Cleetus McFarland wants to make it big in NASCAR, but those hopes have hit a speed bump, as NASCAR insiders, including key decision makers, have delivered a rather blunt reality check on his transition to stock car racing.

In a recent episode of the Door Bumper Clear podcast, the trio of Tommy Baldwin, Freddie Kraft, and Karsyn Elledge was joined by NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell. The podcast touched upon Cleetus McFarland not being approved to race at the Talladega Superspeedway on April 25.

“There's some progression we need to see," O'Donnell said.
"It's a tough call. He's a hugely popular driver, but these are the best drivers in the world, and we gotta make sure we have the right guys out there.

"There's always controversy of who's approved, who's not approved, but I think it was the right call. Let's see how he does at the next race. Certainly, I'd like to see him keep progressing, but he's gotta do it the right way,” the NASCAR President said.

So far, Cleetus McFarland made a few appearances at the ARCA Menards Series in 2025. Most recently, he was allowed to get some reps on the Rockingham Speedway, making his O'Reilly Auto Parts Series debut. But he'll have to excel on these smaller tracks first to earn the green light from above.

On his O’Reilly debut, Cleetus McFarland began from 35th, and he had a close call with Blake Lothian. He also got some pit road speeding penalties and spun out in the final stage of the race. However, he ended up finishing 32nd, which is commendable, as his previous race in the Truck Series resulted in a DNF.

"I feel like just running ARCA, building some momentum up behind him, and kinda let him learn," Kraft said. "He's gonna get better, and he'll be approved eventually, like I think it's coming. It's just that he has to show more.”

Cleetus McFarland On Not Getting Approved For Talladega

In a video posted on Facebook, the YouTuber acknowledged NASCAR has not approved him to race at the Talladega Superspeedway

“NASCAR has said, 'We need to see you run more ARCA and more Trucks’, and I have some of those on my calendar, coming up, but in O’Reilly, I am still limited to short tracks,” he concluded. But others still have their reservations on his big dreams.

McFarland's own teammate, Kyle Busch, was also critical of him aiming for the bigger tracks so soon. According to him, there's "definitely a need to have ample experience" in McFarland.

While Talladega, and probably Kansas, are out of the picture for him, Cleetus McFarland can only hope to get more experience and finally get the go-ahead from NASCAR.

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Written by

Aaradhya Singh

Edited by

Afreen Kabir