United States
Cleetus McFarland is the persona of Hayes Gentry, an American automotive content creator and motorsports entrepreneur based in Florida.
Total Followers +0.4%
1.7M
Across Instagram, TikTok
Primary Platform
YouTube
1M followers · 60% of audience
Engagement
3.7%
vs. 1.5% category median
Sponsorship Tier
Macro
Est. $12K–$29K / IG post
After debuting in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series and running multiple Truck Series dates, McFarland indicated he may add additional ARCA and Truck starts beyond his originally planned slate.
Garrett Mitchell was announced as driver of the No. 33 Tommy's Express Chevrolet for RCR — a major step up from his ARCA roots, with the team targeting multiple races across the season.
Driving the No. 4 truck, McFarland started 12th but suffered early contact and finished 37th — his first appearance in a top-three NASCAR national series.
Following his final 2025 ARCA start at Bristol Motor Speedway, Mitchell confirmed an 8–10 race 2026 plan with Rette-Jones Racing, targeting continued stock car development.
Holley Motor Life recapped the event as a grassroots racing blowout featuring burnout contests, fireworks, and jumping minivans — doubling as McFarland's 30th birthday celebration.
| Window | TikTok | Combined | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last 7 days | +724 +0.1% | +686 +0.1% | +0 +0.0% | +1K |
| Last 30 days | +4K +0.3% | +3K +0.5% | +0 +0.0% | +7K |
| Last 90 days | +18K +1.7% | +9K +1.4% | +0 +0.0% | +27K |
| Last 365 days | +18K +1.7% | +9K +1.4% | +0 +0.0% | +27K |
Daily follower snapshots from CreatorDB's longitudinal index.
| Brand | Type | Platform | Date | Performance vs. baseline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holley Performance Automotive / Performance Parts | Long-term partnership | YouTube | 2019–Long-term | — |
| Freedom Factory Motorsports / Owned Venue | Founder / owned brand | YouTube | 2020–Long-term | — |
Cleetus McFarland is the persona of Hayes Gentry, an American automotive content creator and motorsports entrepreneur based in Florida. He built his following through grassroots drag racing, burnout competitions, and long-form car-build documentation on YouTube before expanding into a genuine media and events business. His most recognizable projects include "Leroy the Savage," a twin-turbocharged C7 Corvette, and "Mullet," an LS-swapped Mazda Miata — both of which developed loyal followings of their own. His most significant real-world venture is the Freedom Factory, a former oval track in Ocala, Florida, that he purchased and renovated into a fan-attended racing venue and the home of his Freedom 500 events.
His audience skews heavily male and concentrates in the 25–44 bracket — the core demographic of American car culture — with the majority based in the United States, reinforcing the hyper-domestic, patriotic brand identity he has cultivated deliberately through his merchandise line of "freedom inspired apparel." Engagement rates that run well above category median signal a tight-knit, high-conviction community rather than passive viewership. With aviation content (his Carbon Cub plane) broadening his lifestyle footprint alongside automotive, Cleetus McFarland is positioned as a full blue-collar Americana brand with durable direct-to-consumer commerce potential beyond traditional sponsorship.
Cleetusmcfarland reaches an audience concentrated in United States primarily through YouTube, and is best activated via Instagram Reels and Stories, TikTok branded content. Their sponsorship history skews toward Automotive / Performance Parts, Motorsports / Owned Venue, a clear signal of fit for brands in those categories. Demonstrated partners include Holley Performance and Freedom Factory. Engagement on YouTube runs around 3.7%, which points to an audience better suited to category-relevant, mid-funnel campaigns than to pure-reach buys. The channel's mix of Instagram Reels and Stories and TikTok branded content lets a sponsor choose between short awareness placements and longer, more detailed integrations. Because the audience follows automotive content rather than arriving through untargeted reach, sponsorships that match the channel's subject matter tend to convert more efficiently than broad placements. A consistent, on-topic posting focus gives sponsors a predictable, brand-safe environment, lowering placement risk compared with broad, general-interest channels. Campaigns here are best measured on qualified engagement and consideration within the niche rather than on raw impression volume. For United States-focused brands in Automotive / Performance Parts and related categories, Cleetusmcfarland offers a defined, creative-fit audience rather than broad, low-intent impressions.
Benchmark estimates for a creator at Cleetusmcfarland's tier (Macro, 1.7M combined followers, United States). Pulled from CreatorDB's category benchmarks.
The CreatorDB Agency runs end-to-end influencer campaigns globally — shortlisting, outreach, contracting, and performance reporting. Talk to our team about building a campaign around creators in this niche.
Cleetus McFarland's real name is Garrett Mitchell. He built the "Cleetus McFarland" persona around a larger-than-life, Southern car-guy character that has resonated with a massive audience across YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
The Freedom Factory is a motorsports park that Cleetus McFarland purchased and transformed into the home base for his racing events and YouTube content. It's located in Bradenton, Florida, and has become a genuine landmark destination for fans of grassroots American motorsports.
Leroy the Savage is Cleetus McFarland's iconic C7 Corvette and one of the most recognizable cars in automotive YouTube history. Leroy has starred in countless build videos, drag races, and burnout sessions, making it as famous to fans as Cleetus himself.
The Freedom 500 is a racing event that Cleetus McFarland organizes and hosts at the Freedom Factory. It blends grassroots motorsport with his signature chaotic energy, pulling in fans, fellow creators, and racers for a distinctly American spectacle.
Yes, Cleetus McFarland is a licensed pilot and owns a Carbon Cub, a high-performance light sport aircraft. Aviation content featuring the Carbon Cub has become a recurring thread on his channel alongside the car builds and racing events he is best known for.
Mr. Sam is a neighbor who has evolved into a recurring fan-favorite character in Cleetus McFarland's content. He shows up regularly enough that fans actively look forward to his appearances, and clips featuring him consistently generate strong reactions.
The Mullet is one of Cleetus McFarland's signature high-horsepower drag racing builds and a staple of the event content he films at the Freedom Factory. Like Leroy, it has developed its own dedicated fanbase among viewers who follow every upgrade and race result.
Cleetus McFarland runs a patriotic, car-culture-themed apparel line that he describes as "the baddest freedom inspired apparel on the internet." The brand leans heavily into American and freedom-themed aesthetics and is a natural extension of the identity he has built across his channels.
McFarland Racing is Cleetus McFarland's motorsports operation, functioning as both a genuine competitive racing team and a content engine for his YouTube channel. It competes across multiple formats and gives formal structure to the racing side of his brand beyond one-off events like the Freedom 500.
Cleetus McFarland has built a combined audience of well over a million followers across his platforms, with YouTube as his primary home, placing him firmly in the Macro creator tier. His fanbase skews heavily male and is concentrated in the United States, closely mirroring the domestic car-culture community he has helped build.
Stats (followers, engagement, audience demographics, growth) are pulled live from the CreatorDB API covering YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Bio and FAQ content is AI-assisted; news items are sourced from cited public press at generation time. Read the full methodology →
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