Kenny Wallace and Ryan Preece see Cleetus McFarland as future while grassroots entertainment fades

While dirt and short track racing struggle for relevance, content creators like Cleetus McFarland have tapped into a massive audience by packaging racing as fun, chaotic, and accessible. For NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Preece and former Cup driver Kenny Wallace, the shift says a lot about where the sport is headed.

Earlier this year, Preece swapped the grind of the Cup Series for a different kind of show when he won the Cleetus McFarland–promoted New England 900 at Stafford Speedway. Driving a nitrous-powered Crown Victoria, he beat veteran Greg Biffle under the Friday night lights at his home track.

Preece, now driving the No. 60 Ford for RFK Racing, hasn’t forgotten those roots. He has always mixed Cup racing with short track and modified appearances. But when Wallace asked him on Kenny Conversation about the difference in atmosphere, Preece explained why Cleetus McFarland’s events felt refreshing.

”The New England 900, that was a race that Cleetus McFarland/Garrett Mitchell put on at Stafford Speedway with Crown Vicks. I was lucky enough to be invited to race with those guys and (Greg) Biffle and, a bunch of the people that are influencers on YouTube. I just had an absolute blast because it was a stock Crown Vic that just happened to have nitrous and some train horns in it. And it was probably some of the most fun that I’ve ever had racing,” said Preece on Wallace’s YouTube channel (0:56 onwards).

For Ryan Preece, the difference was simple. In regular short track or modified racing, drivers bring their own equipment, invest thousands, and race for a purse that often doesn’t cover the costs. There’s pressure every lap. But in Cleetus McFarland’s world, there’s no financial hit for blowing up a Crown Vic.

He added that the only goal was fun and connection. Kenny Wallace put it bluntly:

”What’s great about Cleetus is that he’s the real deal. I mean, a man can fly a helicopter. He can build things. So, I mean this in a fun, loving way. The joke is on us because he’s got it figured out.” (7:54 onwards)

That formula is working. Cleetus McFarland’s Summit Freedom 500 has become an annual staple at the Freedom Factory in Florida. The 2025 edition drew Travis Pastrana, Corey LaJoie, Michael Waltrip, Hailie Deegan, Brian Deegan, and Greg Biffle – alongside YouTubers and freestyle athletes.

How grassroots racing is fading in front of Cleetus McFarland’s new entertainment style of racing

The irony for Ryan Preece is that he grew up in the very culture now losing ground. He won the 2013 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship, and followed it with titles at Thompson Speedway and New Smyrna’s Speedweeks. Those achievements pushed him towards NASCAR.

But Preece admits that the ”show” element of short track racing is no more.

”Understanding the show, you know what I mean? That is a lost piece. I feel like short track racing, it’s been forgotten in some regard… Probably a lot of younger racers, they don’t understand it just like I didn’t, when I was younger. But as you get older and you’re a part of the show, you need to understand what your role is,” Preece added on Wallace’s channel. (3:30 onwards)

He pointed out that stars like Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace embraced their roles, which made the sport compelling. Today, Denny Hamlin has stepped into that space at the Cup level, but on the local side, rivalries have dried up.

”I remember what’s lost around St. Louis area is our great rivalries. You.. had two or three guys that you came to watch. Now it seems like at a local level it’s gone. Everybody is so serious about their chassis that they want to load up and leave the racetrack right away. That’s why I pressed you about that because Cleetus’s race, me and you, we want to go, haha. But buddy, the crowds he gets we gotta pay attention to that,” said Wallace while echoing the concern (5:23 onwards).

It’s a tough truth for grassroots promoters. While legacy tracks close, Cleetus McFarland is filling venues and building audiences on YouTube and Instagram. The formula is simple: keep costs low, keep it fun, and lean into entertainment.

There are signs of pushback. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick have invested in the CARS Tour, reviving historic tracks and drawing solid fields with Late Model Stock Cars. Earnhardt Jr. himself has raced three times this season, proving that star power still matters. The series heads into its final three races of 2025 as one of the most talked-about grassroots efforts in years.

But Preece and Wallace believe more will be needed if short track racing is to survive. The soul of American racing now depends on whether insiders and veterans can bring back rivalries, fun, and a show that fans want to see, before YouTubers become the only ones filling the stands.