How Cleetus Mcfarland became one of the BIGGEST Automotive YouTubers
Summary
TLDRCletus McFarland shares his inspiring journey from a car enthusiast to a successful drag racer and content creator. Starting with a love for cars instilled by his father's detailing business, Cletus's passion led him to own various vehicles, including a Subaru STI, which introduced him to the 1320 Video crew. His life took a turn when a spontaneous, humorous video as 'Cletus' went viral, leading to aๅๅ character that resonated with audiences. Despite initial struggles and criticism, Cletus persevered, eventually leaving law school to pursue his dream full-time. With the support of his mentor Kyle and through hard work, his channel grew, and he became a respected figure in the racing community. Cletus's entrepreneurial spirit saw him purchase and revitalize the Freedom Factory racetrack, creating a stable business that fuels his love for racing and content creation. As he looks to the future, Cletus aims to stabilize his company further, support his employees' dreams, and achieve new racing milestones, including winning the World Cup again and building a 5-second car.
Takeaways
- ๐ Cletus McFarland's love for cars started from a young age, influenced by his father's passion for car detailing and his own fascination with vehicles.
- ๐ฐ He is offering a chance to win a C6 ZR1 car and $20,000 cash through a contest on 1320video.com, which is a platform for car enthusiasts.
- ๐๏ธ Cletus's first car was a Trailblazer with high mileage, and his journey with cars evolved over time, leading him to own a Subaru STI and eventually get involved with the 1320 video crew.
- ๐ค Cletus met the 1320 video crew during a street race and was invited to join their car meets, which he attended and eventually became a part of their team.
- ๐ Cletus's involvement with 1320 video began with social media management and gradually transitioned into creating content, particularly after the success of his first 'Cletus' video.
- ๐ฅ The 'Cletus' character was born out of a funny video that Cletus made, which unexpectedly went viral and led to the creation of a brand around the persona.
- ๐ Cletus pursued law school but eventually decided to focus on his growing online presence and car-related career, leaving school to pursue his passion full-time.
- ๐ His channel's success grew from creating content around his car, Leroy, and participating in drag races, which helped establish his credibility within the racing community.
- ๐ผ Cletus's business acumen and the growth of his online presence allowed him to purchase and revitalize the Freedom Factory racetrack, which has become a significant part of his brand.
- ๐ The Freedom Factory has become a hub for car enthusiasts and a key component of Cletus's business, contributing to the success and expansion of his ventures.
- ๐จโ๐ฉโ๐งโ๐ฆ Cletus aims to stabilize his company further to spend more time with his family while ensuring his employees can pursue their dreams and passions related to racing.
Q & A
What is the name of the person narrating the story?
-Cletus McFarland
What is the prize for the lucky fan mentioned in the beginning of the story?
-A jet stream blue C6 ZR1 car and $20,000 cash
What is the website mentioned where one can participate to win the car and cash?
-1320video.com
What type of engine does the C6 ZR1 have?
-A 6.2 L V8 engine with launch control and no lift shift
What was Cletus McFarland's father's profession related to cars?
-His father was a car enthusiast who ran a car detailing business
At what age could one legally drive in Nebraska when Cletus was growing up?
-14 years old
What was the first car Cletus owned?
-A Trailblazer with approximately 245,000 miles on it
How did Cletus McFarland meet the 1320 video crew?
-He met them at a car meet at Sonic after racing Chase from the OG Evo 3DX Evo videos
What social media platform did Cletus help 1320 video expand their presence on?
-Instagram
What major event did Cletus and Fred attend as their first event with the 1320 video crew?
-TX2K 2013
What was the name of the character that Cletus became known for on social media?
-Cletus McFarland
What was the name of Cletus McFarland's YouTube channel?
-Cletus McFarland's Garage
Outlines
๐๏ธ Introduction to Cletus McFarland's Automotive Journey
Cletus McFarland introduces himself and shares his passion for cars, ignited by his father's detailing business and his own childhood experiences with power wheels. He reminisces about his first car, a Trailblazer, and his progression through various vehicles, leading to his involvement with Subaru STI and the 1320 video crew. His initial encounter with the crew was through a street race, which eventually led to a friendship and his integration into the car enthusiast community.
