Cleetus McFarland 'trying not to look like an idiot' at Rockingham

Social media star Cleetus McFarland, who will make his NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series debut at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday, has one goal for his first race at the second-highest level of stock car racing in the world: not looking like an idiot.

"That's the goal," McFarland told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Tuesday. 

The Bradenton, Florida, native who turns 31 on Sunday, has only five ARCA Menards Series starts and one short-lived NASCAR Truck Series start under his belt. Yet, he'll be thrust into a Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet at Rockingham that will have the speed under the hood to win Saturday's North Carolina Education Lottery 250. 

McFarland has made a name for himself on YouTube, where his channel has over 4.67 million subscribers. He's raced everything from a Ford Crown Victoria to a modified, street-legal NASCAR truck and everything in between. His wild antics on YouTube have made him a star on the internet, and his personality has made him a star at the racetrack. 

But all of that fades away in the incredibly serious spaces of the garage area and the racetrack, where teams and drivers are making a living while competing at an incredibly high level of motorsports. McFarland has had his detractors since before he made his ARCA debut at Daytona in 2025, and as he's moved up the NASCAR ladder, they've only gotten louder. 

"It's a very fair question," McFarland said. "All the criticism that I've had, I get it. From the outside in, it's like, 'Why does this guy get to race in the O'Reilly Series?' 

"Here's the deal: If anyone got the call from Richard Childress at my age [wanting] to be a race car driver, [and they said], 'Hey, do you want to come run our car?' It's a no-brainer to say yes. How could I turn that opportunity down? And if NASCAR is going to let me do it, here I am. It's reasonable to question that, but I'm willing to embarrass myself time and time again. I do not care."

Don't take that willingness to embarrass himself as a sign that McFarland isn't serious about bettering himself behind the wheel, however. 

"I'm willing to learn," McFarland said. "I'm willing to put in the effort to make myself a reasonable competitor. I've put myself in this position. I've accepted the offer. Now it's up to me."

Cleetus McFarland confident ahead of Rockingham

Despite his relative inexperience, McFarland said he feels good about his prospects going into the race weekend. 

"Obviously, there's a lot of pressure coming into the O'Reilly Series for the first time. I want to make everyone proud, but I'm actually feeling pretty confident about it now."

At the very least, McFarland will generate plenty of buzz throughout the week and throughout the race weekend. From practice and qualifying on Friday to Saturday's race, which McFarland is guaranteed to make, he will be one of the top stories of the weekend, if not the most talked-about. 

And wherever he finishes when the checkered flag flies on Saturday, you can bet he'll emerge from his No. 33 Chevy with a smile on his face.