McFarland invests in NASCAR future after Earnhardt – Sports News
Cleetus McFarland is making a main transfer to strengthen his future in NASCAR after taking advice from Dale Earnhardt Jr.
McFarland, whose actual identify is Garrett Mitchell, has taken one other step in his racing profession by buying his own Pro Late Model. He lately unveiled the No. 33 Rette Jones Racing entry in a YouTube video as he seems to sharpen his racecraft and proceed climbing the NASCAR ladder.
The motorsports star lately put the car by way of a full day of testing at Tri-County Speedway. Despite a minor spin during the session, McFarland appeared happy with the progress. He plans to enter a late model occasion at Michigan’s Berlin Raceway later this yr, whereas additionally focusing on the late model races he hosts at his own 3/8-mile Freedom Factory in Florida.
“Everyone told me that these Pro Late Models are so fun to drive,” McFarland stated in the video. “I’ll get a lot of expertise for a lot cheaper than what I’ve been doing, simply going and racing ARCA all of the time — which I nonetheless plan to do.
“But this is going to give me some racecraft that I desperately needed. Racing around a lot of cars, close quarters, that’s the type of stuff where you just can’t get good at it unless you do it a lot. And so, I’m hoping this Pro Late Model is going to give me the opportunity to get a lot more racecraft.”
After turning a number of laps, McFarland was left impressed by the Pro Late Model, praising its performance while admitting the car is an “intense” machine to drive. “This thing is way better than all of the other cars I’ve been driving,” he added.
“Dude, it’s got so much grip, and it doesn’t have so much horsepower that you instantly get in trouble all the time. And the one time it slid, it actually drove okay. It wasn’t terrifying because I wasn’t going 180(mph). My neck is literally burning — you’re almost turning the whole time, so it’s a little more intense than I’m used to. This thing is sick. The brakes are crazy good.”
McFarland’s subsequent scheduled NASCAR outing is set to come back at Talladega Superspeedway, the place he’ll compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on October 23. The observe holds a particular place in his profession after he got here close to profitable the ARCA race there earlier this yr, in the end ending second to Andy Jankowiak.
McFarland additionally made his NASCAR Truck Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debuts this season, with each outings highlighting the steep studying curve forward. He has been candid in regards to the work nonetheless required to achieve the subsequent degree and now has a two-year deal with Richard Childress Racing, giving the group an alternative to help develop his expertise.
During a current episode of his podcast, Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt Jr. shared advice with McFarland, stressing the worth of committing to 2 full ARCA seasons. He believes the expertise may play a main function in sharpening McFarland’s expertise and making him more aggressive.
He stated: “If he can race all the ARCA tracks and gain more experience, he will be better prepared to face the challenges of higher-tier races.”
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