๐ฑ Cletus's Foray into Social Media and Content Creation
The narrative shifts to Cletus's involvement with social media, starting with his filming of a street race that was later included in a 1320 video. His subsequent management of 1320 video's Instagram page led to significant growth in followers. Cletus also recounts his first street racing event, TX2K 2013, and how he transitioned from being a supporter to an official part of the 1320 video team, eventually contributing content through articles and social media posts.
๐ The Birth of the Cletus McFarland Persona
Cletus describes the spontaneous creation of his online persona during a hotel stay with Kyle, where a humorous video he filmed for fun was unexpectedly uploaded and gained massive traction online. This led to the production of Cletus-themed merchandise and a growing following on social media. Despite initial skepticism, Cletus embraced his online identity and continued to create content, even while attending law school.
๐ฅ Cletus's Transition to YouTube Content Creation
Motivated by other content creators, Cletus starts his own YouTube channel, posting videos about his car and racing experiences. With Kyle's support, he begins to grow his channel, CLEtus McFarland, and gradually builds a subscriber base despite the challenges of balancing this with his law school studies and 1320 video work. Cletus's commitment to his passion for cars and racing drives his content creation.
๐จ Overcoming Challenges and Gaining Recognition
Cletus details the harsh criticism and ridicule he faced as his channel grew, describing the period until reaching 100,000 subscribers as a 'gauntlet.' Despite the negativity, he remained focused on his love for cars and racing, which propelled him through tough times. As his channel gained credibility, he started participating in more races and events, eventually earning recognition and respect within the racing community.
๐ Success in Drag Racing and Business Expansion
Cletus's drag racing career takes off with the help of a Holly computer, which significantly improves his car's performance. He starts winning races and earns a trophy at the World Cup. His business stabilizes, allowing him to hire employees and expand his merchandise line. Cletus also purchases and revitalizes the Freedom Factory racetrack, which becomes a significant asset to his business endeavors.
๐ Future Goals and Aspirations for Cletus McFarland
Cletus outlines his future goals, which include stabilizing his company to allow for more family time and ensuring his employees can achieve their dreams. He expresses a desire to create a 5-second car by the end of 2025 and to continue winning at the World Cup. He also aims to grow his businesses, particularly TBM brakes, and to have them featured on every race car at the track.
Mindmap
Keywords
๐กC6 ZR1
๐ก1320 Video
๐กLaunch Control
๐กCar Enthusiast
๐กInstagram
๐กDrag Racing
๐กLeroy
๐กHolley Dominator
๐กFreedom Factory
๐กWorld Cup
๐กTBM Brakes
Highlights
Cletus McFarland's journey from a car enthusiast to a successful YouTuber and racer.
A chance encounter at a stoplight led to Cletus joining the 1320 video crew.
Cletus' first viral video was a spontaneous skit filmed on his phone, which he never expected to be posted online.
The Cletus McFarland persona was born from a humorous interaction with Kyle, the owner of 1320 video.
Cletus' mother warned him about the permanence of online content as his videos started gaining traction.
Despite initial challenges, Cletus' YouTube channel grew from 500 views to thousands, eventually leading to a substantial following.
Cletus dropped out of law school after realizing his passion and potential in the automotive and social media space.
Kyle, the owner of 1320 video, supported Cletus' independent YouTube endeavors, even when they could have been seen as competition.
The purchase and renovation of the Freedom Factory, a former racetrack, marked a significant investment and risk in Cletus' career.
Cletus' transition from being seen as a 'joke' in the racing community to a respected competitor was a pivotal moment in his career.
The introduction of a Holly computer to his race car, Leroy, was a game-changer that propelled Cletus to win races and gain credibility.
