Cleetus McFarland’s entry into NASCAR has continued to spark debate across the garage. After his heavy crash during his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut at Daytona International Speedway, Kyle Busch was among the first to raise fresh concerns about NASCAR’s driver approval process. In a typical Rowdy fashion, the RCR driver said, “My son’s probably run more races than he has, and he’s 10 years old. You know what I mean? So I don’t think that sits well with many of us.”

Coming from a veteran driver at RCR, this raised a few eyebrows, but it looks like Busch’s former teammate agrees with his stance on the approval process for amateur drivers.

Denny Hamlin asks Cleetus to reevaluate his choices

Known for speaking his mind, Denny Hamlin didn’t hold back when addressing Cleetus McFarland’s participation in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250. Hamlin made it clear that his biggest concern revolves around the potential safety risks McFarland could bring to the track.

“What I saw was that Cleetus, as driver, was just a little behind on all of his corrections. Like, when the truck would start getting loose, you would see him correct, but then it was just too late. And then, everything was just late. What Cleetus is up against is being one of those guys, not understanding what the car is about to do in certain situations, so he is always behind on his inputs.”

Hamlin might not be as critical as some other protesters against Cleetus McFarland’s deal with Richard Childress to run in the O’Reilly Series. But Hamlin knows that he is no match for the regular drivers. Coming back to Hamlin, in his view, this is all a result of the loopholes that allow any team to bring any driver if they just pay enough.

“I think the approval process in NASCAR probably needs some work. It needs to be more stringent. I think if the approval process were more stringent, then people would hire more talent than they would dollars. Because sometimes you can’t just buy your way into the ride.” If we are to look at last year’s mess, it seems as if NASCAR hasn’t learned it’s lesson. Let us take a look at a few examples that caused a similar stir.

Katheriene Legge’s Phoenix race sparked similar discussions. Daniel Suarez, who got taken out by Legge, questioned NASCAR, “There’s nothing wrong with her; it’s just the process. I think the process has to be so much better.”

Helio Castroneves, who used the OEP to participate in last year’s Daytona 500, raised questions about why NASCAR doesn’t have strict protocols. This controversy took a different turn when NASCAR cancelled Mike Wallace’s return to racing after a long absence. No consistency in the process of selection, but it looks like a good social media following does the trick these days.

Hardly any checks or background verification are required to run a NASCAR race. With enough sponsors and deep pockets, anyone can secure themselves a good seat for a couple of races in NASCAR. So it is not a surprise that a popular automotive influencer like McFarland was able to land a deal with RCR.

Hamlin wants him to realize the gravity of the situation and start working on his skills if he really wants to pursue racing.

“An O’Reilly car at Rockingham—hopefully, he can just not be part of the story. That’s the goal. I think that would be part of the goal that’s just out there: run some laps, have fun, and get your content. He’s a great guy, but that is the deep end,” he said.

What Hamlin means is that even though Cleetus has a seat on a good team, he should stay away from trouble. He should also try to race cautiously instead of playing around with the car. The O’Reilly series is highly competitive, and if he were to wreck any driver owing to his lack of experience, the entire narrative would go against him pretty soon.

Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin has a lot of woes from Phoenix, which he wants his team to overcome.

Denny Hamlin demands improvement from Joe Gibbs

“Not enough. That’s a good overall summary. We just didn’t have the ‘it’ that we needed. I felt like I was always just a little behind the 20 and the 12. I thought we were kind of the next tier of cars, but we didn’t have anything more than that.” This was Hamlin’s reaction to his P5 finish in the race.

Even though it is his best finish of the season, Hamlin is not satisfied with mere top 5s. The JGR driver used to run for wins throughout the 2025 season. It was arguably one of his best Cup seasons. No wonder he wants the team to reach that level of perfection as soon as they can.

The current format is not as forgiving as the previous one. And if Hamlin wants to have a shot at the championship title again this year, he needs multiple wins and a lot of points to keep his hopes alive. He notes that pit road issues also affected his race.

“We had some issues when we did have track position. We didn’t have a great day on pit road. They had a great day when we were kind of in the middle of the pack. But those are the ebbs and flows. Everyone is trying to get reps and rhythm for the season. We’ve just got to work on it and get a little better for sure.”

Nevertheless, even though it did have a race-winning pace, the No. 11 performed according to his expectations. It is a good sign for Hamlin, who is starting to get his mojo back and is actually running at the front of the grid.