Ahead of the early June announcement at Michigan International Speedway that Ram Trucks would be returning to the Craftsman Truck Series in 2026, NASCAR on Fox Truck Series announcer Michael Waltrip made a simple comment about what he would like to see accompany that comeback.
YouTuber Cleetus McFarland made his NASCAR debut in 2025 in the ARCA Menards Series, running three races early in the year and then another one toward the end of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway.
After McFarland's first three ARCA starts,Waltrip simply stated that he would like to announce that the 30-year-old Omaha, Nebraska native would be moving up to the Truck Series, given the addition of Ram.
Waltrip isn't exactly one of the most beloved NASCAR announcers to begin with, and with Fox's Truck Series coverage having hit all-time lows in more ways than one throughout the 2025 season, the ensuing (yet totally fake) outrage was completely predictable.
NASCAR fans flip out on Michael Waltrip for no reason
Fans accused Waltrip of spoiling the announcement, both for Ram Trucks, their eventual team (Kaulig Racing), and for McFarland. Some even called for Fox to cut ties with him for supposedly ruining the big day.
Here we are nearly five and a half months later, and McFarland still hasn't been confirmed for anything. Kaulig Racing have, however, confirmed that Brendan Queen, Justin Haley, and Daniel Dye are set to run full-time, and they have confirmed that they are set to run two other trucks, the No. 10 and the No. 25.
They have confirmed that the No. 25 Ram is set to be run as a "Free Agent Program", with no single full-time driver and instead a rotating cast of drivers in the truck throughout the 2026 season.
McFarland's name, of course, has been brought up, and some have even speculated that Tony Stewart could make a long-awaited return to NASCAR.
Sure, the No. 10 Ram is also still without a driver. But at the end of the day, this latest announcement proves that the reaction to Waltrip's comment in June was the standard, yet totally predictable, fake outrage that has come to pollute social media (and, in some cases, regular media) in recent years.
All Waltrip said was something he wanted to see. He wasn't giving anything away or stealing anybody's thunder, yet NASCAR fans jumped to the worst possible conclusion just to criticize him for a comment that literally anybody could have made at any point from early June up until now, and possibly even up until the 2026 season begins.
And even if McFarland does end up running part-time (or even full-time) in 2026, that doesn't mean Waltrip "leaked" anything.
McFarland recorded two top 10 finishes in four ARCA starts this year, including a 10th place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in April and a ninth place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
The 2026 NASCAR Truck Series season is scheduled to get underway on Friday, February 13 at Daytona International Speedway. Fox Sports 1 is set to provide live coverage of the Fresh From Florida 250.