We hear it every day in NASCAR. There are too many ride buyers.
It's one of the worst aspects of the sport. Where every seat on the grid used to be fully funded and filled with the best stock car drivers in the world, now all of the top three series are littered with nepotism and pay-to-play.
Rightfully, fans are always quick to point out such drivers' shortcomings. Riley Herbst, Cody Ware, Kris Wright, Toni Breidinger, and many others will never get the benefit of the doubt, because nobody likes someone for whom it's no secret that they didn't earn their opportunities on merit.
Unless, apparently, it's a popular YouTube influencer who "just wants to have fun".
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleCleetus McFarland's O'Reilly Series debut went every bit as expected, and we all have to pretend to be okay with it
Garrett Mitchell, the internet celebrity known by his stage name Cleetus McFarland, signed with Richard Childress Racing to run select O'Reilly Auto Parts Series races this year, beginning at Rockingham Speedway on Saturday. He qualified 35th, spun once (and nearly multiple other times), and finished six laps down in 32nd.
He looked like your average competitor at every amusement park go-kart track in America. When people ridicule the skill it takes to compete in NASCAR and claim anybody could do it, he is what happens when "anybody" actually tries to do it.
Last year, in this very same race, open-wheel veteran Katherine Legge was the subject of much controversy when she failed to qualify, bought another driver's spot in the field, and then was involved in an accident that took out multiple contenders. Fans called to revoke her license.
But with Mitchell, whose opportunity came with one of the series' premier teams, all you will hear about is how his presence is good for the sport.
Mitchell does deserve credit for his unique path to his fortunes. All of his YouTube success is self-made, and while his "Cleetus" persona is nothing more than a bit, he's a legitimate gearhead whose following was born from building his own equipment.
But he's not a serious NASCAR driver. Not now, and probably not ever. He can dabble in ARCA all he wants, and he finished fourth on Friday in a depleted field. That series may as well be stock car racing's open mic night.
At the top three levels, though, there needs to be a higher standard for who gets to compete.
Mitchell is no different from every other unqualified ride buyer in NASCAR. His niche popularity doesn't change the fact that he looked completely out of his element on Friday, and it certainly shouldn't give him a pass for it.