DAYTONA BEACH， Fla. (AP) Garrett Mitchell is better known as Cleetus McFarland to his millions of followers gained over the years as a racing influencer. Hes pretty much always been called a YouTuber， until he was out to dinner last week when a fan stopped by and referred to him as a NASCAR driver.

It was the first time anyone has given McFarland that title.

Ive been called a YouTuber forever， McFarland told The Associated Press on Thursday. I was like， Awwwe. Thats sooo much better.

It might be more accurate， too.

McFarland will make his Truck Series debut at Daytona International Speedway on Friday night and then will race in the ARCA Series the following day. He has more racing in his future， too， hinting that details are dropping soon.

He made four ARCA starts in 2025， beginning with the season opener at Daytona. He crashed 17 laps into that one and made headlines for saying he felt like the best racer there ever was for some of his driving moves but found more success by finishing 10th at Talladega， ninth at Charlotte and 17th at Bristol.

It should pay dividends on the high banks at Daytona.

I feel a little more comfortable， he said. Last year， I couldnt even get to the garage. Im like， Where the hell is my car even at? Now， I know where to go. I know some familiar faces. I know the track， so I feel a lot better.

McFarland will be one of 36 drivers in a star-studded Truck Series event at Daytona. The field includes three-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart， X Games and RallyCross standout Travis Pastrana as well as five Cup Series regulars.

Stewart， whose nickname is Smoke， is helping launch Rams return to the Truck Series.

I love Smoke， McFarland said. To go hang out with him and hopefully get to hit his bumper at some point， Im wound up.

McFarland and Pastrana are teammates at Niece Motorsports， with Black Rifle Coffee and Brunt Workwear serving as sponsors. McFarland earned NASCAR superspeedway clearance following a test session at Rockingham Speedway on Tuesday and arrived at Daytona with more confidence than he had a year ago.

My expectations are much higher this year， he said. I understand when and where risk matters. Last year， I ended up falling out (of the draft) because someone was spinning out in front of me and I kept trying to push it and get around them to not lose the field. Now I would just be like， Theres a caution coming anyway. Just stop. This is so stupid. So， Im learning.

Pastrana has learned about McFarland， too. They raced against each other in several made-for-YouTube events like the Freedom 500.

Cleetus always downplays his driving skills， but hes a wheel man， Pastrana said. He can wheel anything.

McFarland and Pastrana will race with Greg Biffle tributes on their trucks. Biffle was among seven killed when his plane crashed in Statesville， North Carolina， in December. Biffle， 55， was named one of NASCARs top 75 drivers， was a Hall of Fame nominee for the stock car series and drove for 18 years at the top of the sport.

He drew headlines last year for his humanitarian efforts as a helicopter pilot supplying aid in North Carolina following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in 2024.

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Be Like Biff adorns their truck beds， with Biffles No. 16 topped by a halo. McFarland even cut Pastranas shirtsleeves off during a media availability Thursday in a tribute to Biffle.

I wouldnt be here without Biff， said McFarland， who delivered a eulogy at Biffles funeral. Were representing. I never really talked to him about trucks， unfortunately. This would have been so cool. He would have been so stoked that were doing this.

He was actually going to race with us. He was going to race ARCA with me here this weekend. I imagine he would have found a truck. It would have been sick. But were representing Biff out here. If I do anything dumb， it wasnt something Biff taught me. But Im going to use everything else he taught me to hopefully do well.

And maybe move closer to being better known as a NASCAR driver.

___

AP auto racing:

好意思联社佛罗里达州代托纳比奇电——加勒特·米切尔（Garrett Mitchell）行动赛车界网红，多年来积蓄数百万粉丝，更为东谈主熟知的是其网名“克莱图斯·麦克法兰”（Cleetus McFarland）。以前东谈主们总称他为YouTube博主，直到上周出门用餐时，一位粉丝顷刻间向前，称他为NASCAR赛车手。

这是麦克法兰初次被授予这一头衔。

“东谈主们一直叫我油管博主，”麦克法兰周四对好意思联社说谈，“我其时就念念，‘哇，这个名称可好太多了。’”

