What Drives Cleetus McFarland?
What drives Cleetus? That’s a one-word answer: freedom. He’s clearly into the concept of America and the freedom it represents. That fact was obvious as the photographer and I walked up to the main garage of the Freedom Factory to interview and photograph Cleetus McFarland and his crew. You’d have to be blind to miss the giant American flag paint job that covers the entire front of the building, and I could almost hear screeching eagles in the distance. It seemed like a playlist with Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA,” John Cougar Mellencamp’s “Glory Days,” and George Micheal’s “Freedom” suddenly started playing on repeat.
A quick glance around the parking lot in front revealed an assortment of cars in various states of repair, all built in the U.S.of A. There were beat-up Ford, Chevy, and Dodge trucks from the latest Cleetus McFarland videos right next to a supercharged 1000+hp Corvette, an F-150 Raptor, and a wrecked Fiero with a blown V8 sticking out the back. In other words, it looked like redneck gearhead heaven — it was all so beautiful.
The inside of the shop was similar in décor and vehicles, and as we walked in the front door, we were greeted with smiles from the entire Cleetus McFarland family all working at their specialties. Jackstand Jimmy, Sam, Ty, Zach, LS George and Cleetus welcomed us with friendly handshakes, clearly as excited about the shoot as we were. As we all got to talking, you could tell that every single person involved with production of the Cleetus McFarland show were not only on-screen characters portraying a role, but experts at what they do, and they enjoy doing it.
Cleetus himself fit in with his cadre of characters like a V8 in a RWD car. Don’t let the on-camera persona fool you, he’s much more than just a likable hillbilly that’s into cars. In any one day he’s running skull sessions with his crew and monitoring the logistical aspects and timing for videos. He’s running a shop with multiple projects in process at any given moment, taking meetings with business partners and potential sponsors, and he’s driving the forklift and tow truck for the shop (if you’ve watched any of his videos or events, the tow truck and forklift might be the most frequently used vehicles). It’s clear as the smile on his face you see in every video that he’s having a great time doing all of it.
Make no mistake, Cleetus loves the freedom to do what he loves. He’s turned down big money deals with the biggest brands because they wanted some creative control over his shows and events, and he didn’t like those constraints. And that’s about the only time I saw him frown the whole day, when we started talking about losing his freedom. While he was tempted by the dollar signs, he had to say “no” because he knew that losing that freedom would mean losing part of the fun.
Read on to see the results of our rapid-fire question and answer session with Cleetus:
10 Quick Questions:
1. Favorite car ever?
Ford Crown Victoria.
2. If you weren't doing this job, what would you do?
Lawyer.
3. Favorite track food?
Crunchy French fries — you know, the zig-zagged ones.
4. If you had not chosen Cleetus McFarland as the name for your alter ego, what was your next pick?
Dale McFarland was the original.
5. Favorite NASCAR driver of all time?
Dale Earnhardt, brother!
6. Most influential role model?
A mix between Rob Dyrdek, Adam Savage, and Jeremy Clarkson… and Travis Pastrana.
7. Would you rather change oil or change tires?
Change oil.
8. Automatic or Manual?
Manual.
9. Would you rather daily drive a 500 or 1500hp car?
500HP
10. Did you answer these questions as Garrett or Cleetus? Or would the answers be the same?
The answers would be the same!
Would you consider professional driving?
Nope, I like where I'm at. I like the freedom to direct and participate in my own show.
Future dreams for Freedom Factory and the Cleetus series of races?
I would like the Freedom Factory to grow to a point where it just sells out every single event we do and gets to a point where there's so many events like a regular hangout place for the local community.
Do you have any like different types of races or events planned in the future?
Not so much, but we're trying out some new ideas, some really interesting stuff like a Christmas Light Festival this winter or doing offbeat stuff that is not just racing oriented because that's a lot of what we do. We're trying to appeal to the whole community by bringing in some new stuff they can participate in. 
What's your favorite Cleetus McFarland Video?
My favorite video to date is the purchase of the Freedom Factory video. It gives me the chills every time I watch it. That one just came out so good. It was my dream for it to be that good of a video. It’s my favorite because of all the people who made that video with me, they really made it all happen. I’m lucky to have such a great team of people around me.
