Cleetus McFarland – Rette Jones Racing Photo
Garrett Mitchell a.k.a. Cleetus McFarland Set for ARCA Menards Series Debut at Daytona International Speedway
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.: Yes, it’s for real.
Garrett Mitchell, otherwise known as Cleetus McFarland to his
subscribers on the YouTube platform will put down the camera and tackle
his ARCA Menards Series debut in Saturday afternoon’s Chili’s Ride
the ‘Dente 200 at Daytona International Speedway.
With some racing experience under his belt, McFarland leaned on the
guidance of friend, business associate and former NASCAR Cup Series
superstar Greg Biffle for his next step in Motorsports competition.
After receiving the appropriate approval from the ARCA Menards Series,
the Omaha, Nebraska native participated in the preseason practice
session at the 2.5-mile superspeedway with flying colors, earning his
superspeedway license and named the driver of Rette Jones Racing’s
flagship No. 30 Ford Mustang entry for the first of two superspeedway
races this season.
“This is surreal for me,” said McFarland. “I’m incredibly
blessed to have the opportunity to return to Daytona and compete in the
ARCA Menards Series. I appreciate all the support from my friends,
family, colleagues and particularly the Rette Jones Racing team for
walking through every step of this journey.”
Despite his inexperience in a stock car, let alone the “World Center
of Racing”, McFarland quickly got up to speed in his Ford Mustang
during his one-day session last month – at the time delivering a time
that hovered inside the top 10 before landing as the 15th quickest car
overall during the two-day session on January 9 and 10.
Since then, McFarland has utilized all the resources available to
prepare him for the 80 laps that await him and the opportunity to
showcase his experience to his more than 4.07 million subscribers.
Kenetik, a ketone-based drink that’s designed to boost energy, focus and
mental clarity will support McFarland in his first ARCA Menards Series
race. Kenetik is a science-backed drink that harnesses the power of
bioidentical ketones.
It’s designed to boost brain function, provide clean energy, and support
overall health without caffeine or sugar. Each serving contains 12 grams
of pure, bioidentical ketones.
“I’m extremely appreciative of Kenetik being a part of the journey
this weekend at Daytona,” offered McFarland. “I don’t know what is
going to happen on Saturday during the race, but I certainly plan to
race smart and be in a position to make my ARCA Menards Series debut a
successful one for Rette Jones Racing, Kenetik, Ford Performance and all
of those that support me.”
Rette Jones Racing co-owner Mark Rette has been impressed with
McFarland’s quick adaption to the ARCA Menards Series platform and the
driving style that Daytona International Speedway requires. Based on his
rookie driver’s feedback and attentiveness during the ARCA preseason
practice session, he believes he is ready for the big stage.
“It’s a big weekend for Rette Jones Racing,” sounded Rette. “We
are pleased to welcome Cleetus and Kenetik to the family and we are
looking forward to growing our relationship in the future.
“I was impressed with his ability to catch on quickly to the
fundamentals of superspeedway racing. His intensive to details and
asking questions before, during and after the practice session leads us
to believe that he is more than ready for Saturday’s challenge.
“He will have a teammate in our development driver Kyle Steckly and we
believe the two drivers will have the opportunity to work together and
keep our Rette Jones Racing team in the hunt for a win on Saturday
afternoon.”
Biffle, a former NASCAR Cup Series winner at Daytona International
Speedway in 2013, will attend McFarland’s ARCA debut this weekend in
an advisor capacity.
Additional ARCA Menards Series races for Cleetus McFarland are pending
and will be announced applicably.
For more on Cleetus McFarland, like him on Facebook [1] (Cleetus
McFarland) and follow him on Instagram [2] (@garrett_1320video), TikTok
[3] (@cleetusmcfarland) and YouTube [4].
For more on Rette Jones Racing, please visit RetteJonesRacing.com [5],
like them on Facebook [6] (Rette Jones Racing), or follow them on
Instagram [7] (@RetteJones30) and X | Twitter [8] (@RetteJones30).
The Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente 200 80 laps | 200 miles) is the first of
20 races on the 2025 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins
Thursday, February 13, from 4:05 p.m. to 4:55 p.m. General Tire group
pole qualifying begins on Friday, February 14, at 1:30 p.m. The race is
set to take the green flag the following afternoon shortly after 12:00
p.m. ET. The event will be televised live for the first time on FOX,
with the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (XM
channel 391 | online channel 981) handling the radio waves.
ARCARacing.com [9] will stream live timing and scoring throughout the
day’s festivities.
About Rette Jones Racing:
Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, Rette Jones Racing (RJR)
was founded in 2015 with the intent of building a successful racing
operation built around the fundamentals of hard work and a never-give-up
attitude.
Owned by racers Terry Jones and Mark Rette, RJR plans to field a
full-time entry in 2025 in the ASA STARS National Tour Series while also
planning to field vehicles in the ARCA Menards Series platform and
NASCAR, respectively.
Rette Jones Racing also offers technical and setup intel as part of its
technical alliance partnership program.