Cletus' long-term goals include financial stability for his company, allowing him to spend more time with his family while maintaining the business's success.
His aspiration to build a 5-second car by the end of 2025 is a major personal and professional objective.
Cletus aims to grow his employees' wages and support their dreams, fostering a passionate and successful team.
The Freedom Factory has become a stable business that funds many of the company's projects and is a source of pride for Cletus.
Cletus' vision for the future includes expanding into aviation, continuing to grow his racing and automotive businesses, and winning the World Cup again.
His story is a testament to passion, hard work, and the power of social media in building a successful career in a niche market.
Transcripts
hey guys I'm Cletus McFarland and this
is my
story
hey imagine yourself rolling to a meet
in your very own C6 ZR1 this jet stream
blue ZR1 along with $20,000 cash is up
for grabs to one lucky fan all you got
to do is go to 1320 video.com links in
the description below and every dollar
you spend this week is three entries to
win this car in the cash comes with a
6.2 L V8 launch control no lift shift
and it's a blast to
[Music]
drive so I got in cars oh man I don't
know I guess probably from the first
time I could even realize what they were
my dad was a car Enthusiast not on the
side of racing but more so on the side
of car detailing he had a car detailing
business when I was growing up he was
doing mobile car detailing as well as
working at McDonald's so we had a pretty
cool setup you know there was couple
cool cars coming in and going when I was
growing up and it just kind of sparked
my interest for being around Vehicles
plus we had power wheels you know and
obviously power wheels are freaking
insane when you're a kid so it just
sparked my love for driving and then I
wanted to be a race car driver since I
can even remember so obviously got older
and started really getting into cars cuz
I could drive them and my dad had a taxi
cab business so we had a lot of crown
vix and when I was young you know I'd go
to work with them on the weekends move
the crown vix around the parking lot
that was basically my favorite thing to
do looked forward to it so much and in
Nebraska you can drive when you're 14 so
I think I was about to turn 15 when I
got my first car which was a
Trailblazer with like 245,000 Mi on it
so fast forward a couple years you know
I kind of went through a few different
cars I had a 4Runner I had a Ram
1500 and then I ended up getting into
the Subaru game you know Subaru STI
which I know the guys that you guys
can't see behind these cameras know
about that's when I met the 1320 video
crew so it's the middle of the summer
I'm cruising down the streets of Omaha
in my Subaru and I come up on a Mazda
speed three at a stoplight and the guy
rolls down his window he's like hey
what's up man you want to race or you
know something along those lines we
ended up racing that guy was Chase from
the OG Evo 3DX Evo videos that went
viral on 1320 video so if you haven't
looked at those those videos you should
go check those out well chase at the
next stop light was like Hey dude I like
your car you should come to one of our
car meets we do at Sonic every was it
Wednesday every Wednesday so I'm like
hell yeah that sounds really cool I had
never been to a car meet in my life when
this happened besides maybe with my dad
when I was younger so that upcoming
Wednesdays maybe 2 days later I show up
at the car meet and that's when I met
chase
forly chase that same day introduced me
to Kyle lus owner of 1320 video which
are telling me about at the time and I'm
like YouTube channel you know this is
2011 when this is all happening and I'm
kind of like you know that's pretty
interesting so you know that night I go
home pull up the family computer I'm
checking out 1320 video I'm like dude
this is crazy I'm like this guy is
filming free race and I can't believe
this the next week I go back to the meet
and now I'm like I got to be friends
with these guys these are like the
coolest guys I've ever seen you know I'm
young and just excited to be there and
I'm watching them with their big cameras
and I'm like this is just insane you
know and they all have modified cars my
car was bone stock cuz I was really kind
of scared to modify I didn't really know
what to do and you know they're like
downpipes turbos they got all this stuff
going on which was just mindblowing to
me so I started easing my way into the
friend group even though I was uh
younger than the crew they were pretty
welcoming to me and then maybe 6 months
later we're at the Sonic Meet and I hear
word that we're about to go street
racing and I'm like holy crap I'm
definitely following this so they all
pull out I follow the group and it's the
beater bomb Mustang the fox body driven
