New Freedom Factory hats and “REDNECK ENGINEER” shirts available here!! www.cleetusmcfarland.com/

Let this man drive the pace car on the first inaugural race!

This is literally where Doc Hudson meets Lightening McQueen. Now he needs to teach Cleetus how to run the show.

honestly you should give him entry and vip for a lifetime, come and go whenever he pleases and just to honor him for what he did and dedicated to this track ! now its your job to carry on the legacy!

This is awesome! Imagine your dream, something you made, people lose interest in it, or someone buys it and let's it degrade and you can't do anything about it. Years later, a few generations later, some younger kids with similar ideology see a diamond in the ruff and buy it. The faith restored in that old man, seeing people a few generations younger, taking his original dream and bringing it back to life, will probably make him happy come the day he passes knowing he left a legacy that another generation is picking up on and will keep alive for years to come!

This man needs a life sized statue with a bald eagle perched on his forearm at the entrance of the freedom factory 🇺🇸🦅

We also need a full video on James one of these days. Who he is, where he came from, how he got into cars, etc.. Hes been a great asset to the team. James!!! GET THE TOOLBOX!!!!!!

Should have those old plans laminated and framed in the history part of the museum you guys should have !

Google Maps shows this racetrack as the “Freedom Factory” already. Lol

If I don’t hear this man say “Gentleman start your engines!” at the first race I’ll be highly disappointed.

This track and it's legacy, is likely going to outlive the man who built it now. That's pretty heavy, and I bet he was trying to hold back all sorts of emotions when he stepped out on the track. I bet he could still see and hear the cars. See and hear the people lining the stands with their families. Smell the race fuel in the air. We need something at the track to memorialize this man for sure.

Awesome tour! Good to see you guys honoring the history of your track, love it!

3 years later & i still love coming back to see this video ! The track has came a long way since then all thanks to cleetus & crew !

This guy definitely needs a lifetime free pass to any event at the freedom factory🤙🏽 I think that goes without saying but just incase

Imagine building that man's original race car for him and letting him pace the inaugural race in it. I wonder what he was racing back in 1978

James and Coop have that "waiting for mom to stop talking to her friends at church so you can go home" look

Gene's son Dane was my best friend, we met in 5th grade around 1978, we used to go to the tracks together and hang out!

Its cool he came out to do this he's like a proud dad seeing his creation go on

Those drawings properly framed would make a nice addition to your offices.

I like this man. Especially how you just really let him talk and just kind of asked questions we would probably ask. I feel as if this was just more of a greater experience for him than it was us. Which in all is pretty awesome

Used to go to that track every weekend in the late 70's early 80's

I suggest you either name a turn or a grand stand after this guy and his partner. Legit Legends.

Cleeter: We have to get some cool cars out here. Dale Truck: .......

This video is bringing me so many emotions. I’m so happy that the original builder/owner can see you bringing his baby back to life!! Guys like him we owe everything to, he literally paved the way for all of us!!! I love this video and your channel!!! You guys are doing great things with your influence!!! Ima be at the first event. I’m in DeLand FL and I can’t wait for the fun

In my heart, it'll always be Desoto Speedway to me...! I spent many teenage years here before my 22+ year long heroin addiction (79 months sober now)...! Thanks for sharing... Keep up your awesomeness...!!!

When you hold you first real race, you need to let that dude be the Grand Marshal and let him drive the pacecar to start the race.

This man is the literal *founding father* of the freedom factory

The fact that you guys all were super respectful and let him talk the majority of the time show everyone just how much respect you guys all have. Top notch 👍

It's AMAZING to see you guys take absolute pride in the knowledge this old man can share. Not many people our age can respect the wisdom of an elder. Cleetus James and Cooper you guys are truly an example of how the rest of the world should act. Thank you for your service and dedication.

Great to see Mr. Tharpe again. This track was built when I was a kid and my family used to race with him in the 60's at SaraMana. And I got to work at Desoto Speedway when I was 17 on the track crew that cleaned up the accidents on the track on Saturday night racing. Great memories.

Cleetus needs to make a board like top gear and have people out to set the fastest lap times

What a nice gentleman. I'm glad you guys invited him down and documented what he had to say about the place. Those old drawings are super cool too. You could see the memories coming back to him as he walked the track.

You need to get Gene back as a masters of ceremonies for one of the races, maybe have him wave the flag for the next freedom 500? We need to keep these guy's legacy and contribution alive.

This dude should be VIP to all the events for sure.

I know Gene Tharpe he and my stepfather raced against each other for years he's a good old boy it is so good to see him doing good 👍🏻

What an absolute gentleman! Good of him to share so much history and knowledge with you

Just know 4 years later he buys a air port

Like watching the movie “cars” with McQueen talking to Doc Hudson. “I was in my corvette...” “yeah get a winged sprinter, they’ll show you some speed...” Great content.

The fuse info on the lights is gold....i wouldn't have even thought about that.

You need to have him there for the first official event. Make him the "Grand Marshal"! That would be cool as hell.....

Those blueprints are so cool there begging to be framed and hung in the meeting room with the big table.

13:44 "Get the Winged Sprinters out here...and they'll show you some speed...". Might be the single best line of 2020. That's a good man.

That guy is an all-time legend. Lifetime pass and two seats on the start/finish anytime. Side note: 12’s on a 3/8 is bookin it.

It is absolutely awesome to know the heritage of this track. and yes Cletus you absolutely need to let this man drive the inaugural pace car!

