On this week’s episode of Frontstretch Happy Hour, Michael Bellifemini fills in for Dalton Hopkins alongside regular hosts Bryan Nolen and Michael Massie, while Charles Krall, Communications Manager of the ARCA Menards Series, joins as the guest.
Krall dives into what’s clicking for ARCA this year as well as the impact Cleetus McFarland, also known as Garrett Mitchell, has had on that series this year. The quartet then discuss where the YouTube star is at in his development and what his next steps should be in NASCAR racing.
After Krall departs, the hosts and producer Chris Graham get into if Ford and Chevrolet have any shot this season given the recent dominance of Toyota at the NASCAR Cup Series level. Will the championship come down to Tyler Reddick and Denny Hamlin, or can anyone else emerge as a contender?
On Sunday’s (May 31) race at Nashville Superspeedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. asked Hamlin, who was starting on the pole, if he would take a bonus to drop to the rear and come back through the field and win. Hamlin then jumped the start of the race, had to drop to the rear and came back and won. The guys debate if NASCAR should introduce a system where a polesitter is given the option to drop to the rear to receive a bonus should they manage to win.
Watch the whole show above, on YouTube or listen to the audio version on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020.
Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.
Michael Bellifemini joined Frontstretch in February 2026 as a contributor. Bellifemini was born and raised in New Jersey and graduated from Seton Hall University. He called Seton Hall men's and women's basketball games for their college radio station, 89.5 FM WSOU, and continues to broadcast in the area. Outside of covering NASCAR, Bellifemini is also an avid baseball, football, basketball, and hockey fan and enjoys watching different sports leagues on a daily basis.
Bryan Nolen is the Operations Manager and Multimedia Director for Frontstretch.com. He also hosts the Bringing the Heat with Bryan Nolen Podcast and occasionally makes appearances on The Happy Hour Podcast. He has a Sportscasting degree from the Dan Patrick School of Sportscasting. He resides in Boise, Idaho, with his wife, his French Bulldog Archer and two rabbits.
Follow him on Twitter @TheBryanNolen
Chris Graham is a motorsports producer, director, and broadcast engineer based in the Philadelphia-area. Through his work with NRN Productions, he’s helped build and execute live race coverage and sports streaming workflows ranging from lean, two-to-three person crews to full broadcast-style productions. Chris has worked across nearly every position in the truck—producing, directing, technical directing, replay, graphics, camera operation, and engineering—and has supported events and partners including FloSports, the ASA STARS National Tour, and Diamond State Digital. He’s also involved in developing live show formats and digital coverage that bring fans closer to the stories behind the racing. He is currently also the producer for the Frontstretch podcast Happy Hour.
Mcfarland, or whatever his name is, remains NASCAR’s joke. The guy finishes six laps down, spins twice, and gets the publicity. Who is he paying to get his photo plastered everywhere? It certainly isn’t his talent getting him there. This kind of guy getting press over real, talented drivers is just sad.
I don’t think Cleetus is paying anyone for the publicity. NASCAR is desperate for viewers after 20+ years of alienating their fan base. I’m sure they’re paying HIM in an attempt to lure the eyes (and ratings) of his however many followers from Youtube. Personally, I can’t see this being a long term thing, as his fan base will likely tire of the NASCAR schtick fairly quickly. It’s too sanitized, organized, and worst of all “mainstream” for them – if they liked that content they’d already be watching it (some probably do, but not most). When he starts losing viewers he’ll move on.
OR, he’s serious about becoming a NASCAR driver and becomes somewhat competent (competitive, even?) from the seat time and becomes a unique story of an unexpected rise into NASCAR from a non-traditional background. I’m leaning more towards the first, but who knows, I could be wrong.
The writer’s at this website appear to have a man crush on the gimmick.