Farah Ben Gamra
The conversation around Cleetus McFarland racing in NASCAR’s national series is still not over, and now Brad Keselowski has stepped in with an idea he believes could fix what he calls a “broken” system.
McFarland, a YouTuber who built a large following through car content online, recently received approval to compete in NASCAR’s upper divisions despite having limited racing experience. After a few starts in the ARCA Menards Series and a debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he was cleared to run in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with Richard Childress Racing.
That decision didn’t sit well with everyone in the garage, understandably so.
Keselowski said the situation shows how unclear NASCAR’s development ladder has become over the years. Speaking on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast, the RFK Racing driver said the structure that once guided drivers through the sport has slowly disappeared.
“The problem that we have, this is NASCAR’s industry as a whole, is for whatever reason we completely abandoned the identity of those four series,” Keselowski said.
“Not necessarily the Cup series, but those four series, kind of like the pecking order, have been thrown away. And it started with removing the Cup drivers from the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.”
In the past, most drivers climbed the ladder step by step. Many started in ARCA, moved to the Truck Series, then the Xfinity Series before reaching the NASCAR Cup Series. Keselowski believes that path isn’t as clear anymore.
Because of that, he suggested a stricter approval system that would require drivers to build more experience before jumping to the next level.
“Personally, I think that the 3 series should have three different approval criteria, with the Truck series being approved. So, here’s my opinion. If you want to run ARCA and you know you have less than 100 starts in any major or even minor league form of racing. Yeah. Okay, cool. ARCA is your place. You, in my mind, should not be allowed to run the Truck series unless you’re like, “I have 100-plus starts across the country.”
The conversation grew louder after McFarland’s Truck debut ended early after a crash during race weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
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Kyle Busch also questions NASCAR decision
Keselowski isn’t the only driver raising concerns. Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch also questioned how quickly McFarland was able to move into NASCAR’s national series. Busch pointed out that most drivers spend years gaining experience before reaching those levels.
In an interview with Fox8, Busch said, “I don’t know how many races he’s run. Denny Hamlin ran 10,000 before he got here, right? So, I don’t know if Cleetus has run 10 or not, but there’s definitely a need to have ample experience. My son has probably run more races than he has, and he’s 10 years old. You know what I mean? So, I don’t think that sits well with many of us.”
The Cleetus McFarland debate shines a light on a broader debate that has been growing across modern motorsports. On one side are the traditionalists who believe drivers should climb the established development ladder -karting, Late Models, then ARCA- gaining years of experience before reaching NASCAR’s national series. On the other hand, NASCAR and teams such as Richard Childress Racing (RCR) understand that in today’s media landscape a driver’s reach and marketability can have significant. It also seems NASCAR is in desperate need to get younger fans.
The real point of contention among insiders isn’t whether McFarland can actually drive. His top-10 finish in ARCA at Talladega showed he has some skills behind the wheel. Instead, some are questioning whether NASCAR’s licensing standards have become too flexible. By allowing a driver with only a small number of ARCA starts to compete in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, they believe the sanctioning body risks putting online popularity ahead of experience and the competitive standards expected at the professional level. And with that, safety on the line.
Either way, McFarland will drive the №33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing at Rockingham Speedway later this season. Whether he proves the critics wrong on track remains to be seen, but the discussion around NASCAR’s approval system is unlikely to fade anytime soon.
