WELCOME, N.C. (AP) — Social media influencer Garrett Mitchell — better known as YouTuber “ Cleetus McFarland ” — will race fulltime in the ARCA stock car series next year for Richard Childress Racing.
McFarland will race the No. 33 Chevrolet in RCR's return to ARCA and be paired with crew chief Robert Strmiska.
“Ever since I got behind the wheel with RCR, I’ve wanted more," McFarland said. "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.”
McFarland has more than 4.8 million subscribers on his YouTube channel and the racing enthusiast soon parlayed his popularity into a blossoming racing career.
He made two starts this season in NASCAR's second-tier developmental series and three more in the Truck Series. McFarland has one top-five finish in four ARCA races this season. He made his Truck Series debut in February at Daytona International Speedway.
NASCAR in 2018 acquired the ARCA series, a launching pad for drivers looking to reach stock car racing’s top level.
McFarland will now compete in 2027 for the ARCA championship. He made four ARCA starts in 2025, beginning with the season opener at Daytona. He crashed 17 laps into that one — and made headlines for saying he felt like “the best racer there ever was” for some of his driving moves.
“Cleetus has an undeniable passion for racing and a work ethic that has impressed everyone at our organization,” said RCR president Mike Verlander. “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."
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
FILE - NASCAR Truck driver Garrett Mitchell, better known as "Cleetus McFarland", prepares for practice, Feb. 12, 2026, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
Fleetwood Town posed the question: “The biggest cup shock of all time?”
That's what the fourth-tier team asked on social media after knocking Premier League champion Arsenal out of the English League Cup on Tuesday in a penalty shootout.
There was little question about it as Fleetwood fans woke up Wednesday still pinching themselves following one of the biggest upsets in the cup’s 66-year history.
More than 80 places separate the two teams in the English soccer pyramid. Arsenal’s stellar squad is worth an approximate $1.6 billion, while Fleetwood’s is valued at a relatively paltry $3 million. Fleetwood’s stadium has four parking spaces, its former owner is in prison for fraud, and its home town is best known as the place where Fisherman’s Friend cough drops are manufactured rather than soccer dominance.
Mikel Arteta has steered Arsenal to five trophies, including last season's Premier League title — as well as the Champions League final.
Fleetwood boss Matt Lawlor is less than a year into his first senior managerial position, having been given the job on an interim basis in January before his appointment was made permanent in March.
“I was trying to not cry and I didn’t,” said the 38-year-old Lawlor, who hails from nearby Poulton-le-Fylde. “I’ve managed to hold it. My family, my little boy here, we’re all local.
“I was turning around and people were screaming at me in the crowd and people that I knew and grew up with. Obviously that’s really special and really emotional — to do something that special early in my career as well.”
Here’s some more things to know about the latest giant-killers in English soccer:
Fleetwood is a coastal town in the northwest of England, with a population of around 26,000.
It is more famous for being the place where the lozenge Fisherman’s Friend is manufactured than its soccer team.
The team is nicknamed the Fishermen, while its supporters are called the Cod Army, because of the town’s fishing industry history.
Almost literally. Fleetwood play at Highbury Stadium, which was the scene of Tuesday’s cup upset.
That is the same name as Arsenal’s storied former stadium from 1913-2006 but the link is pure coincidence and the ground is a world away from what the Premier League team is used to.
Fleetwood’s intimate stadium takes its name from a nearby road and has a capacity of just 5,300. It also has only four parking spaces, which meant Arsenal representatives had to find alternatives on the street, according to British newspaper The Guardian.
The match against Arsenal was Fleetwood’s first sell-out in more than a decade.
Fleetwood is most famous for being the team where former England and Leicester striker Jamie Vardy made his name.
Vardy was there for just one season and helped Fleetwood gain promotion out of the fifth tier, and into the English Football League, before getting a move to Leicester in 2012.
The sale of Jamie Vardy to the then Championship side for 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) was for a long time the highest fee ever paid for a player in Non-League, before it was broken two months ago.
Andy Pilley was the chairman and owner of Fleetwood until he stepped down in 2023, shortly before being handed a 13-year prison sentence for fraud. He lost an appeal in February this year.
Pilley invested more than 10 million pounds ($13 million) into the club, which saw the complete renovation of Highbury Stadium during his tenure.
Pilley was convicted in May 2023 for his part in a multi-million pound fraud which duped firms into expensive energy contracts.
His son, Jamie Pilley, took over Fleetwood in May 2024.
Andy Pilley's stewardship sparked a remarkable rise: six promotions in 10 seasons, including entry into the Football League for the first time in 2012 and culminating in a place in the third-tier League One in 2014.
Fleetwood's highest-ever finish in the soccer pyramid was fourth place in League One during the 2016–17 season. The team was relegated back to the fourth tier in 2024.
After Tuesday's nights heroics — Arsenal rested some first-team stars but still picked a strong lineup — Fleetwood will have to immediately turn its attention to Saturday's visit of Bristol Rovers.
Fleetwood is 18th in the 24-team League Two, hovering just above the drop zone after winning just one of its past eight league matches.
“Football’s getting a little bit more, I don’t know, clinical and removed,” Lawlor said. “And that to me, there was that feeling that we all get as football fans. That was what you kind of live for, isn’t it?
“I want us to carry the momentum forward. I want that feeling that we’ve created here to be something that we can recreate on a regular basis.”
Fleetwood also has the League Cup quarterfinals to look forward to. On Wednesday, the team was drawn against another Premier League opponent — the winner of Thursday's match between Everton and Newcastle.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Fleetwood's goalkeeper Jay Lynch celebrates during penalty shootout during the English League Cup soccer match between Fleetwood Town and Arsenal in Fleetwood, England, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)
Fleetwood's coach Matt Lawlor, left, and Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta, center, talk with referee during the English League Cup soccer match between Fleetwood Town and Arsenal in Fleetwood, England, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)
Fleetwood's coach Matt Lawlor celebrates with his players after winning a penalty shootout during the English League Cup soccer match between Fleetwood Town and Arsenal in Fleetwood, England, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)
Fleetwood's coach Matt Lawlor celebrates after winning a penalty shootout during the English League Cup soccer match between Fleetwood Town and Arsenal in Fleetwood, England, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)
Fleetwood's players celebrate after winning a penalty shootout during the English League Cup soccer match between Fleetwood Town and Arsenal in Fleetwood, England, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)
