JGR star breaks silence on Cleetus McFarland defying NASCAR’s ‘political correctness’ mold

Joe Gibbs Racing star Christopher Bell has given his take on famed YouTuber Cleetus McFarland breaking NASCAR's "political correctness" mold. Bell expressed that it was "refreshing" to see McFarland not acting in a "certain" way, as wanted by certain people.

McFarland debuted in NASCAR's fourth-tier division, the ARCA Racing Series. The sport learnt about the pull of his popularity as his in-car live stream captured almost 800,000 views when he raced at the Daytona International Speedway this year. It led to the Omaha native's increased presence in the sport, where he even met and did podcasts with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

NASCAR drivers are subjected to scripted interviews where they may not be able to express their thoughts openly, something Christopher Bell seemed disappointed about. However, McFarland showed a different persona in his unfiltered interview in Talladega, which went viral.

Thus, when asked how he felt about Cleetus McFarland's presence in NASCAR, the JGR driver said it was "refreshing" to see a person defying the "political correctness" barriers.

"I love it. Frankly, I didn't know anyting about him before the ARCA race and his viral interview was really cool. The name of the game had kind of fallen down this path of political correctness. You have to do the right things, act a certain way. It's refreshing, when you have guy like that. I don't think he's trying to make a career out of this and maybe one day he will, I don't know. He definitely does it his own way and I respect that," Bell told Frontstretch (2:07).

Cleetus McFarland made his second ARCA appearance at the Talladega Superspeedway.

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Cleetus McFarland's opens up after the thrilling Talladega race

Cleetus McFarland- NASCAR: ARCA Series - General Tire 200 - Source: Imagn

Cleetus McFarland endured major troubles during the General Tire 200 at the Talladega Superspeedway after starting 24th. Five laps into the battle, a broken valve spring reduced the #30 Rette Jones Racing Ford's power, forcing the driver to search for alternatives.

Nonetheless, he masterfully capitalized on the frontrunners' draft to wrestle for the lead despite less power under the hood. He earned a 10th-place finish. McFarland said he channeled his inner Greg Biffle to draft. The former NASCAR driver and champion coached the YouTuber for ARCA.

"I just knew that if I fell out of the draft, I was done, and I just tried to channel my inner Greg Biffle and get in there. We just held on, and enough people wrecked and made mistakes (that) we were able to finish number 10," McFarland said via Newsweek.

It's worth mentioning that Cleetus McFarland proved the magnitude of his popularity again in Talladega, attracting around 70,000 viewers. Furthermore, McFarland has confirmed that he'll be racing at Talladega and Bristol later this year.