"It's an honorable thing to get to do": Cleetus McFarland makes feeling known about meeting Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the first time

YouTuber Cleetus McFarland shared his thoughts after meeting racing legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the first time as he appeared on the 'Dale Jr. Download' podcast.

McFarland, who made his debut in the NASCAR ARCA Menards Series race last week at Daytona, visited JR Motorsports in Mooresville, North Carolina. In his latest video, he spoke about meeting the Xfinity Series team owner.

"Excited to meet the man, the myth, the legend. Should be pretty awesome. This is an honorable thing to get to do. You know, we've always been huge Dale fans...so to get to hang out with him and meet him for the first time, never met him, this is going to be a lot of fun," Cleestus McFarland said. (00:02 onwards)

Cleetus McFarland also toured the motorsports facility where the cars are built from chassis and also witnessed a racing car that Dale Earnhardt Sr. drove during the 1980 Cup Championship.

McFarland also revealed on the 'Dale Jr. Download' podcast that he will race in the ARCA event at Talladega this spring. McFarland will drive the No. 30 car for Rette Jones Racing on April 26.

McFarland's first attempt at stock car racing ended early after a crash and he finished 30th with a DNF.

"Having the best day of my life" - Cleetus McFarland on Daytona debut

Cleetus McFarland's first NASCAR race ended after a wreck on Lap 15 at Daytona. The 29-year-old started in 23rd place at the season-opening ARCA Menards Series race and was involved in two crashes. Amber Balcaen caused a crash on Lap 12 and McFarland's Rette Jones Racing's No. 30 Ford hit the inside wall.

McFarland's car was too damaged to continue after the second crash. He later reacted to his early exit in a post-race interview with FOX Sports and said:

"Well, I was having the best day of my life, riding around Daytona like a bald eagle. Was flat out avoided a wreck, which was awesome. I thought I was the best driver to ever exist in that moment, and it's probably cuz my sleeves were cut off, as I was able to pull off that maneuver."

"I'm hot-dogging into one and two and the car lost it in front of me, I saw it. Didn't have enough brakes to get slowed down before it, and tried to go around it, misread it, zigged instead of zagged when I should have zagged, and I zigged, and bam, blew the front end right off my hot rod," he added.

Cleetus McFarland, who has over 4 million subscribers on YouTube, started racing in the Stadium Super Trucks Series in 2022. He made 6 starts that year and got his best finish at 3rd place, in the final race at Bristol.