by Joey and he's going to race some
street bikes you remember this Fred we
have that video we have the video yeah
the video is exists so it's on 1320
video right now so we turn down the road
right out Sonic and I see the beater
bomb line up and the street bikes line
up and I'm on the opposite side of the
road so I just pull over at basically
what would be the 60 foot of a drag
strip and I whip my phone out and I film
out the window of my Subaru and Joey
races these dudes and I'm just like holy
crap that was the most insane thing I've
seen in my life but I got a sick video
of it so we get back to Sonic I go up to
Kyle you know I'm like hey dude check
out this video and he's like oh man
that's a really good video you got to
send that to me and I'm like hell yeah
I'll send it to you so I send it to him
and he's like you know puts it in a
video and I'm just showing every single
person I know this video I'm like I
filmed that that 4C scene right there
that was was me
so it's probably now a year or maybe 6
months after it's all blurry this is
crazy this is like 2011 so long ago
now I was kind of hanging out with some
friends and they were telling me about
Instagram and I'm checking it out and
you know I kind of made one and you know
we kind of all made him at the same time
all the guys and I hit up Kyle from 1320
and I'm like hey dude like we should get
on Instagram I know your Facebook page
is huge like let me uh run an Instagram
page for you so he created it gave me
the password whatever I logged in and
just started posting stuff and before we
knew it we had like 10,000 followers
which is insane at the time 10,000
Foggers was huge and the Facebook page
has like I don't know 1.5 million at
this time so the Facebook page is like
one of the biggest on
Facebook so I'm starting to do the
Instagram thing a lot now I'm like
pushing it cuz I'm so excited Kyle's not
paying me anything I'm just like dude
I'll do anything you want to be a part
of this deal and then came up tx2k 2013
which is a big street race event or well
it's a it's a drag race but a lot of
Street Racing that's why 1320 video
would go as to film the street racing
and Fred and I that was our first event
ever we both kind of hit up Kyle and
we're like hey you know we just want to
to come and be a part of it and I
remember we drove ourselves you know we
didn't go with the crew we just kind of
followed the pack and I think we were
just excited to get T-shirts instead
1320 video staff on it absolutely and we
showed up and Fred filmed and I was just
running around you know taking pictures
for the Instagram and then that same
weekend Kyle was like Hey I'm super
slammed like why don't you post some
stuff on the Facebook too so then I got
access to that so then from that point
on we were in the crew like we were
officially part of the team it's kind of
like we were just there to support
before that and then TX
2K13 we got our
jobs so from that point on you know I
graduated high school that same year and
I went off to college in Florida and I
would just kind of travel to the big
events like tx2k or the street car
takeovers and do my Instagram and
Facebook posts and that grew into a a
more formal job where I was actually
getting paid because I was doing these
articles on Kyle's website called
racecar things.com and I would post you
know a cool YouTube video with a title
and a description and then we put it on
Facebook and if people clicked on that
link we would generate ad revenue on
Kyle's website so that was how I made my
money and for Kyle and then he would pay
me man it was it was a hundred bucks a
week I remember at the time which is you
know it's nothing but I was just so
happy to be doing it and it it gave me
at least something to pay for you
know food and gas and whatever I had
another job at Jimmy John's at the time
so it was it was all good then fast
forward the website starts popping off
you know I'm Kling I'm writing these
good articles we started making some
money he started paying me more and then
if you fast forward two years now it's
July of
2015 we all fly out to Colorado for
Rocky Mountain race week and this is a
new event we've never been to we show up
and it's a drag and drive event where
the race cars have to drive from track
to track around Colorado and set their
best time for the best average of the
week we show up doing the same social
media thing we had some other
extracurricular social media things
going on but every day you know have to
write these articles I have to schedule
out posts on the 1320 video Facebook
page it came out to about 10 posts a day
on that and then maybe five posts a day
on
Instagram and it's like day four right
day three or four we're in peblo
Colorado
and Kyle and I are walking in the hotel
with like Alec and maybe Matt maybe Fred
it's a little blurry I don't remember
