The 2026 NASCAR season marks the debut of Cleetus McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, in both the Craftsman Truck Series and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
His last outing came in the Truck Series race at Michigan International Speedway in early June, and after crashing out of the first race of the season at Daytona International Speedway just a few laps into the race, he did a decent job at Michigan to finish 25th.
Both of his Truck Series starts this season have been behind the wheel of Niece Motorsports’ No. 4 Chevrolet, and the truck doesn’t race every weekend. In fact, it hasn’t been entered since Mitchell finished 25th at Michigan, which was also better than either of his two O’Reilly Series finishes to date.
Replacement for Cleetus McFarland confirmed at North Wilkesboro
But this weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway, Niece Motorsports brought back the No. 4 truck to compete alongside three regulars, and like McFarland at Daytona, another driver is set to make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut this weekend.
Donovan Strauss, a 20-year-old Mooresville, N.C. native, is set to drive the No. 4 Chevrolet in Saturday’s 250-lap FaithFest 250 at the four-turn, 0.625-mile (1.006-kilometer) North Wilkesboro, N.C. oval.
Strauss, whose racing career began on iRacing, has competed on the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour for the past three years, making it as a full-time driver in 2025 with a seventh-place finish at Caraway Speedway. His best finish in 2026 was eighth at Langley Speedway.
McFarland has one more Truck Series race on his 2026 schedule, an October playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway. He is currently the only confirmed driver of the No. 4 truck following this weekend’s North Wilkesboro race.
As for the O’Reilly Series, his remaining 2026 schedule remains uncertain after he finished 32nd at Rockingham Speedway and 35th at Nashville Superspeedway but was deemed ineligible to compete at Talladega.
Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 12:30 pm ET this Saturday, July 18th for live coverage of the FaithFest 250 from North Wilkesboro Speedway. Start your FuboTV free trial and never miss a thing!
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