Friday Faceoff: How Did Cleetus McFarland Do in His O’Reilly Debut?

1) What grade do you give Cleetus McFarland for his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut at Rockingham Speedway?

Mike Neff: A solid C. He completed the race. He didn’t have any negative impact on the leaders as they were putting him laps down. When he spun, he didn’t hit anything. He was solid on pit road. It was a quality day for a developing driver.

Christopher Hansen: D. Yes, he completed the entire race without crashing or spinning another competitor, and by finishing 32nd in the 38-car field, he performed about as well as he could have for someone with zero prior experience driving an O’Reilly car. Cleetus McFarland certainly needs more experience in these cars to truly get a feel for the driving style.

Joy Tomlinson: D+. He spun out a few times and finished several laps down in 32nd. Granted, he didn’t hit anything when he spun out, but he was in a Richard Childress Racing car, one of the stronger teams in the NOAPS garage. He wasn’t with a backmarker operation. Teammates Austin Hill and Jesse Love finished 11th and 27th, respectively (the latter isn’t good either, but he did start on the front row). I’ll have to see more O’Reilly races before really knowing whether he’d make it in the series or not.

2) Of the four former NASCAR Cup Series champions without a win in 2026, which will visit victory lane first?

Michael Bellifemini: It’s hard to believe it’s almost been a full year since Kyle Larson won a race, but he still runs up front and won the title last year. He won at Bristol Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway last season, so it seems like he’s long overdue.

James Krause: Larson, and it might come this weekend at Bristol. He’s been absolutely dominant in these races in the past, leading 462 laps in the 2024 fall race and 411 laps in the spring race last season. If he can get into a rhythm early, he’s going to be tough to beat.

Chris Graham: I’ll take Larson, and the reason is simple: we’re going to Bristol. The dude lives for short-track racing, and Bristol has basically been a playground for him in the Next Gen era. He’s got three wins there, 13 top 10s in 19 starts and he’s led a ridiculous 1,762 laps at the place. That’s not pretty good, that’s him being able to control the race if the car gives him anything. This season has been weird enough that a winless stretch can turn into a storyline, but Bristol is the kind of place where Larson can show up, rip the fence for 500 laps and remind everyone how much we all overthought it.

3) Will Corey Heim win the Triple Truck Challenge and the $500,000 that goes with it this weekend at Bristol?

Tomlinson: Normally, I would say yes, but there are six Cup drivers in the race, so Corey Heim may be beaten by Kyle Busch or Christopher Bell. Busch has five wins in 12 starts and finished second in his last Truck race at Bristol in 2024. Besides them, Layne Riggs won the fall events in 2024 and 2025, so he’ll be one to watch for as well. A win won’t come easy for Heim this weekend, but when has that stopped him?

Krause: Heim time ends at Bristol. While he’s been solid on the concrete and will no doubt be among the contenders, there are three drivers who I think will have a chance to dethrone him. Chandler Smith and Riggs were winners last year at Bristol, with both showing they’re ones to watch on short tracks. You can also throw in Christian Eckes, considering his domination of the concrete tracks back in 2024, which included a win at Bristol.

Bellifemini: Heim will get it done again. He has a win already in the Truck Series at Bristol with an average finish of 4.5 in six career races at the track. He should be the favorite to take home another win for TRICON Garage.

4) Which driver from the NOAPS or Craftsman Truck Series would you choose to build a Cup team around?

Graham: Is it a copout to say none of them? Maybe, but it’s the honest answer. The step from NOAPS to Cup is still massive, and we’ve watched enough can’t-miss lower-series guys turn into so-so Cup guys to know it’s not a straight line. Just look at Justin Allgaier. He’s a monster in NOAPS and has been forever, and when he got his Cup shot in the No. 48, he didn’t exactly light the world on fire. Do I want to see some of these guys get real opportunities? Absolutely. Would I build a Cup team around one of them? No, because I’d build it around the people first: the crew chief, the engineering group, the infrastructure. If you force me to pick a driver anyway, it’s Heim by default because he’s in a different zip code than most of the Truck field. But the truth is in Trucks right now, it feels like Heim, the kindergarten class and then everybody else, and everybody else isn’t moving the needle as a Cup cornerstone.

Neff: Assuming this question excludes non-full-time competitors, Heim is out of the running. If he isn’t, he is the obvious choice. If it is anyone else, a great choice is Carson Kvapil. He has shown a quick adaptability to different tracks and situations.  He has been in the pressure cooker that is JR Motorsports. He is a two-time champion in the CARS Tour and a contender for the O’Reilly title this year. He would be a solid foundation for a new team. 

Hansen: Allgaier. With plenty of years of experience behind the wheel in O’Reilly and with some Cup starts this season subbing for Alex Bowman, Allgaier’s natural leadership and natural talent behind the wheel would go a long way in building a brand-new Cup team.