Ram Could Return to NASCAR With YouTube Celebrity Cleetus McFarland: Report
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Every few months, the NASCAR rumor mill churns up some hearsay claiming that Dodge and/or Ram is returning to stock car racing. Said rumors occasionally gain real traction when someone important comments on them, like NASCAR President Steve Phelps did a few years back. Now, there's another piece of potential news claiming Ram could soon re-enter the Craftsman Truck Series with hugely popular YouTuber Cleetus McFarland behind the wheel. Here's why it might be legit.
The report comes from Adam Stern at Sports Business Journal , who is especially well-sourced when it comes to NASCAR. He published the story on Sunday claiming that McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, could be a key piece of the puzzle for Ram's NASCAR efforts come 2026. Stern cites 'four people familiar with the matter and a document seen by SBJ ' as his sources, and beyond that, the move would make a good deal of sense.
Ram is a lot like Dodge in the sense that manly marketing is everything to its brand image. Whether it's talking about 'premature electrification' in high-value Super Bowl ads or playing up the ever-ballooning machismo of truck ownership, its reputation is strong—for better and for worse. It wouldn't be surprising to see Ram snag Mitchell, whose 4.4 million subscribers on YouTube triple NASCAR's own viewership on that platform. Plus, he appeals to the core demographic of horsepower-hungry 20- and 30-somethings that really kinda like the idea of burnouts and Baja trucks alike.
Not only that, but Mitchell has some legit stock car racing experience. (Keyword: some .) As Stern and SBJ point out, Mitchell has made three ARCA starts so far with a pair of top-10 finishes to his credit. NASCAR made the most of that media opportunity last Sunday at Charlotte, where it dedicated a live stream to Mitchell's in-car feed while also blasting out his post-race interview on every social channel it has. Neither Mitchell nor NASCAR is a dummy when it comes to this.
Still, it could be risky for Stellantis, Ram's parent company, to bet so much on a relatively new driver. It's in the middle of a CEO change as we speak, and you don't need me to tell you that isn't a sign of a thriving business.
The claim that Ram is seriously considering a NASCAR return isn't unique to SBJ 's latest story. Instead, a supposedly leaked dealer memo sparked a fresh batch of headlines saying as much back in March. Importantly, there hasn't been any news since then saying those plans are off, and the idea that a new celebrity driver could lead the way seems to add credibility to it all. Either way, nothing has been officially announced yet, so we'll just have to see what comes of this.
I'll be poking around in the meantime.
Got a tip or question for the author? Contact them directly: caleb@thedrive.com
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