but Tom Bailey's car is sitting outside
of
the
hotel and I'm looking at it and I'm just
kind of joking around like Kyle let's
make a funny video because I had never
been in front of Kyle's cameras but for
funny random stuff that never made the
videos and I just was always a goofball
I was like I'll film this we'll make
something funny to send to our buddies
in the group chat whatever it's no no
big deal so I had this shirt that I just
bought from Walmart like 5 minutes prior
stopped at Walmart just to get some
random stuff I bought this Chevy t-shirt
and I ripped the sleeves off in the
store and I'm wearing it and I'm like
yeah this is my 3,000 horsepower Camaro
I'm out here and and Kyle says what
should I call you and I'm like call me
Dale McFarland or something and Kyle
goes all right we're staying here
with Cletus McFarland and he just like
rattles off the name and uh I remember
thinking like that's hilarious we are
here with Cletus m Carland and you're
1969 yep it's a big block Chevrolet
engine a big Chevy fan God damn I love
America and I do this whole little skit
and Kyle's like dying laughing he thinks
it's the funniest thing and I'm like all
right that was that was funny you know
whatever send it to the guys and he was
like no way I'm putting this on the
internet and I was like all right
whatever so I I literally go in my other
hotel room or whatever go to sleep and I
wake up my phone's just blowing up and
Kyle had edited together this first
Cletus video it's titled Cletus mcfr is
3,000 horsepower Camaro and on Facebook
it had like close to a million views
overnight and then on YouTube it was
like nothing it was like you know 30,000
views so it's just getting going there
but people are blowing me up like what
is this CLE video I my mom called me
she's like what is that CLE video and
she's like remember what you put on the
internet stays on there forever you know
cuz I'm just like being an idiot you
know and and she knows at the time that
my my goal is to go to law school so
she's like you know don't make a fool of
yourself for no reason is basically what
she's saying which it made sense and uh
I remember going to the track and
someone was like Oh Cletus like I saw
your video last night and I was like oh
man yeah that's cool and and all my
friends from home are texting me and it
was just a exciting day I remember it
being like really weird because
everyone's calling me Cletus but uh I
just embraced it and and tried to make
the most out of it but I didn't realize
at the time that it had any substantial
power over what we were doing we just
were like oh this is a fun thing you
know because Facebook you don't make any
money right and it really only took off
on Facebook so from that point forward I
was publicly known as
Cletus and then you know my friends
still called me gar and it was just it
was just kind of this thing
so I don't know it might have been a
month or two after I made couple more
random funny Cletus videos and those
took off too so it was it was working
and Kyle's pretty amped up about him you
know he made the decision to do a Cletus
t-shirt which was cool and I made made a
couple thousand off of that which is
really exciting and I still at this time
didn't realize any of this was worth
something to my life you know more than
just a fun little side gig so I didn't
do anything with
it just continued to make maybe one
cetus video every 3 or 4 months and then
I'm sitting in law school now it's been
that long since we started right so I
was only two or 3 years into college and
then I went to law school and this is
and then that whole time I just made
some Facebook videos while I'm sitting
in law school doing the same thing that
I've been doing this whole time
Instagram Facebook website
articles it's and uh I'm watching these
YouTube videos cuz my job on the website
was to find interesting YouTube videos
that people would click on so we get
that ad
revenue and I'm watching these guys
videos and I'm like dude I could do this
I remember watching uh several vloggers
at the time Street speed rob fretti you
know super spearers Rob
and I just got some motivation after
watching these really a couple cool
videos one of them being a video of hurt
from hoonigan and his RX7 on the street
and I was like man I just want to make
some videos maybe for my own thing so I
hit up Kyle that
evening and I was like hey buddy do you
think that that I could post some cus
videos on my own YouTube channel you
know because we had just been doing the
uh cletus's garage videos on his channel
and he was like absolutely you know post
whatever you want so he gave it his
blessing and I just went home that night
and made a video in my garage with my my
pickup truck or my C7 it was I don't
remember the first video but I just
posted it up kind of put it on my
Instagram feed and and I started getting
some views and I can just remember the
