Richard Childress believes jealousy is brewing in the NASCAR garage. The team owner recently defended social media star Cleetus McFarland. He suggested other drivers are 'beating him up' simply because he's getting so much attention.

"I think some of the drivers are beating him up a little excessive because he's getting a lot of attention probably," Childress said in a YouTube video by Chris Weaver.

While there have been quite a few drivers who have been vocal about their feelings, the host asked Childress about how, regardless of the talk itself, the fact that he was being discussed was a positive.

"You worry when they don't talk about you, but Cleetus did a great job, and he loves the sport," Childress responded. "He's a car guy, and the fans follow him for that, and he'll bring us a lot of new fans, and sure, he's going to make a mistake or two...it's racing. It's been interesting to watch Cleetus, what he can do for NASCAR really is what pumps me up."

Notably, Cleetus McFarland drew heavy criticism after the social media star secured approval to race in two of NASCAR's premier stock car racing series, the Truck Series and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, despite having limited experience.

Before his debut, McFarland had seven ARCA races to his name.

Kyle Busch has not held back as Cleetus McFarland’s NASCAR entry. Questioning his limited track time, Busch pointedly remarked that his own son has logged more races, stressing that “there’s definitely a need for ample experience.”

The concern is not isolated either, with Kenny Wallace also flagging early issues around safety gear and rule adherence.

Even after his debut, he failed to live up to expectations, crashing out of the Truck debut at Daytona after just five laps, and in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Rockingham, he finished 32nd.

Childress's praise for McFarland comes as his own team, Richard Childress Racing, struggles for consistency in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Richard Childress Aims for Improvement in 2026 NASCAR Cup Series

Despite showing instances of pace, Richard Childress' team, Richard Childress Racing, failed to deliver performance coming into 2026.

Drivers Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon have yet to claim a victory this season, and show consistency, something that is enormously important in the Chase format.

"We’re working hard at it," Childress said about the team's improvement plan. "John Klausmeier, his whole group, engineering, is working on it. We’re missing something. We’ve got to find, people say what it is? If we knew, we’d fix it. But we’re working hard to figure it out, and we’re going to get there."

Austin Dillon claimed the last win for Richard Childress Racing in August 2025 at the Richmond Raceway. Kyle Busch, the team's star driver, on the other hand, is currently going through a career-worst 100-race winless streak.

Written by

Sabyasachi Biswas

Edited by

Aadesh Dhote