Is NASCAR going to let Garrett Mitchell be Cleetus McFarland?

There is no way that NASCAR is going to let Garrett Mitchell just use a made-up name for his Truck Series debut on Friday night, right?

As it turns out, it was very much a tug-of-war between the Sanctioning Body and the popular YouTuber and amateur racer who goes by the name ‘Cleetus McFarland.’ NASCAR says there is no clearly defined policy for licensing purposes but they were not just going to let him completely use his fictional name either.

But ‘McFarland’ was asked about it by Motorsport.com during his Thursday press conference alongside Travis Pastrana at Daytona International Speedway. And like everything ‘Cleetus McFarland’ affiliated, it turned into quite the theatrical ordeal.

“I’m glad you brought it up,” he said, reaching into his pocket. “Let me see. I was actually fighting with NASCAR yesterday. They were trying to put ‘Cleetus Mitchell’ on my Truck hard card. Let’s see what we ended up with.

‘Cleetus McFarland Mitchell.’

“That’s what we settled on. In ARCA, it says Garrett Mitchell, so you know, we’re making progress.”

As the story goes, Mitchell was portraying a Ricky Bobby style character for his video and his friends landed on Cleetus instead of Dale, for a name that would portray the brand appropriately.

Regardless of which name he uses, ‘Cleetus McFarland Mitchell’ is very serious about wanting to pursue a start in the Daytona 500 someday. It started over the last year or so, when he found himself in a friendship with the late Greg Biffle, who told him that he couldn’t just race the Daytona 500.

But eventually, they started working on the process that began with the past two ARCA races, a start at Talladega, and now his Truck debut on Friday. He wants to then make starts in Xfinity and hopefully, someday, the Daytona 500.

“My goal has been to race the Daytona 500 but then I realized how good all the other drivers are and how fast the cars are and I was like, ‘wow, I definitely cannot race the Daytona 500, Biff was right.’

“I’ve been really enjoying ARCA and that level of competition. It’s been good for me. I’ve learned a lot. This truck thing happened purely because Travis Pastrana is an amazing human being and pretty much handed me the opportunity to do it by putting me in touch with Niece Motorsports, Black Rifle Coffee and Brunt Workwear. It all came together for Travis.”

It was at this moment that he realized Pastrana, sitting next to him, hadn’t ripped off his sleeves. That’s one of his gimmicks. McFarland conveniently pulled out scissors and ripped the sleeves off the action sports star turned occasional NASCAR driver.

This was also one year to the day that he did the same thing to Biffle.

“Anyway, where were we,” McFarland said.

He was talking about how good the competition is at the next levels and it’s going to take time to learn to race them properly, even if just on the superspeedways.

“I realized the drivers were very good, and then I thought, I don’t really want to move up,” he said. “I love ARCA. I want to take my time, and now I need to be ready to race this truck, pit stops, and if I don’t do everything perfect, I’m going to lose five spots on pit road.

“Travis convinced me I need to move up the ranks and progress, but I am just trying to take it slow and eventually work my way to the top, in the Daytona 500.”

For his part, Pastrana says McFarland is too modest and that the Daytona 500 is a realistic goal. This comes from a similar guy that didn’t have a NASCAR background, ran one full-time Xfinity Series season, and eventually competed in the Daytona 500.

But McFarland wants to earn it.

“I don’t want to lobby for a provisional,” he said. “And then come to Daytona and get spanked every time I show up. The big restrictor plate tracks are fun and its easier to be competitive.

“Intermediate tracks, like Rockingham where we tested this week, it’s fast and its hard. When we raced at Bristol, wow is it hard, and extremely challenging. So I guess, what I’m trying to say, is that I have a lot to learn and I need more seat time, more time in ARCA, and maybe in Late Models at Freedom Factory with my pal Ricky Brooks, to get better.”

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