the first time I got over 500 views
overnight it was uh it was awesome and
then once I started kind of formulating
my formulating my process I hit up Kyle
when I would have like a really good
video I was proud of and I'd be like hey
like can we put this through the 1320
you know funnel and get it some views
and and he would give his Blessing maybe
every two weeks on doing that which was
awesome because in this world you see
more often than not a boss or you know
the owner of a
company if one of their main guys was
starting to to take off on a path of
basically the same exact business plan
they would be like whoa dude like you're
just you you need to stop like you're
competing against my
company Kyle like never for a
second tried to stop what I was doing
with the cevan fr brand he only helped
me put it on the path that it's on today
which like I am forever grateful for and
I live my life the same way because of
that reason I would never
block any of my guys from starting their
own thing because if Kyle did that to me
I don't know where I'd be today and I'm
so grateful for Kyle and his generosity
in those times when
he could have easily I mean easily put a
stop to it if he asked me one time to
stop posting videos I would have stopped
and there were times
when like say my work kind of took a hit
because I was so distracted by the cetus
stuff and he would be like hey dude like
I know you want to do the CLE stuff
you're excited about it you got to do
your job and then I would focus up and
do my job so the CLE stuff went from 500
views overnight to 1,000 views to 2,000
views 5,000 views and it just started
really picking up and I it was such an
exciting time I basically had a priority
list of 1320 video Work c mcf frolin
channel and then law school and I was
just working through the grind every day
doing all three every day I'd wake up
get my 1320 video post all scheduled out
go to school go home shoot my C's video
uh edit it put it up and then maybe do
some homework if I had time but I don't
really care about that
and that went on for two years you know
I stayed in law school for for two years
decided after racing home from tx2k all
night to show up to con law Constitution
law and the guy put on a movie and I was
like dude I'm done with this you know
I'm I'm I'm fed up with this law school
thing I'm paying for it right so it's
$36,000 a semester and uh I had student
loans on it and I just decided it's time
it's game time so I finally I saw this
Gary ve video that day and he's like I
mean straight up this video that Gary V
posted he's like f your parents F what
everyone thinks he's like you got to
risk it for the biscuit like he didn't
say those exact words I mean he said the
f your parents thing but he's like quit
listening to everybody else do what you
want to do and I'm like yeah so I get
out of class that day I called my
parents I said look I hope you guys
understand you know I'm starting to make
some money I made $4,000 last month off
the Cletus Channel like I'm I'm going to
go for it I got to be done with school
I'm done and they're like do it so
I I drop out of law school it was crazy
it was a it was a weird feeling cuz I
just put in all that work for years and
now it's kind of like you can go back
but after 5 years all that all your
credits and stuff J
and uh boom we went fulltime on the
channel so that was like 2017 when I
started getting after it and just doing
the thing me and Cooper were were making
videos in the driveway we had the uh
first video go viral of the exhaust
whistles in the C7 that video went viral
and we were just getting hated on so bad
because the videos were so bad but they
had great titles and thumbnails so we
were getting aot of views but we're
getting almost no subscribers at that
moment and the hate sucked it really was
brutal I've had everything said about me
that any person could possibly say about
a human being during that rise to say
50,000 subscribers or 100,000
subscribers like I call it the gauntlet
because people were so
ruthless
and so just they just wanted you to fail
so badly when you're in that Grind from
Z to 100,000 subscribers no one wants
you to win besides maybe your girlfriend
and your friends maybe some of your
friends don't even want you to win and
uh I did I just sometimes at night would
you know it would it would definitely
hit and I would wonder if this is all
right you know if this is smart and then
you know you'd have a really bad week of
videos where your views
sucked and you don't know if it's going
to be enough money to to Really support
the the
upcoming plans you have and it sucked
you know and and a few different times
but I always just was so excited to work
on my car and make it faster that that
was that's what dragged me
through to get to that over that Ridge
of where I then had enough people
