On Friday night (May 1) at the Indy 800 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Cleetus McFarland confirmed to Frontstretch that he is working on building a pro late model car to run in the CARS Tour’s Pro Late Model division.
The popular YouTuber and motorsports enthusiast has made seven starts in two years in the ARCA Menards Series, including a runner-up finish at Talladega Superspeedway in the Rette Jones Racing’s No. 30 entry in his most recent start. RJR does compete regularly in Pro Late Models.
‘That Was Probably the Most Fun I’ve Ever Had with Clothes On’: Cleetus McFarland Finishes Second at Talladega
In 2026, McFarland made his debuts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Daytona International Speedway and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Rockingham Speedway. McFarland is slated to race at Nashville Superspeedway for Richard Childress Racing’s No. 33 Chevrolet Camaro in the NOAPS.
“I’m building a Pro Late Model,” McFarland said. “It will be done in hopefully a few weeks, and then, I got to get my feet wet in that world a little bit. I’m hoping to go up there and run with those guys.”
At the CARS Tour race at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is part of the ownership group for the series, was open to McFarland racing in CARS Tour to help develop his racing craft and build his motorsports playbook.
“Cleetus could come race with us,” Earnhardt said. “I would help him. This is a series that guys like that need to be racing in as opposed to trying to get cleared for Talladega in an O’Reilly car. If the phone rings, he’s going to answer it, and he’s going to listen just like anyone else, and he’s right about that. If somebody presents him with an opportunity, nobody should have a problem with that.
“He should absolutely seek out opportunities to race pro cars, late models, late model stocks. He should absolutely be going to local short tracks and getting in anything he can and just getting laps. He doesn’t have to be winning. He just needs to go race and run and learn and experience and just get a big catalog of experience to take up through the higher ranks.”
Wyatt Watson has followed motorsports closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretch as a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt is one of Frontstretch's primary IndyCar correspondents, providing exclusive video content on site. He hosts Frontstretch's Through the Gears podcast and occasionally The Pit Straight.You can find Wyatt's written work in columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monsteras well as exclusive IndyCar features. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media team, posting unique and engaging content for Frontstretch.
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