Richard Childress defends Cleetus McFarland NASCAR experiment: ‘Great idea’

The Cleetus McFarland experiment in NASCAR has produced no shortage of strong takes, from those who are thrilled he’s getting a crack at the highest levels of the sport to those who think it’s simply a PR stunt. Richard Childress has seen it all before.

The RCR boss sat down with Chris Weaver for a brief interview on video discussing the social media sensation. He remains overwhelmingly positive about the decision to add him to the RCR lineup for a handful of races.

“You know, Ty Dillon, when he came to me, and he talked about it, I said, ‘What a great idea, not just for RCR but for our sport,'” Childress said. “Here, Cleetus, which is Garrett (Mitchell), has close to five million followers. And if we can get 10% of those new fans coming to races and looking at the racetrack because of Cleetus… and I know he brought people to Rockingham, brought people watching the race.”

Cleetus McFarland’s impact has been palpable. On top of the buzz generated on social media every time he turns a lap, makes contact with another driver, or nearly loses the car to a spin, there’s actually some tangible evidence he’s boosting the ratings.

The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Rockingham that Cleetus McFarland took part in saw a big ratings bump. It was up 12% in terms of rating year-over-year, while jumping 11% in total viewership.

“He’s a rookie. I’m proud of what he did last week,” Childress said. “He finished fourth in the ARCA race. He’s raced, but he doesn’t have the experience. I think some of the drivers are beating him up a little excessive because he’s getting a lot of attention, probably.”

Whatever the case, Cleetus McFarland is generating headlines. And people are clicking.

“That’s for sure. You worry when they don’t talk about you. But Cleetus did a great job,” Childress said. “And he loves the sport. He’s a car guy and the fans follow him for that, and he’ll bring us a lot of new fans. Sure, he’s going to make a mistake or two. I can’t tell you how many mistakes previous drivers that I’ve had made when they were first starting. It’s racing. I’ve seen them all come and go. It’s been interesting to watch Cleetus and seeing what he can do for NASCAR really is what pumps me up.”

That said, there’s an obvious learning curve. NASCAR hasn’t seen enough from Cleetus McFarland yet. It won’t let him race at Talladega Superspeedway just yet, wanting to see more time in the car at this level before doing so.

But Childress sounds confident it’s just a matter of time. And you can’t buy the kind of publicity McFarland brings.

“When you step up, if you go from late model to trucks to Xfinity car, every step is tougher and tougher and tougher,” Childress said. “I think you learn something from it. I think you’ll see Cleetus, we’re going to get him in some more races along the way. I think you’ll see him. But he’s just a natural talent when it comes to being with the public and speaking for NASCAR.”