Cleetus McFarland Expands Motorsports Presence – Partners with Victor Alvarez and Purchases 50 Percent of Bradenton Motorsports Park!
In everything he does, from piloting helicopters to 5-second race cars, hosting events to rebuilding a race track, Cleetus McFarland continues to elevate not only his impact on the sports and hobbies he enjoys, but brings along millions of viewers to watch the adventures on his popular YouTube channel.
It was about five years ago that Cleetus (the adrenaline-fueled alter face of Garrett Mitchell) purchased DeSoto Memorial Speedway, an oval track adjacent to Bradenton Motorsports Park that had sat abandoned for nearly two years. And after a lot of work and success from that track, Cleetus didn’t have to look far for his next opportunity, as he announced today he is partnering with good friend and current owner Victor Alvarez, as 50 percent owner in Bradenton Motorsports Park.
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In taking ownership of DeSoto Memorial Speedway, and creating The Freedom Factory, Cleetus threw down nearly every dime of savings he had to make the deal happen. As the track made improvements, Cleetus was right there to witness it, and in many cases, work on the upgrades. From pouring concrete of the center burnout pad, to cleaning and restoring the existing bleachers, Cleetus learned the ‘lay of the land’ by working nearly facet of the track.
When it comes to the drag strip, Bradenton Motorsports Park has also been through a lot of improvements in the last couple of years. After Victor took ownership of the track, one of the first big investments he made was replacing the last bit of a nearly 50-year-old surface with fresh concrete and asphalt starting in the summer of 2022.
When east coast track Palm Beach International Raceway shut its gates in April of the same year, Victor and Cleetus would be the ones to purchase the aluminum grandstands and bring them to Bradenton.
The facility has continued to evolve with more lighting, increased paved pit parking, and even more events on the schedule. The popular PRO Superstar Shootout returns for its second year in 2025, and the longstanding duo of the U.S. Street Nationals to open the season, and the Snowbird Outlaw Nationals to close the season in December, have been joined by the Drag Illustrated World Series of Pro Mod in late February to complete a three-event winter series.
Victor shares another trait with Cleetus, as he wore the promotor hat before the track owner one, creating and bringing the popular FL2K event to Bradenton starting in 2013. In fact, it would be the 2024 edition of FL2K that brought the partnership between Cleetus and Victor to the front of each enthusiast’s ‘to-do’ list.
“Garrett and I had been talking about this for like a year, and we finally ripped the band aid off, and Josh (Dauta, now the manager of both facilities) has been behind the scenes non-stop making things happen,” Victor said.
“Essentially, at FL2K (2024), the place was so slammed, Josh came over and helped out,” said Cleetus. “It just became so clear to Victor and I that we needed to do a partnership to run this place.”
“The reality is we probably taken this place further than it was ever meant to be taken,” said Victor. And to that end, the duo plan to continue the improvements at the storied facility.
One of the most recent improvements, an enclosed tech building, debuted at the recent Snowbird Outlaw Nationals. Moving the tech area, and the scales off the main road, allowed for tech to be an easier and more expedited process.
Watch the announcement on the partnership, as well as some of the latest upgrades, in Cleetus McFarland’s latest video below:
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Bradenton Motorsports Park, Cleetus McFarland, Victor Alvarez and John Sears.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com