supporting me and and positive comments
that when someone would say like you
know look at
this ugly idiot you know just some
hurtful thing like then I had enough
people that would jump in there like hey
I like this guy leave him alone and
that's when things you know kind of
started to take a positive turn in my
comment section and I was like all right
we're fired up and and that's I guess
where I I caught that break mentally to
just full send it I was nonstop from
that moment on I mean there was no way
for me to fail because my mindset was so
so to the top like we just had to win so
we just started making videos like crazy
you know and and this is all still while
I'm working for Kyle because I didn't
want to leave what made me who I was
behind right away you know so I still
worked for Kyle for several years and
then we had a meeting we we brought in
another social media guy train him and
then let him off you know to do his
thing so and then I think we're at like
2018 or something something now
somewhere in that area
2019 I don't know but it it all seems
like a blur now but it was just so fast
that we went from uh law school dragg
down maybe this is a good idea maybe
this is a bad idea to just full rip you
know and then we started getting some
credibility and then I went and did some
car challenges with Rob Freddy meeting
up with the boosted boys and man the the
afterburners turned on and there we went
we found our Niche pretty fast in Drag
Racing specifically I loved it you know
and street car takeover which was owned
by Chase and Justin Keith I loved their
events so you know naturally I just kind
of started drag racing so that I could
be at their events and then you know
1320 video I wanted to be at 1320 videos
events to just be a part of it and race
and all that
so uh you know we started showing up to
these races with
Leroy and you know Leroy really put us
on the map because that car was so
unique and different you know I bought
it for five grand off of eBay and Leroy
was just u a joke almost in the car
world because no one considered it you
know a legitimate race car yet we were
pushing really hard to make it a
legitimate race car and uh we'd show up
to these races and just do bad like I
remember showing up to lsfest it's our
first year there
I did the burnout and uh Cooper
accidentally pulled the parachute pin
out walking by the car or something and
like the parachutes laying in the water
box and he's scrambling to put it on and
I'm in the car kind of panicking on
what's going on and someone took a
picture of it and was just kind of
roasting us on on the internet and I was
like gosh we are such idiots like why
can't we just get it together the
throttle body on the car would just
close every time I tried to make a
quarter mile run it was a disaster at
the time I felt bad cuz I just gotten
Texas Speed to sponsor me and I just
could not pull it together and it was so
tough but then couple months down the
road I started getting some help from
Kevin Smith from ksr so finally we took
the stock computer off the car and Holly
helped me put a holly dominator in the
car and honestly hly I can say that that
was the changing point from when I went
from a YouTuber to a race car driver
because all of a sudden I had a race car
I got to give a lot of credit to the
Holly computer because it it totally
changed Leroy I didn't realize the
difference between a racing computer and
a stock computer I just thought like oh
whatever it's it's just a computer then
we started showing up to races and we
had the fastest stick car out and I'm
like what is happening people are trying
to kick us out of classes and all of a
sudden we went from the guy that
everyone thought was a clown to the guy
that people were like oh you know he's
got sponsors and whatever if he wins
it's it was a shoe in anyway he's got
every part on that car sponsored and we
started winning and now it's like we go
to World Cup and we leave with a trophy
and I'm like I can't even believe it it
it was uh a a pretty quick transition
all of a sudden we went from the jok the
the clown of the town to a guy that you
had to watch out for and it it it was a
damn good feeling because we were we
were kind of clowns of the town for a
while and I just hated posting these
videos of going out like first round
every race it's just a terrible feeling
so that transition felt good and uh Libo
I mean he's a dominant Force to this day
just won World Cup finals in the S shift
class so the major parts of the story
there are starting Cletus becoming a
successful racer and then now the
channel is is making enough money that I
have employees I have merchandise
which everything's going well and I was
actually able to buy the racetrack known
as the freedom Factory today formerly
known as the SoDo Speedway which was a
really wild process it actually four
years ago last week is when I released
