Cleetus McFarland’s signing with RCR and his performance in the Truck Series had sparked a lot of conversations, and after his O’Reilly series debut, those conversations have only gotten louder.

While McFarland found many naysayers in the days leading up to his debut, he has also found support from the likes of Dale Jr. and, more recently, Mark Martin.

Martin voiced his support for McFarland, commending his ability to finish the race in Rockingham after his crash in the Truck Series at Daytona, while also noting that he would have probably found Rockingham tougher.

“I think he did great. But if you ask him, he’s going to tell you it’s a lot harder than Daytona,” Martin wrote on X.

His take on Rockingham being tougher than Darlington has to be due to McFarland completing the race and being in the thick of all things.

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 resulted in a DNF.

The support from Martin is certainly a great thing for McFarland, who has had to deal with a lot of criticism from fans. McFarland was grateful for the words Martin had from him and certainly plans on putting what the legend told to practice.

Cleetus McFarland Acknowledges The Support

Interestingly, Martin had been vocal about his support for McFarland prior to the race at Rockingham.

He spoke of McFarland’s YouTube popularity being a positive tool for NASCAR, as his large subscriber base will be potential watchers of the race, therefore boosting TV ratings. The former NASCAR driver also confirmed that if McFarland focused on completing the race without wrecking, he could even move to Talladega.

McFarland soon spoke of Martin’s support on the Gluckcast, expressing gratitude for backing him, but he also stressed he still has ground to cover as he adapts to NASCAR’s steep oval racing learning curve.

"I love Mark Martin. That guy has been so gracious to me. Honestly, he and Kenny Wallace have kind of been some of the few guys who have had my back. So, I love those guys," said McFarland.

His race in Rockingham proved that he has the ability, but it is the lack of experience that will always be in question. However, that is only going to come in with more driving. His current contract is a three-race deal, and with one already done, it will be interesting to see where his next two races will be.

Read more at the RFK Racing Digest!

Written by

Aaradhya Singh

Edited by

Godwin Issac Mathew