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NASCAR Denies Talladega Clearance for Cleetus McFarland, Limits Him to Short Tracks

Officials cite limited experience in ARCA plus Trucks as the reason for denying superspeedway clearance in the second-tier O’Reilly Series.

Overview

  • NASCAR denied approval Tuesday for McFarland to enter the April 25 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Talladega, keeping his clearance to short tracks only.
  • NASCAR executive John Probst said McFarland is approved for ARCA, the Truck Series, and O’Reilly short tracks and must show more at those levels before a Talladega sign-off.
  • McFarland acknowledged the decision in a video, said he needs more “windshield time,” and plans added starts, including the ARCA race at Talladega that same weekend.
  • The ruling followed an up-and-down Rockingham weekend that included a career-best fourth in ARCA and a 32nd-place O’Reilly debut after multiple spins without damage.
  • Superspeedways such as Talladega feature tight pack racing at very high speeds, so NASCAR grants track-by-track approvals to lower the chance that one mistake causes a large wreck.