Cleetus McFarland wrecks out, six laps into NASCAR Truck debut at Daytona

After making a handful of starts in the ARCA Menard’s Series race last year, Cleetus McFarland (real name Garrett Mitchell) made the jump up into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the 2026 season-opener.

Making his Truck Series debut with Niece Motorsports, Mitchell was running inside the top ten early in the event, but he never got the opportunity to do much as his race came to an abrupt end after just six laps.

Running around tenth on the inside, Mitchell got loose at the exit of Turn 4 and began to wobble. He eventually lost traction and the No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado spun sideways, impacting the inside wall at the entrance of the pit lane with the driver’s door.

It then ripped through the infield grass before coming to a halt. “I’m all good,” radioed Mitchell. “That was a hard knock but Im good.”

He was the only driver involved in the incident, and will likely finish 37th (last). He starts fifth in the ARCA season-opener at Daytona on Saturday.

Cleetus reacts to the early exit

“Yeah, a hundred percent my fault,” Mitchell told the assembled media after exiting the infield care center. “Terrible mistake. Man, it’s impressive. Those guys can run three wide for that long, and when that thing’s stepped out, I mean, you just have a couple feet on either side and I just didn’t have the ability to, uh, gather it up and so I wrecked myself.”

Mitchell was also frustrated that he didn’t get to learn more, saying: “Takeaway is tough because I just didn’t get a chance to learn anything, you know, I was having a freaking blast. I just, I blew it. So I just don’t get to learn anything at Daytona once again, you know, last time I was here, I went 17 laps this time, seven. I’m like, please, like, let’s stay in the race. So going into ARCA tomorrow, like, I don’t know what else I learned today besides being, I just gotta chill out on the steering wheel I think, and, uh, give myself a chance to learn, like need more time.”

Cleetus McFarland, No. 4 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Kevin C. Cox via Getty Images

He gave the hit a 5/10, and noted that he’s had worst impacts before. On his future behind the wheel of a Truck, Cleetus doesn’t have anything planned beyond ARCA.

“I’ll be at ARCA. At Talladega for sure, and not sure what on a truck, but I would like to, but I just wrecked it, so it’s gonna be tough … I think more practice would’ve helped for sure. I got two laps in the truck, I think maybe three. Um, but we had some tech issues, so it’s just how it went, but it’s what it is.”

He also spoke directly to Fox Sports 1, and you can see that interview below:

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– The Motorsport.com Team