NASCAR legend Larry McReynolds is set to return to the racing scene in 2025, teaming up with the famous YouTube personality Cleetus McFarland. On April 29, McReynolds announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he will be doing some races for the part-time ARCA Menards series driver, bringing his expertise back to the track.
Cleetus McFarland, whose real name is Lawrence Garrett Mitchell, is a well-known YouTuber and part-time professional stock car racing driver in the ARCA Menards Series hosted by NASCAR. He has built a massive following by sharing his passion for cars and racing on his YouTube channel. He will now have the support of NASCAR’s former crew chief turned analyst, Larry McReynolds.
Larry took the role of crew chief in 1985 and had a very successful career in NASCAR. In his 17 years as a crew chief, he achieved 23 Cup Series victories, 21 pole positions, and guided his teams to 122 top-five and 209 top-ten finishes. He also led Davey Allison to a Daytona 500 win in 1992 and achieved the same result with Dale Earnhardt in 1998. It was the only time “The Intimidator” won in the Great American Race.
As a part-time driver in the ARCA Menards Series, Cleetus McFarland competed in the General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway and secured a 10th-place finish in his Kenetix Ford. A couple of days after the race, McReynolds announced that he would take on the role of McFarland’s crew chief later this year.
“Love this guy and will be doing some races for him later on this year!” Larry wrote on X.
As per a report from Daily Downforce, Cleetus McFarland is scheduled to compete in the Bush’s Beans 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 11.
Cleetus McFarland’s impressive 10th-place finish at Talladega
Driving the No. 30 Ford for Rette Jones Racing, Cleetus McFarland avoided major trouble in a chaotic race at Talladega and brought home his first top-10 finish in the ARCA Menards Series. McFarland first raced in the ARCA series earlier this year at Daytona. That race ended in disappointment when he was caught up in several on-track incidents and did not finish the race. However, Talladega marked a much better outing for the popular YouTuber.
Starting from 24th position, McFarland showed determination and quickly made his way through the field, getting into the top ten early in the race. However, his momentum didn’t last long as he reported a possible engine problem over the radio. The car began losing power, and he dropped back to 20th place, losing touch with the leading group of cars.
Despite the trouble, McFarland stayed focused and worked his way back toward the front. The race ended with a one-lap shootout in overtime, where McFarland restarted in 14th position. He avoided a crash on the final lap and moved up to 10th place just before the caution flag came out, which ended the race.
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Edited by Pratham K Sharma
