“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dale Earnhardt Jr. this happy”: Cleetus McFarland spills the beans on his adventure with NASCAR legend at Talladega

Cleetus McFarland, part-time ARCA Menards Series driver and YouTuber, sat down with Kevin Harvick to talk about Dale Earnhardt Jr. driving his modified NASCAR truck build. He thought the former Hendrick Motorsports star had a blast trying out the truck at Talladega Superspeedway.

Dale Jr. got his hands on a souped-up #3 Mike Skinner Chevrolet truck from the '90s. The vehicle was rebuilt to run on a four-wheel-drive system, replacing the standard rear-wheel drive. It was also installed with a twin-turbocharged system, defying the standard naturally aspirated V8 version.

As a result, the truck should provide quicker acceleration from a standstill, thanks to traction on all four wheels, and more boost on the go, translating to a more spirited driving experience.

On an episode of Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour podcast, Cleetus McFarland, a.k.a. Lawrence Garrett Mitchell, said:

"The coolest one that we've built on the YouTube channel is probably the #3 truck that Junior was driving last week. That's an old Mike Skinner truck I bought... maybe 2018, and we converted it to four-wheel drive. It's 1,500 horsepower on a moderate tune-up... twin-turbo, and it'll blow your mind like it did to Junior."

Kevin Harvick saw Dale Earnhardt Jr. driving the truck and thought his former NASCAR rival had fun, saying:

"It looked cool. I don't know that I've ever seen Dale that happy."

"He was fired up," McFarland responded.

Cleetus McFarland was at Talladega Superspeedway for his second start in the ARCA Menards Series. Driving the #30 Rette Jones Racing Ford, McFarland finished 10th behind William Sawalich and race-winner Lawless Alan.

The Talladega outing followed his infamous series debut at Daytona International Speedway. The part-time ARCA Menards driver got wrecked on lap 17 in a collision with Amber Balcaen, upsetting fans considering he was the crowd favorite.

In the foreseeable future, McFarland told Harvick he wants to compete in the Daytona 500, deemed the Great American Race. However, he doesn't want to rush into the premier series, considering several inexperienced drivers have had a tough time doing so.

---

"That's f***ing fun": Dale Earnhardt Jr. on driving the modified #3 NASCAR truck at Talladega

Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed excitement after driving Cleetus McFarland's #3 Chevrolet truck at Talladega Superspeedway. The 26-time Cup race winner reiterated how much fun he had in the truck after not knowing what to expect.

After burning some tires and taking his helmet off, Earnhardt Jr. said (via Cleetus McFarland on YouTube):

"I wanted to just take it in for a second... That's f***ing fun. God d**n." [39:36]

He added:

"I'll be honest, man. I wasn't sure what to expect. This thing is lights out. It's awesome. This is fun. This thing is so fun." [40:26]

The #3 Chevrolet truck from Richard Childress Racing was a homage to Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s father, Dale Sr. Mike Skinner took the truck to a championship-winning run in the series' inaugural season in 1995.

Dale Earnhardt Sr., meanwhile, won six of his seven Cup Series championships in the #3 RCR Chevy. He also earned 76 career victories, eighth on the all-time list.