这也可能更为准确。

麦克法兰将于周五晚间在戴通纳海外赛谈完成他的卡车系列赛首秀，次日还将干预ARCA系列赛。他暗意明天还将参与更多赛事，相干细节行将公布。

2025年，他干预了四场ARCA系列赛，首站是戴托纳的赛季揭幕战。天然他在该站比赛第17圈时发生撞车事故，并因声称我方某些驾驶操作让他嗅觉是有史以来最出色的车手而登上面条，但随后他在塔拉迪加站以第10名、夏洛特站第9名和布里斯托尔站第17名的收获取得了更好的弘扬。

这将在代托纳的高坡赛谈上带来丰厚陈述。

“我嗅觉稍稍相宜些了，”他说谈，“旧年我连车库齐找不到，其时还在念念‘我的车到底停哪儿了？’当今我知谈该往哪儿走，也意识了一些纯熟的相貌，对赛谈也更了解了，是以嗅觉很多了。”

麦克法兰将成为戴通纳站卡车系列赛36位参赛车手之一，这场星光熠熠的赛事声势包括三届杯赛冠军**托尼·斯图尔特**、极限畅通会和拉力越野赛名将**特拉维斯·帕斯特拉纳**，以及五位杯赛常驻车手。

诨名为“烟幕”的斯图尔特正协助拉姆车队重返卡车系列赛。

“我太爱斯莫克了，”麦克法兰说谈，“能和他沿途出去玩，说不定还能有契机撞上他的保障杠，我几乎欣忭极了。”

麦克法兰（McFarland）与帕斯特拉纳（Pastrana）同为Niece Motorsports车队的队友，Black Rifle Coffee和Brunt Workwear是车队补助商。麦克法兰周二在罗金厄姆赛谈（Rockingham Speedway）完成试驾后获取NASCAR超等高速赛谈的参赛许可，这次抵达戴托纳（Daytona）时比一年前更具信心。

“本年的祈望值高多了，抢庄牛牛”他表示，“我当今明显了何时何地需要冒险。旧年我最终落第（选秀），便是因为前边有东谈主失控打转，而我却一味强行驶过试图超车，恶果丢了位置。当今我会念念：‘归正劝诫旗要挥了，停驻来吧，这么太蠢了。’你看，我正在逾越。”

帕斯特拉纳也了解麦克法兰。他们曾在多场专为YouTube打造的赛事中同场竞技，举例解放500大赛。

“克利图斯老是谦善地诽谤我方的驾驶本领，但他但是个成见盘好手，”帕斯特拉纳说谈，“他什么车齐能控制。”

麦克法兰（McFarland）和帕斯特拉纳（Pastrana）将在他们的卡车上以格雷格·比夫尔（Greg Biffle）的挂念涂装参赛。旧年12月，比夫尔在北卡罗来纳州斯泰茨维尔碰到空难，与其他六东谈主一同遭难。现年55岁的比夫尔曾入选NASCAR史上最伟大的75位车手榜单，获取过纳斯卡赛车名东谈主堂提名，并在这项畅通的顶级赛事中飞奔了18年。

2024年海伦飓风给北卡罗来纳州形成严重阻扰后，他行动直升机翱游员参与东谈主谈主义解救使命，因此在旧年景为新闻焦点。

“像比夫相似”的口号禁绝着他们的卡车货厢，比夫尔的16号车牌上方还绘有光环。周四的媒体碰面会上，麦克法兰致使剪掉了帕斯特拉纳的衬衫袖子，以此向比夫尔请安。

“莫得比夫就莫得今天的我，”在比夫尔葬礼上默哀辞的麦克法兰说谈，“咱们代表着他。缺憾的是，我从未果真和他聊过卡车的事。这本来会超过酷。如若知谈咱们在作念这件事，他一定会欣忭不已。”

他原来真的要和咱们沿途参赛。这周末他本该在这里和我沿途干预ARCA赛事。我猜他详情能找到辆卡车，那神情统统酷毙了。但当今咱们代表比夫出战。如若我干了什么蠢事，那可不是比夫教我的。但我会愚弄他传授的统共手段，但愿能有出色弘扬。

好像能更进一步，以纳斯卡赛车手的身份为东谈主熟知。

好意思联社赛车新闻：