Event: Love’s RV Stop 225 (85 laps / 226.1 miles)
Round: 23 of 25 (The Chase)
Track: Talladega Superspeedway
Location: Lincoln, AL
Date & Time: Friday, October 23 | 4:00 PM ET
Tune-In: FOX Sports 1 | NASCAR Racing Network (NRN) | SiriusXM Ch. 90
Team Stats & Notes
- Niece Motorsports Talladega Stats:
NCTS Starts: 25; Top-Fives: 2; Top-10s: 4; Best Finish: 2nd (Trevor Bayne, 2020).
No. 4 Blues Hog Chevrolet Silverado RST
Driver: Cleetus McFarland | Crew Chief: Mike Shiplett
- McFarland Returns: Hell yeah, brother! Garrett Mitchell (a.k.a. Cleetus McFarland) is back in the No. 4 Niece Motorsports Silverado for his third NCTS start of the season at Talladega Superspeedway. McFarland raced at both Daytona International Speedway and Michigan International Speedway with the team earlier in the year and looks to improve on his career-best finish. In the spring, McFarland led 19 laps in the ARCA race at Talladega and came home as the runner-up finisher.
- McFarland’s Talladega Stats:
Cleetus McFarland will make his first-career NCTS start at Talladega on Friday.
ARCA Starts: 2; Top-Fives: 1; Top-10s: 2; Best Finish: 2nd (2026)
- Shiplett’s Talladega Stats:
NCS Starts: 12; Top-10s: 1; Best Finish: 10th (2021).
NOAPS Starts: 7; Top-10s: 1; Best Finish: 7th (2018).
NCTS Starts: 1; Top-10s: 1; Best Finish: 9th (2024).
- On the Truck: McFarland’s No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado RST will race with primary support from Blues Hog, an award-winning premium barbecue product producer based near St. Louis. Blues Hog offers incredible tasting barbecue sauces, rubs, snack sticks, and heat-and-eat meats, and has developed a worldwide fan following.
- Ride With Cleetus: Fans will have a chance to ride along with the No. 4 Chevy throughout the entirety of Friday’s Love’s RV Stop 225 via an onboard camera which will be live streamed on NASCAR’s YouTube channel.
- Recapping Phoenix: Donovan Strauss and the Nightclubs Suck team had a clean evening in Phoenix, gaining valuable experience. In just his second-career NCTS start, Strauss qualified 22nd for the 150-lap race. On the first pit stop of the night, the rookie slid through his pit stall and had to make up for lost ground in stage two. The No. 4 team held serve for the final run to the checkered flag, and Strauss brought his truck home to his best-career finish in 24th-place.
- Quoting McFarland: You almost won your first ARCA Menards Series race here in the spring, so does that help your confidence in returning to Talladega this weekend?
“Well, I’ve also gotten to run the truck more than six laps now, so I was excited getting to go to Michigan and run a full race and end on the lead lap. I have a feel for how the truck drives way better, and I’m just fired up to get back to Dega. I love Dega, I love everything about it, I love the people, I love the boulevard, I love the action, I love Blues Hog, and now I get to go back and hopefully do better than second.”
About Niece Motorsports: Niece Motorsports is a professional auto racing team that has competed in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series since 2016. The team is owned by Josh Morris of DQS Solutions and Staffing and the Fowler Family of J.F. Electric and Utilitra, and was founded by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. At its 80,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Salisbury, NC, Niece Motorsports is a full-service race vehicle build shop as well as a customizable fabrication shop for any manufacturing needs.
Follow the Team: To keep up to date with the latest team news, visit niecemotorsports.com or connect on Facebook and Instagram (@NieceMotorsports) as well as X (@NieceMotorsport).
About Blues Hog: Blues Hog is a nationally recognized producer of premium barbecue products, trusted by top chefs, champion pitmasters, and restaurateurs worldwide. Known as “The Award-Winning Choice of Champions,” Blues Hog offers a diverse lineup of sauces, seasonings, marinades, fuels, meat sticks, and heat-and-eat meats—all crafted to elevate any barbecue experience, from backyard cookouts to elite competitions. With an unwavering commitment to exceptional flavor and quality, Blues Hog delivers next-level taste by blending authentic barbecue tradition with modern convenience. For more information, visit www.BluesHog.com.
