"This track is lot faster than Daytona": Cleetus McFarland takes daring step racing 76 Altimas after NASCAR attempt

Youtuber Cleetus McFarland hosted a 76-car Nissan Altima race at the Freedom Factory, a track he bought in 2020. He ended up winning the Altima 600, which was open to anyone with a stock Altima and a helmet.

Earlier this month, McFarland made his NASCAR ARCA Menards series debut at the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway in the No. 30 Ford for Rette Jones Racing. In his latest video on his YouTube channel, he gathered the massive field of Nissan Altimas at the 1/3-mile asphalt oval and Figure 8 track and shared his thoughts before the race.

"This track's a lot faster than Daytona and this car is a lot faster than the 30," McFarland said. (03:00)

The race had no caution flags, only green or red conditions. If cars got wrecked badly, the race would be paused to remove the drivers, but their cars would be left on the track as obstacles.

"Look at how many Altimas showed up for our Altima race tonight. This is an all-run field," McFarland said before the race (00:45).

McFarland also suggested a second race in McFarland.

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Cleetus McFarland to return to NASCAR at Talladega after early exit at Daytona

Cleetus McFarland’s first NASCAR race at Daytona ended early after a crash on Lap 15. He started the Ride the 'Dente 200 in 23rd place in the ARCA Menards Series and got involved in two crashes. The first wreck happened on Lap 12 and his No. 30 Ford was too damaged to keep going after it hit the wall in a second multi-car incident.

"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," McFarland said in a post-race interview (via NASCAR).

McFarland finished the race in 30th position. During his appearance on the 'Dale Jr. Download' podcast with JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., the 39-year-old also announced his plans to attend another ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway in April.

Racing America's Taylor Kitchen who hosts the 'Above The Yellow Line' podcast reacted to the news on X and wrote:

"With ARCA receiving some of its best viewership ratings in over a decade, the "Cleetus Effect" cannot be denied. Glad to see he has plans to race again at the ARCA level."

Cleetus McFarland, who has over 4 million subcribers on YouTube, started racing in 2022 in the Stadium Super Trucks Series. He raced six times with his best finish being third place at Bristol.