NASCAR drivers are beating up on Cleetus McFarland and it’s “a little excessive”

Cleetus McFarland may not be everybody’s cup of coffee, but he’s clearly a breath of fresh air for the brass at NASCAR.

While some experts (and drivers) see a potentially dangerous gimmick as the 31-year-old YouTuber getting behind the wheel in elite stock car racing, some are imagining what his incredible fanbase can bring to the sport.

McFarland has a massive 4.6million followers on YouTube, and made big headlines on debut for Richard Childress Racing in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series at Rockingham last weekend.

The fallout from a rough weekend for Cleetus delivered more headlines as well, with NASCAR refusing to approve him to race at Talladega on Saturday April 25.

While McFarland’s fans loved the whole thing, not everybody within NASCAR did, and team owner Childress believes some people are being too hard on him.

NASCAR TODAY: Cleetus McFarland statement issued, the sport is listening to its fans

Childress defends Cleetus McFarland

He told Chris Weaver: “He’s a rookie - I’m proud of what he did last week. He finished fourth in the ARCA race. He’s raced but doesn’t have the experience. I think some of the drivers are beating him up a little excessive, because he’s getting a lot of attention probably.

“You worry when they don’t talk about you, but Cleetus did a great job and he loves the sport, he’s a car guy. And the fans follow him for that and he’ll bring us a lot of new fans.

“Sure he’s gonna make a mistake or two - I can’t tell you how many mistakes previous drivers that I’ve had made when they first started. It’s racing, I’ve seen them all come and go.”

Cleetus experiment is a NASCAR fan grab

Childress has a clear focus when it comes to this project/adventure/gimmic - whatever you want to call it. Bringing new fans to racetracks and TVs, to engage with NASCAR.

“Ty Dillon, when he came to me and when he talked about it, I said ‘what a great idea’. Not just for RCR, but for our sport,” he said.

“Cleetus has close to 5million followers. If we can get 10 percent of those new fans coming to races and looking at the racetrack, and I know he brought people to Rockingham, brought people watching the race.

“It’s been interesting to watch Cleetus, and seeing what he can do for NASCAR really is what pumps me up.”

What next for Cleetus McFarland at RCR?

While Talladega (for now) is very much not on the agenda, Childress says the Cleetus McFarland adventure will continue, and the man himself will carry on his education at the highest level.

“If you go from Late Model to Trucks to Xfinity, every step is tougher and tougher and tougher and I think you learn something from it. Cleetus, we’re gonna get him in some more races along the way, I think you’ll see him.

“He’s just a natural talent when it comes to being with the public and speaking for NASCAR.”