the first video on it it was December of
2019 I bought this old Circle Track that
had been abandoned for years and since I
was a drag racer I was always down here
at Bradon Motorsports Park and I saw
this place and I was always like dude
who's who hole is that you know I
was like what is that place over there
it's just weeds everywhere it's always
closed and I dumped every dollar that I
had literally into this place to
purchase it and at the time all I had
was the least shop I had Ruby Leroy and
neighbor and
every every other dollar I had went into
purchasing this track it was by far the
most leverage I've ever been financially
in debt I had barely enough income to
cover the $177,000 mortgage I had barely
enough money to pay my payroll which I
don't know if James and our merch girl
and Cooper even knew that at the
time but uh I'll never forget the
pressure of of those months before I was
able to make a financial comeback and uh
get through that time but the pressure
was immense you know one of definitely
one of those keep you up at night every
night for weeks months type situation
but it did work out and and I got lucky
based on uh some really good mentorship
from a good friend of mine Allen and my
parents I was lucky enough to make the
right decisions and get through all that
but golly I don't know if i' ever risk
it like that financially again because
uh at the time I didn't have a lot to
lose so we made it through that you know
now our we have a very stable business
over there and it helps pay for a lot of
the stuff and you know now we have so
many freaking cars because of the Crown
Vic races and stuff it's it's just
insane since the freedom
Factory everything has blown up like
Leroy kind of put us on a trajectory
like this freedom Factory tilted that up
even more and like we just have been on
a a rip ever since and it's it's insane
so at this point in time goals and ideas
for the
future we have several things on the
plate right now we're getting into some
Aviation stuff we have just the carbon
Cub but I have a really really really
cool project that's right on the the
front you know you know I I can't get
into it much but it's so cool that uh I
just can't
even can't even think about it straight
and I think the goals that I have right
now would be
for the company
to stabilize even more to a point where
I can
spend more time with my family and my
son and wife and my soon to be here
daughter so
that you know I get that from time but
also that these guys can keep the shop
running at full speed so the videos are
the same and just as awesome I'm just
here a little bit less but when I get
here I can do our thing make just as
even better videos than
before but also have that extra time
with my family that's one of my goals I
I want my guys I want all my employees
to make more money you know so we're
constantly doing raises I would say one
of my goals would be for for all of
these guys to make enough money to uh do
their dreams too you know build the cars
they want to have I think they they all
can right now but I want that to just
keep growing I mean I look at our
payroll now and I'm like I just can't
even believe these numbers are
real and that we're able to afford them
but I want to keep that whole side of
the business growing so that these guys
can do what they love CU their passion
for racing exists out outside of the
shop and what we do here so I love
seeing
that uh the freedom Factory already runs
itself so that goals achieved that was
one of my big ones but
uh I don't know I would say I need a
5-second car bad I'm ready for that
we've been sitting at the table talking
several times lately about what our
5-second car is going to be and we have
not landed on that just yet so our 5-sec
car I would say is will be completed by
the end of 2025 but I don't know what
it's going to be yet so that's that's a
big goal of mine is to have a 5-second
car and go just knock some heads off
with it so long those are long-term
goals short-term goals win World Cup
again this year get the trifecta you
know we've won it the last two years
with different cars but I'd I'd also
like it to be double win dual class win
so we'll see on that I want to take
motion race works just up a whole
another
notch TVM brakes is like probably our
fastest growing company right now and uh
I want there to be TBM brakes on every
race car I see at the track which is
it's almost there like there's a ton of
TBM brakes so we just have I don't know
like I could talk about every single
portion of what we're doing and say that
I want to be bigger and better cuz I do
and uh we just got to get back to work
and make it happen I guess well I guess
that's the short version of it but I'm C
McFarland and that was my story
oh my God this those look freaking
epic this is so ridiculous
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