For NASCAR, Rockingham represents revival. But for him, it could mean redemption
When you think of Rockingham Speedway, you might think of a few different alliterative pairings:
Rockingham’s “rebirth,” perhaps.
Rockingham’s “renovation.”
Its “resurrection,” even — a term that was coined a year ago, when NASCAR returned to this North Carolina racetrack for the first time in over a decade, just when the racing there seemed forever lost.
But for one driver in particular, this year’s race at Rockingham represents a chance at something else:
Redemption.
Cleetus McFarland, the racing influencer whose YouTube presence has over 4.6 million subscribers, is back in a racecar during this weekend’s NASCAR racing at Rockingham. He’ll be piloting the No. 33 Chevy for Richard Childress Racing in the O’Reilly Series race on Saturday — his debut in the second-tier of NASCAR’s national series.
So how is this redemption? There are layers to it. It started when McFarland had a rough run in his first Truck Series race at Daytona earlier this year, one that only lasted six laps before wrecking himself out of contention. The result caused fans and stakeholders across the industry to shed their opinions on whether he “deserved” to be in the car — if his notoriety as an influencer is giving him opportunities that simply aren’t afforded to other, potentially more deserving drivers.
It all amounted to noise.
And yes, McFarland is keeping track of the noise — from what Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. say on their massive podcast platforms, to what a race fan says online. He has to, he said.
But Rockingham could be a way through it.
“I’m pretty in-tune with what’s going on in the social media world,” McFarland said. “This is my job. My job is probably more similar to yours than closer to the drivers. I’m a social media guy. That’s how I got in this position. So I see it a lot.
“And closer to Daytona, when I had the big screw-up in the truck, I was feeling a little down on myself about that. At this point, the record is so broken about people still talking about it, I don’t care as much.”
‘They better buckle up’
McFarland, smiling through an availability Tuesday, explained that “at the end of the day, all these guys can say whatever they want about me.” McFarland signed a two-year, part-time deal with RCR that could reportedly eventually yield a Cup Series start.
“If Richard Childress called them (his detractors) and said, ‘Hey you want to come drive our car?’ All of them would’ve taken that opportunity too,” McFarland said. “And if NASCAR is letting me do it? I’m in. I’m here. No one can save me but myself at this point.
“Once I get on that track on Saturday, it’s up to me. So they can complain as much as they’d like, but it’s happening. And it’s for two years, so they better buckle up.”
Rockingham might be an ideal place for him to make such a redemptive run. After all, McFarland, the 30-year-old whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, completed a test in March at Rockingham to ensure to NASCAR that he was adequately prepared to race at the O’Reilly level this weekend, so he has familiarity with the track.
About 250 laps worth of familiarity, he said.
Still, McFarland wasn’t above making some jokes at his expense.
“If you watched the video, my fastest lap was one of my last laps. So that’s not a good sign,” McFarland said of his test at Rockingham, chuckling. “In those last few laps, I was feeling really comfortable. And I figured out that the corner speed in the middle of the turn is really where I’m screwing up. And the last 20 or 30 laps, that’s when I felt the best.”
Rockingham redemption
McFarland made clear that he “didn’t really know much about The Rock” before testing on it earlier this year. He called the track “really cool” — a flat, 1.017-mile oval that is NASCAR’s bread-and-butter nowadays, particularly at the Cup Series level.
He doesn’t necessarily know the history, though. Understandably so.
The Rock, after all, fell out of NASCAR’s consciousness for a large swath of the 21st century. Before last year, its last NASCAR race was held there in 2013. Before that, 2012. Before that, 2004: back when it was on the NASCAR schedule twice a year — once right after the Daytona 500 and then once late in the season, so late that some drivers clinched championships there.
After 2014, the racing seemed forever lost. But then a few years later, an ambitious track owner — plus loads of COVID stimulus money and a growing desire for NASCAR to return to its roots — helped fling Rockingham back on NASCAR’s radar. And then a smash-hit of a weekend in 2025 propelled that momentum further.
In January, Rockingham Speedway changed owners again. Now it’s owned by the International Hot Road Association — IHRA. But in Year 2 of its rebirth, it still represents what it did a year ago.
Resurrection. Revival.
And redemption — in more ways than one.
“If you’re asking, ‘Was there something left to be desired on that test day?’ There absolutely was,” McFarland said of his only other time running at Rockingham. “I would’ve loved to spin 200 more laps that day because I was just getting started when we had to call it.”
On Saturday, he can start again at Rockingham.
And in front of all of NASCAR.
This story was originally published April 3, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "For NASCAR, Rockingham represents revival. But for him, it could mean redemption."
