There was no shortage of controversy at Daytona this past weekend as NASCAR‘s top circuits all competed in the first event of 2026. But one longtime NASCAR spotter took a lot of issue with who was allowed to compete. One of the targets was fan-favorite Natalie Decker.
On Monday’s episode of his Door Bumper Clear show, spotter Freddie Kraft went off on two drivers who competed at Daytona: Decker and YouTuber-turned-driver Cleetus McFarland.
Advertisement
For McFarland, Kraft said that he simply hadn’t done enough to earn his spot in the Truck Series field. He believes that McFarland, who finished last in the race after an early crash, put the entire field at race by participating.
“This is gonna be very unpopular, and I’m sorry, but what are we doing? Are we trying to get the best racecar drivers on the racetrack, or are we trying to get the biggest social media following?” Kraft said. “There were two glaring examples this weekend: one was Cleetus, obviously, in the Truck race. What has he done? For me, I get it, there’s a system in place that you have to run certain races to get approved for other races. The system should not be based on participation; it needs to be based on results. This guy ran two plate races last year, wrecked in both of them, wrecked half the field in one of them trying to do a restart.
“We’re just lucky the other night that he didn’t wipe out the Truck field because when he spun, he went down instead of up and he was running in the top 10 when it happened. … It was just dumb luck that he didn’t wipe out half the field. We talk about safety — I’m sure he’s a great guy, he seems like a phenomenal person, he’s got great car control in the videos I watch, he drives anything in the world — he’s not ready for what he’s doing. So, you can’t approve these people to go out there.”
Advertisement
Kraft on Decker
As for Decker, Kraft felt that her history of poor finishes and wrecks also should have disqualified her from participating in the notoriously tough racetrack.
“Natalie Decker, another one. First of all, how did she ever get approved? She’s run 13 races and averaged a 29th-place finish, piling in the wrecks on top of that,” Kraft said. “Like, at what point do you look and say, ‘Alright, we made a mistake approving this person, now we need to take it back.’ … I want to make it clear, it’s not Cleetus’s fault; it’s NASCAR’s fault for letting him race. … The system is broken.”
Advertisement
But Kraft also made it clear that he doesn’t entirely blame McFarland and Decker. He puts the bulk of blame on NASCAR itself for deciding to approve them when they’re not ready.
Aug 25, 2023; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Natalie Decker (53) on pit road prior to the NASCAR Xfinity Series Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports© David Yeazell-Imagn Images.
(© David Yeazell-Imagn Images.)
Decker has experience racing in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Her race at Daytona marked her 14th in the circuit and she even finished 18th in the Daytona Race two years ago. However, that was the highest finish in a race of her entire career on the circuit.
Will we see Decker compete in Daytona in the future?
This story was originally published by The Spun on Feb 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the NASCAR section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
