YouTube-turned-NASCAR driver Cleetus McFarland recently met up with Florida’s Governor candidate, James Fishback. The interaction caught the fans’ attention after Fishback gave a glimpse into their conversation.
Fishback, who is currently campaigning for Florida’s governor’s office, met up with McFarland to talk about how they can improve and save racing in the state. “Great to meet with Cleetus McFarland this morning in Bradenton. As Governor, I’ll defend our tracks and keep racing alive in Florida,” Fishback posted on X after the meeting.
According to Fishback’s July 13 post on X, the two met in Bradenton, where the ARCA driver owns two major racing venues called the Freedom Factory and Bradenton Motor Speedway. Cleetus McFarland has become one of the most influential people when it comes to grassroots racing at NASCAR in the last few years. He has heavily invested in both of his Florida race tracks.
McFarland recently hosted a late model race on his Freedom Factory track and called it the “Cleetus McFarland Late Model Series.” Meanwhile, Fishback’s post has created a lot of buzz among NASCAR fans. Many NASCAR fans commented under the post posted by Fishback, praising Fishback’s promise to save racing in Florida.
“I think you did well I’m very excited that you made this a priority as soon as the opportunity itself before resident switching from independent to Republican in order to vote in the primary for you,” one fan posted. Another X user expressed their excitement towards the governor candidate meeting up with Cleetus McFarland. They wrote, “Omg you were with Cleetus? Amazing!”
One NASCAR fan recalled how just nine months ago, the ARCA driver had put out an Instagram story asking if anyone knew the Florida Governor and could get him a ten-minute meeting. The fan wrote, “They said they haven’t met the Governor and now they have! That didn’t take long lol”
A fan commented that Fishback’s support for racing has cemented their support for him. They wrote, “Fishback protecting racing might be the greatest thing I’ve ever seen. I was already in, but it’s concrete now.” While many X users praised McFarland and Fishback’s joint efforts to save racing in Florida, one user did not deem the excitement surrounding the matter necessary. “I don’t think we were in danger of losing racing in Florida but good to know,” the user wrote.
