2025, her recent finishes have not been so impressive. Hence, McFarland’s chaos in Charlotte ended up prolonging her struggles.
Cleetus McFarland sincerely apologized for ruining Robusto’s and so many others’ chances. He said, “I want to start out by apologizing to the team that I took out. I think it was several cars. I just feel terrible. Every time I go racing, I don’t want to get taken out. I’ve felt it. It sucks. I’ve been sent home and I made a complete rookie maneuver on the restart. I zigged and then I zagged and then (she) was blowing my door off and on the zag. I hit her and put her in the wall. I feel terrible about it. I know those guys work hard to be out here. It sucks to send them home.”
Evidently, Cleetus McFarland was on a bumpy yet fulfilling ride in Charlotte. After wreaking havoc, he will hope to get a firm grip for his next outing at Bristol Motor Speedway.
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