Famous YouTuber and NASCAR enthusiast Garrett Mitchell, a.k.a. Cleetus McFarland, is all set to make his Truck Series debut at Daytona International Speedway with Niece Motorsports. He will also run the ARCA Menards Series season-opener at the iconic 2.5-mile tri-oval.
Ahead of his double duty at Daytona, McFarland dropped an update about his upcoming Truck Series attempt. He will take part in a Truck Series test at Rockingham Raceway later this week. His efforts will be backed by Black Rifle Coffee.
Taking to Instagram, Cleetus McFarland wrote,
“Guys… I’ll be testing next week to see if I’m eligible for some @nascar truck racing!!! That’s all I can say for now, but it’s all possible because of @blackriflecoffee and @bruntworkwear supporting me on this opportunity! @niecemotorsports has the truck ready for some testing I’m FIRED UP!!!”
Last year, Cleetus McFarland made four ARCA Menards Series starts at Daytona, Talladega, Charlotte, and Bristol, with his career-best finish of P9 coming at Charlotte. For his upcoming Truck Series outing at Daytona, McFarland will have former Daytona 500 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and motorsports icon Travis Pastrana as teammates.
The season-opening race at Daytona, named Fresh From Florida 250, is scheduled for February 13, 2026. Fans can watch McFarland in action on FS1, starting at 7:30 pm ET, or listen to live radio updates on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Back When Cleetus McFarland Thought Of Quitting NASCAR
Cleetus McFarland was shaken by the news of his friend and mentor, Greg Biffle’s death in the December 18 crash in Statesville, North Carolina. Biffle, along with his wife and two kids, was flying to Florida to spend the afternoon with McFarland.
When McFarland started his NASCAR career about a year ago, he did so under the tutelage of Biffle. Needless to say, they had become close friends over the past year and a half. So when McFarland came to know that his NASCAR mentor was no more, he thought of stepping away from NASCAR forever.
“Greg Biffle, my mentor, passed away last month, so things are going to be a lot different,” Cleetus McFarland said in a statement. “I’ll admit to you guys that a month ago, when everything happened, I didn’t want to ever step foot in a NASCAR garage again. I didn’t want to race.”
“When Biff and I originally talked about racing NASCAR, I told him I wanted to race the Daytona 500,” McFarland continued. “He kind of politely told me that that’s not gonna happen without doing some serious work, so we started a plan of getting to the Daytona 500. Knowing we had to be in ARCA, and then likely Truck, and then maybe the O’Reilly Series, and then Cup.”
But later on, McFarland felt that Biffle would have wanted him to continue racing and move up the ladder in NASCAR. He then revealed that Biffle would have joined him in the ARCA event at Talladega Superspeedway later this year.
