Cleetus McFarland suffers engine failure in ARCA race at Kansas

A potential top-10 day for Cleetus McFarland in the ARCA Menards Series race at Kansas Speedway literally went up in smoke on Saturday afternoon. 

McFarland, a 31-year-old internet star who is still learning the art of stock car racing, was running inside the top 10 during Saturday's Tide 150 at Kansas and had gotten as high as seventh in the running order. 

However, his engine expired in turn 1 with 24 laps to go, and while he was able to keep his No. 30 Rette Jones Racing Ford out of the wall, the blown motor meant his race was over. 

Cleetus McFarland slowly improving

Despite his lack of stock car racing experience, McFarland is showing steady improvement. He made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series debuts this season and has another ARCA start scheduled on April 25 at Talladega Superspeedway. 

The Bradenton, Florida, native has six ARCA starts under his belt going into Talladega, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him run up front for much of the afternoon. His steady effort at Kansas on Saturday is proof that he is slowly but surely developing better racecraft. 

McFarland was the second driver to suffer a blown engine in Saturday's race, as the No. 11 Chevrolet of Robbie Kennealy also went up in smoke on Saturday afternoon.