Cleetus McFarland hits out at NASCAR critics ahead of O'Reilly Series debut

YouTube star Cleetus McFarland has hit out at those criticizing him for jumping too quickly into NASCAR.

McFarland (Real name Garrett Mitchell) ran his first Truck Series race at Daytona last year, and wrecked out within five laps – fortunately not making contact with any other trucks on his way into the inside wall.

A number of drivers have called for NASCAR's approval process to be more stringent after McFarland's debut wreck, warning that handing inexperienced drivers the chance to race too early is bad for the sport.

Meanwhile, the 30-year-old has signed a two-year deal to race part-time for Richard Childress Racing in the O'Reilly Series and will make his debut in the series this weekend at Rockingham.

NASCAR TODAY: Bubba Wallace in costly wreck and Kyle Busch incident punished

Cleetus McFarland set for NASCAR return

McFarland admitted to FOX's Bob Pockrass that he sees a lot of the criticism from fans and other drivers on social media, claiming his day job is 'more like' the journalist's than most drivers.

He said: “Bob, I think you know at this point that I’m pretty in tune with what’s going on in the social media world. This is my job. My job is probably more similar to yours than to the drivers. I am a social media guy. That’s how I got in this position. So I see it a lot.”

However, he insisted that he has no regrets about taking the RCR drive after his Daytona meltdown, claiming that anyone who said they wouldn't do the same wasn't being honest.

“At the end of the day, all these guys can say whatever they want about me. But if Richard Childress called them and said, ‘Hey, you want to come drive our car?’ all of them would have taken that opportunity too.

“And if NASCAR is letting me do it, I’m in. I’m here. And no one can save me but myself at this point. Once I get on that track on Saturday, it’s up to me.”

Hamlin weighs in on McFarland racing again

One of the drivers who has trouble squaring away McFarland's new position is Denny Hamlin, who said on his Actions Detrimental podcast this week: “Cleetus has been ultimately one of the most humble people. When I hear him do his serious interviews, like with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and whatnot, he is very humble when it comes to these opportunities that he’s getting.

“But I watched him in that truck race at Daytona, and truthfully, he was out of control for all of the laps before he wrecked. You could just see it. I know the sport. I know what’s in control and out of control. I was like, ‘Oh man, this is not going to end well'.”

He added: “Should guys that are running full time for points, for championships, have to be potentially affected if he ends up spinning to the right and wiping out half the field, versus going to the left and only wiping himself out?”