(The article below is a RaceDayCT column – The views expressed in this column are solely the opinion of the writer)
STAFFORD – Let’s start by saying, we understand what took place on Friday at Stafford Speedway isn’t the “short track racing” that longtime Stafford competitors and fans understand or expect short track racing to be.
We get it. It doesn’t need to be explained.
Understand this about life, snobbish behavior comes at all levels, it doesn’t matter if it’s retail shopping, vacation choices, home ownership or even racing.
There are people who shop at Gucci who look down on those who shop at Macy’s. There are people who shop at Macy’s that look down on those who shop at Target. And there are people who shop at Target who look down on people who shop at Walmart.
There are people who love Formula 1 racing that think the NASCAR Cup Series is a joke. And there are people who are part of the NASCAR Cup Series who think the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour isn’t anything of any regard. And there are people among the community of the Whelen Modified Tour who turn there nose at typical weekly short track racing divisions.
Snobbishness knows no boundaries or defined levels to stop. And when it comes to the local racing community, that fact was on display this week.
Cleetus McFarland (real name Garrett Mitchell) is a regular guy who turned his passion for racing and speed and his natural gift as entertainer into gold on YouTube. He took the spoils of being YouTube famous and turned his passion into a racing phenomena.
In January 2020 he purchased the former DeSoto Speedway in Bradenton, Fla. and renamed the place the Freedom Factory. It became the home for McFarland to put on his wildly popular racing events and send his online popularity to the moon.
In today’s world the terms “Internet Famous” or “YouTube Famous” or “Instagram Famous” can certainly conjure up some negative thoughts. Thanks to people like Jake Paul and others, a lot of times when people hear about someone who has made themselves famous through the means of social media the first thought is they must be some sort of arrogant, annoying, attention hungry jerk.
Spend a few minutes around McFarland and one realizes quickly he is the antitheses of how many think of someone in his spot. McFarland comes across as being the ultimate everyman just with some extra fancy toys and a really large audience watching everything he does.
In recent years McFarland has taken the Freedom Factor show on the road and that show ended up at Stafford Speedway this weekend with the running of the New England 900 on Friday and the Burnout Rivals event on Saturday.
Both events sold out Stafford Speedway, bringing in crowds of over 10,000 to the track on consecutive days.
The gates opened for the Friday show at Stafford at 3 pm and by 3:30 the place was a mob scene. And the vibe was all positive. It was an addictive sort of energy pulsating among the crowd, few of which were typical attendees of Friday night racing at Stafford.
The only negative involving the show Friday was the chatter from some longtime Stafford attendees on social media. The most common refrain was people wondering why Stafford would occupy a Friday night in July for something like a Cleetus McFarland show instead of regular weekly division racing. Those criticisms went far to drag McFarland’s show as hokey, staged and far from “real racing”.
The feature of Friday night’s show was a 90-lap racing involving 19 Ford Crown Victoria’s. Were not talking high performance machines here. Beat up cars doing beat up car things in a fun event for competitive and fans. It was a race that not only feature McFarland’s regular cast of entertaining characters, but also former NASCAR Cup Series winner Greg Biffle and Travis Pastrana, who has had success over the last 25 years in essentially anything with wheels.
And surrounding that main event was just a non-stop entertaining show from McFarland and his band of merry drivers. McFarland is clearly a natural showman who has a gift for engaging a crowd.
The fact is “real racing” is whatever the people competing and putting on shows decide it to be. Some Formula 1 fans would probably look at SK Modified racing and call it the furthest thing from real racing.
The sad part is those fans criticizing McFarland and the show he put on at Stafford as not real racing don’t see the forest through the trees. They don’t realize that the short track racing business needs events like Friday to keep their businesses operating and thriving because regular weekly racing isn’t paying the bills the way it used. At a place like Stafford, where fans are treated to one of the nicest facilities in short track racing, fans and competitors must understand that one of the reasons they can attend a track like Stafford – where continued improvements are the norm – is because of events like what took place this weekend.
Let’s be frank, weekly short track racing isn’t exactly thriving in the grandstands in many places. When any sort of racing event can come in and fill the same grandstands that regular competitors struggle to get a quarter full on Friday, it should make everyone involved stand up and take notice. It should make them look at what is working for McFarland and his group and what parts of it can be injected into regular weekly short track racing. It makes no sense to trash the guy who is filling the grandstands that regular weekly short track racing can’t fill anymore.
Friday afternoon hundreds waited in line under toasting rays of sunshine to get an autograph and photo with Cleetus McFarland. And you know what happened when the night was over? Hundreds more stood in line again to get autographs and photos with him. And well over an hour after his event was over, McFarland was still signing autographs and posing for photos and shaking hands, all with a smile on his face. And that type of behavior is certainly part of the reason why his legend only grows bigger and bigger.
