Garrett Mitchell aka Cleetus McFarland announced he will compete full time in the ARCA Series in 2027 with Richard Childress Racing.
McFarland announced on social media, “I’m FIRED UP to announce I’m running ARCA full time in 2027 for Richard Childress Racing with title sponsor Mr. Sam’s Spray Wax!!! RCR is in the process of building me an ARCA team inside the Cup garage at their facility! Thank you to Richard Childress and the RCR team, this is going to be incredible!”
While he will compete full time in the ARCA series in 2027, he also shared that he will race in at least four O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races for the #33 Tommy Express Car Wash car.
McFarland added, “ARCA’s schedule of 20 races still allows us to hit all of our big drag races we normally hit and still keep our Cleetus Crown Vic shows on the same weekends as always. It was like it was meant to be… doing this all with Mr. Sam just makes it that much better. Thank you all for the opportunities you’ve helped us obtain. Thank you Greg Biffle for introducing me to the NASCAR world, none of this would be possible without him.”
McFarland added in a press release from Richard Childress Racing, “This is a dream come true. Ever since I got behind the wheel with RCR, I’ve wanted more. The goal has always been to become the best race car driver I can be, and running the full ARCA Menards Series schedule gives me that opportunity. Richard Childress and everyone at RCR believes in me, and having the support of a legendary team gives me a ton of confidence to focus on learning everything I can about stock car racing. I’m ready to get after it every week.”
The ARCA series begins at Daytona on Saturday, February 20th. It includes stops at Phoenix, Talladega, Kansas, Toledo, Berlin, Elko, Michigan, Chicagoland, Iowa, Lime Rock, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Springfield Mile on dirt, Bristol, World Wide Technology Raceway, Madison, DuQuoin on dirt, Watkins Glen, Salem, and concludes at Kansas on October 1st.
The press release from Richard Childress Racing also announced that Robert Strmiska will be McFarland’s crew chief. Strmiska was McFarland’s crew chief when he raced earlier this year at Rockingham Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway with the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
“Cleetus has an undeniable passion for racing and a work ethic that has impressed everyone at our organization,” said Mike Verlander, President of Richard Childress Racing. “Cleetus is a perfect fit for RCR. He’s earned this opportunity, and we’re looking forward to seeing what he can accomplish over the course of a full season. Pairing Cleetus with Robert Strmiska gives him the support of a talented leader who is equally passionate about racing.”
McFarland has made 8 starts in the ARCA Series over the last two years competing with Rette Jones Racing. He has 1 Top 5, 3 Top 10s, and one pole. He sat on the pole at Michigan earlier this year and his lone Top 5 came at Talladega. He does have another Top 5 in the ARCA Menards Series East. He finished fourth at Rockingham earlier this year.
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