STAFFORD – Weather issues have been an annoying factor for much of the 2024 racing season at Stafford Speedway.
On Friday night though it was an entirely different sort of storm taking over at the historic short track racing facility.
The Cleetus McFarland New England 900 thundered into Stafford with a hurricane force on Friday with a sellout crowd of about 10,000 at the track.
“I would say it far exceed our expectations,” Stafford chief operating officer Paul Arute said. “I didn’t know what I would be seeing tonight and it was incredible. It has us thinking we need to race Crown Vic’s here. We’re just happy for everybody with the Cleetus McFarland group. They’re great people to work with. We’re excited for tomorrow, and next year.”
Said McFarland: “Let’s here it for the track. I hope you all understand that race tracks like this with a big following and a huge regular crowd, they don’t just let anybody come in here. I want to give a big thanks to the Stafford Speedway family for trusting us with their race track. … We have had such a great time working with this facility.”
The Cleetus show is like a combination of racing event, enduro competition, thrill show, carnival and celebration of America.
Cleetus McFarland (aka Garrett Mitchell) started a YouTube channel in 2009 for broadcasting his exploits as an amateur racer. In 2015 he created the moniker Cleetus McFarland, which stuck. In January 2020 he purchased the former Desoto Speedway in Bradenton, Fla. and renamed the facility the Freedom Factory. It became the home for McFarland to put on his wildly popular racing events.
Not long after McFarland started taking the show on the road to other racing facilities across the country.
Friday marked the first visit to Stafford for McFarland’s show and there was no questions about how wildly popular he is.
Friday’s New England 900 event, which feature a 90-lap race with Ford Crown Victoria’s, sold out days before the event. Fans poured into Stafford Speedway when the gates opened Friday at 3 pm. The McFarland fun continues on Saturday at Stafford with the Cleetus and Cars Burnout Rivals show.
McFarland opened the show greeting fans from the frontstrech at 6 pm Friday and it was clear he’s a cult hero to those who filled the grandstand at Stafford. McFarland led the crowd in screaming “Hell Yeah Brother” to start the pay-per-view broadcast of the event.
Before the main event with the Crown Vic’s, the show started with the “Van Prix” with a group of Mini Vans racing on the Stafford mini-mile on a course that included a jump.
The 19-car main event featured former NASCAR Cup Series star Greg Biffle and adventure sports star and longtime racer Travis Pastrana.
During the main event McFarland passed Kevin Smith for the lead on lap 39 and the crowd reaction was like Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning at Daytona International Speedway. At another point during the event, McFarland spun the pace car out on the frontstretch under caution to the delight of the raucous crowd.
“I’m sorry about running into your pace car,” McFarland said. “I’ll buy you a bumper, whatever you need.”
On lap 84 McFarland was black flagged for spinning race leader Kevin Smith. Under caution McFarland got out of his car under the flag stand, argued with the race officials and then threw his helmet at Smith’s car. It was obviously part of the theater of the show, but fans ate it all up gladly.
“They’re clearly professional entertainers,” Arute said. “We’re going to take every note we can from these guys and try to take things out of their playbook and replicate some of the stuff they do with our Friday program. I can’t say enough about the people that are involved with this. They’re just amazing professionals with what they pull off.”
The show ended with a massive pyrotechnics show before victory lane ceremonies for race winner Kevin Smith.
“What did you think of that fireworks show?” McFarland asked fans. “Are you not entertained?”
Check the RaceDayCT Insider Page For Exclusive Content From The Cleetus McFarland Show At Stafford
Related: Column: Cleetus McFarland Brings Different, Much Needed Energy To Stafford Speedway
Great event by Stafford, and great crowd! Having been to a few FL tracks the Crown Vic class is a great entry class and would do well here in New England. I think the Arute’s need to work with Cleetus and have a Stafford night in the winter months or somehow run SK modifieds during the Bigley 128 race the boat to showcase the racing at Stafford to FL fans.
In preparation for the New England 900 event David Arute made a video of himself freshening up the “Stafford” on the back stretch wall. I found it poignant. A relatively tedious, time consuming bit of maintenance that had to be taken care of for a special event. The mundane handled by a member of Stafford management who is also part of the regular shows as a driver juxtaposed against an entertainment extravaganza.
Pretty safe to say after one half of the two day inaugural appearance of Cleetus McFarland the reviews have been universally glowing. Particularly interesting was viewing the RaceDayCt posts on Facebook as they came in last night revealing something interesting and a bit surprising.
