While Cleetus McFarland won’t be racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Talladega this weekend, he just added another date to his schedule. Richard Childress Racing is putting McFarland in the No. 33 car at Nashville in May.
The end of May in Nashville is always a fun time of the year. That’s right when the weather starts to get really hot, the track is slick, and it is one of the best party venues in all of racing.
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NASCAR wants to see Cleetus race more on smaller tracks. He just raced at Kansas in the ARCA Menards Series but had his race cut short by a blown engine. Cleetus is starting to really pour himself into stock car racing. At Rockingham, the YouTuber finished P32 in his series debut.
Garrett Mitchell ( Cleetus McFarland ) before racing in the Truck Series at Daytona. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Cleetus McFarland has been a polarizing but popular figure in racing. While there are many critiques of how he’s approached his path in NASCAR, he’s been a draw at the track and online. RCR has taken a chance on him quickly developing into a legitimate stock car driver, but that remains to be seen.
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Nashville Superspeedway is going to be a fast track for Cleetus. His intermediate racing record is scarce right now. But he has to get windshield time to get experience, right? Qualifying will be important, and being able to make clean pit stops will be key to his success as well.
McFarland has shown a knack for car control. He’s spun out and saved more than a few cars at this point, and that might be a sign of his latent abilities behind the wheel. Nashville will be a new test, and a difficult challenge for the YouTuber turned racer.
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Apr 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the Racing section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