Unfortunately, for those critical of Stafford hosting a show like they did this weekend, the snobbish behavior takes over. That sort of show is below them. They don’t want to analytically look and see that a lot of the entertainment value that McFarland brings to the show is exactly what weekly short track racing needs.
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That’s crazy not only did they sell out both nights people even staying there hours after the show was done most nights race fans complain on how the show takes to long and as soon as the sks are done just leave even if more racing is left they should have more shows like this mix in with regular nights
Awesome job
Let those Karen’s cry. I went to both days and I was upset In the fact I had to work but got there later then everyone and it was jam packed. I got there earlier then I normally do on a regular Friday. The difference was insane. I and everyone I went with along with everyone around us are already waiting for the next event. Friends who didn’t get to make it are all ready for next years event. It was amazing being them back and say bye to the old Karen’s who don’t except change. Def would say I wanna see more different events at stafford.
It’s not what I would go to see, but then again I don’t go to drifting events or demolition derbies anymore either. If this “out of the box” event helps keep Stafford alive to run the type of racing I do like to go to, I think it’s great!!
There’s a lot of disgruntled season ticket holders out there with all the rain outs. But that’s the risk you take.
This is the same reason why Boman Gray is so popular- it’s about entertainment. Stafford takes a lot out of the entertainment by penalizing drivers for just bumping each other under yellow and doing a burn out after a win…. Was there any cheering from the crowd? If there was then that is what Stafford needs on Friday’s
Oh boy. Is Stafford in such dire straights that we’re already throwing around the idea that they need to start becoming more like bowman gray or the WWE? WTF I hope not.
Families spend their money on Events these days, Monster Trucks, Concerts, Fairs, etc. The WMT used to fit that bill but does not anymore, and weekly racing isnt on the same level. Ive seen a weekly Track have low attendance and the very next wk be sold out because they had Fireworks, the people that came could care less about the racing but it was a Event.
There are Racing Shows that are Events like the Turkey Derby, wich sells out the pitts and locks the gate.
Today my kids stood in line in Hartford for over a HR to get into Comic Con, it was packed at 8am on a Sunday,
Promoters need to pivot, the same dihards that show up every race are dwindling, they must get the attention of the youth
Stafford just leased the track ? Does it matter how many fans showed up or did stafford get a piece of the pie…? The people that went to the event are not modified race fans. All
Steve,
I think you entirely missed the point of what was written here.
They did all those previous improvements before the Cletus show this year , so its not like they were going broke from just hosting racing only. If they were to have the Cletus type show every week , how long would it be before the novelty wore off. It did not bother me to miss a Friday night of racing because they had a Wednsday night show to make up for it, which unfortunatley got rained out.
JH,
You don’t think hosting the SRX Series (which many regulars also panned) the last three years were a big boost in helping make those improvements? Not sure how you read what I wrote, but nowhere did I suggest a Cleetus show or Cleetus type show every week. I wrote that it might not be a bad idea to look at some of the aspects that make those shows popular and which can somehow be a part of a regular short track racing show to help reenergize the regular product.
Seekonk Speedway already crossed this bridge years ago , We the Racers saw how the 4 or 5 ” Special Shows” filled the stands for the spectators races and enduro races with figure 8 ‘s , Sometimes Monster Trucks along with a Great Fireworks Shows… WE were HAPPY for the Track to rake in piles of cash… We also were happy to get a planned weekend off with our families to spend a Saturday night with them…So we saw it as helping keep the track open and healthy for future Racing to continue… I applaud Stafford for having some special shows… Hopefully the Racers will accept it like the Racers at Seekonk have learned… It’s good to get a night off from the GRIND of weekly racing.. It’s Great to see the Track get some cash..
I never heard of Cleetus McFarland until about a month ago, but obviously everyone else knows who he is. This type of thing does not interest me, but if it makes many people happy and it makes a lot of money for Stafford Motor Speedway then I think it is great. It would be wonderful if speedways made a large amount of money from weekly racing shows, but they do not, and they are not going to. If Stafford stops making money then it is going to be like Nazareth Speedway; a vacant lot with homeless people living in the ticket office.
If your name is Cleetus I guess you would pretty much have to do burnouts. I do not think there are a whole lot of people named Cleetus who are driving Teslas.
Big Mike,
His actual name isn’t Cleetus (which is pointed out in the column) and I’m gonna guess take a wild guess and say he could buy a fleet of Tesla’s if that’s what he wanted to do.
Yes Shawn, I am aware that Cleetus is a stage name. I do not think that Cleetus/Garrett is a Tesla kind of guy. I do not think that most of the people who are reading this are either.
I am happy that people enjoyed those shows.
EV’s can do fantastic burnouts. ;^)
I just had a rental F150 Lightning with 775 ft/lbs of torque, a Tesla S Plaid has 1050 ft/lbs available. Lucid builds a car that’ll do 0-60 in 1.9 seconds.
They’re brutal.