Most of us have done jobs that no matter how interesting or important they all get a bit tedious and routine over time. Reporting on circle track racing is probably not much different after you’ve done it for so long. Same tracks, same teams and drivers, same relationships some good some adversarial. Special moments for sure it is after all an unpredictable sport but still routine for the most part.
Was it just good reporting from a battle hardened veteran of yet another event at the RaceDayCt home track? I’m thinking no it was more like a kids reaction when the circus came to town. The hard shell of a journalist melting away viewing something new, not knowing what to expect and loving every bit of it. The posts framed with surprise and superlatives culminating in McFarland “man of the people”. A bit hyperbolic but mostly true I suspect. An explanation point on the impression made, hard shell of the journalist cracked wide open.
For this article it’s back to more subjective reporting, well rounded, all the bases covered. As a Shawn Courchesne fan for the better part of a decade and decades for Stafford this stands out.
“They’re clearly professional entertainers,” Arute said. “We’re going to take every note we can from these guys and try to take things out of their playbook and replicate some of the stuff they do with our Friday program. I can’t say enough about the people that are involved with this. They’re just amazing professionals with what they pull off.”
Stafford history shows Jack Arute with Ed Yerrington at his side were more the showmen. A carnival in the season pass parking lot, dare devil appearances and monster truck shows. The current management all in on professionalizing the presentation in my view with the SRX series arguably the highlight of the effort. Bringing in big time network and sports TV with well known professional drivers. That’s over now, opens long in the tooth. They learned what they wanted to from Larry Mitchell with the statement by Mark Arute indicating a major shift afoot and none too soon in my view.
What will Stafford do now that’s the question? Long absent production based race cars in some form perhaps but it can’t be just any full sized cars that’s being done now you can see the Blunderbusts at Riverhead tonght. Something unique, showy and very unlike the buttoned down Stafford that exists now. Until next year let the suggestions begin.
As acute says tie somethings into our Friday night shows I’m sure Anglace would throw a few helmets for you
Is this Cleetus McFarland a car guy or is it more like he used cars as a “vehicle” to gain fame and fortune.
From Nebraska, with college and a couple years of law school he’s no redneck that’s for sure. I’m not so sure he has a love for cars as much as a love for a camera watching him do things with cars people like to view. Kind of a geek to start with, aside from his education he was laser focused on being an influencer on social media. Like a kid that hangs out with a race team learning the ropes then becoming a member he hung out with 1320 Video before becoming an integral part of their operation then branching out on his own.
From what I can tell he doesn’t have any interest in working on or ability as a nuts and bolts guy he was hanging out with those that were and finding ways to exploit their creations. He didn’t even come up with Cleetus McFarland but he saw a winner and promoted it. Whatever that good ole boy, everyman image he has it’s far from the person he actually is. At or about 2019 he pivoted from influencer to capitalist buying the race track. A gambit that that he bet everything on, that almost bankrupted him but through hard work and perseverance he turned into a gold mine in part making videos on his struggles along the way.. Listen to him tell his story he makes it sound like the was a pin ball that bounced around only to find out in the end he’s high score but that’s not the case at all he was always focused on the next level.
When people try to dismiss others as “influencers” that may not be fair. What they are in many cases are like Mitchell. Closer to modern day entrepreneurs searching for a niche to exploit then superficial younglings pointing a camera at themselves all the time. Mitchell (McFarland) is now a capitalist that creates jobs and entertains people. With numerous corporate interests, a big payroll, capital investments and a family to support. It’s hard to imagine with all the mayhem he promotes as part of his shows but this guy is the epitome of achieving the American dream a serious businessman.
I just can’t get over what happened here. Stafford the ideal of a family operation hit it big with SRX. They could have taken the money and enriched themselves but plowed a lot of it back into the track perhaps thinking SRX might continue. They are THE most formidable management team in local racing, each of the four college educated that did have successful careers outside of racing with each bringing special skills to the racing operation. They are something you generally don’t want to be. That is the major player, pouring money into an operation in a declining industry but that may be the case. Then here comes this guy Cleetus McFarland from Nebraska. A self made man who created his own highly successful, completely unique niche product directly opposite of what Stafford built it’s reputation on indirectly giving Stafford ideas on how they may re-invigorate their product.
All the highly visible improvements at Stafford from a strictly business standpoint may not have been the wisest investment. After all did they increase attendance and revenue that is the goal after all. But over time as they evolve perhaps inspired by McFarland the improvements may be exactly what make the next iteration of whatever Stafford is more successful then ever. It will have racing always but more is my hope. The family the most capable of figuring it out of that there is little doubt.