The more i see this place, the happier i am that someone like cleetus got the place to fix'er up and put it to use. Seeing such a fantastic idea (childhood-type) coming to life fills me with joy

If there is a lineman school near you they would probably change those fuses for next to nothing so that lineman students can get practice..

cleetus: what the fastest lap time gene: in the low 12s cleetus brain: electric turbo x 8 + cobalt = I am speed

Man, that whole complex must have been buzzing back in the day! A drag strip, a speedway track AND a motocross track all in close proximity? It's like one big playground for motorsports! Did they ever host any 'festival-like' events there, where they'd have multiple events going on across every track over a weekend? That would have been an awesome time out! Do you guys own the land where the motocross track was too? if so, it might be worth going over there with some weed whackers one day to see if the layout of the track is still noticeable lol! If it is, who knows, it may even be salvage-able with some effort!

This track brings back so many memories for me. When I was a kid in Chicago, I used to go with my friends to the stock car races almost every weekend at our local tracks. It was great entertainment! Now, the tracks we used to go to in the 70's are housing developments or shopping malls. Such a shame stock car racing is not as popular as it once was. I'm glad to see Cleetus bring this track back to life. The Freedom Factory rocks!

The logic behind the lighting engineering is perfect, protect the lamps from lightning with fuses, and run less wiring to the poles, meaning less potential points of failure, just the way good engineering is meant to be done. Those diagrams will make future improvements and facility evolution a lot easier. Great to see one of the guys that built the place is looking forward to its newest incarnation.

One of the reasons why I respect the cleetus team. Good to give some recognition and respect to all of our pasts. In order to know where we are going it's good to know where we have come from.

Love that you saved the track and want to learn the history of it. I have friend who was video guy at track back in 80's and more. TURN 5 racing, you can see his banner in one of the videos when you showed the souveneir shop. I also have a 1979 video of a late model race, might be oldest video of track, at least that i know of. I am a huge stock car racing fan and collector and have collected MANY pics from the track over the years. Great job guys!!!!

It’s so crazy I went here all the time as a kid. I sat in those stands with my family. My uncle passed who was the main person who took us. I even got to ride in the pace car a couple times because my father was good friends with the guys who ran the track. So happy to see you restoring this place.

Never watched so much footage dedicated to things like mowing lawns and pressure washing bleachers...it’s awesome, keep it up! 👍👍

He should have his own reserved throne somewhere with the name "The Creator" on it.

I love hearing story’s like this. 2people that made there passion a reality.

Thats so cool! The original owner reminded me of a boss i had many years ago that was a wealth of knowledge. He would give you the backstory on anything you asked him. There was never a simple answer, always vary detailed...men like these have forgotten more then most of us will learn in a lifetime.

I think you should give that man an honorary lifetime membership... Maybe name a stand after him! Great vid ❤️

look up “desoto speedway” and it will take you to the track, and it actually says “ Freedom Factory “ it’s amazing

Dude, you should totally add a part where you can highlight the history of the track and the founders. Many people would appreciate the monument.

Can’t believe James went to school for drawing blueprints and now he’s installing blue print engines in Toast! Do what you love and you won’t work a day in your life!

I bet he is happy that someone is going to restore and open the track.

When the track is patched up, Gene must be the first person to drive on it. Just to honor him.

Good Ole Tom Stimus... Anyone remember Tom Stimus...? His hood slapping commercials are etched into my brain from my youth...!!! Thanks for the memories... Keep up your awesomeness...

Cleetus, I'm sure you are tired of hearing from me, but here goes again- free advice, worth exactly what you paid for it; when you go looking for that "bucket truck", include in your search a "telephone pole setting truck"- they have a hydraulic, folding arm and sufficient power and versatility to drill the 12" hole, lift the telephone pole (#2500-#3400), stick it in the hole and hold it level and then has a bucket the linemen can work from to set the trees and hardware for service as a carrier. They also generally have large capacity tool boxes as part of the bed, and quite often are cabbed with 4 door cabs. Love the core sample idea- not only will it tell the history of the tracks construction, it may tell you a great deal regarding future maintenance needs. I hope you got the builder's comment about the portability of the far side bleachers- that means you could move them to a better vantage, only needing to install proper support pads for the structure.

What a great man. Who would believe that he once raced cars here.Never judge a man by his age and looks. You should have him attend your opening day celebrations!

I hope this guy and his Family get a Lifetime Pass to the Freedom Factory, And a Custom Shirt that Says "Original Freedom Builder" or Something... He needs to Start the Very First Race at the Big Race in November! I really Hope he Talks about the Evil Kenievel Event... 😍

man i have so many memories of this place iam 46 years old and me and my friends would literally spend every weekend out there or rye road its nice to see the place still being used

I come back to this video every now and then. Gene is an absolute champ. Regardless of how many races he may have won. What a wonderful man to still be able to reference the history this speedway. I hope you can have Gene there when this whole pandemic has become manageable and we can all go racing together again. It would be a fitting tribute to this gentleman if we could experience him enjoying a victory lap on the track that he started so many years ago. Please consider this. Thanks.

He should be part of the team, or even if he doesn't wanna be one, an honorary part of the team that is allowed to come and go as he wants.

I think this gentleman deserves a lifetime pass to the track. I love talking with people like him because they go back in time and you can tell by the way he is describing things that he's in his 30's again. Awesome video.

Sounded like he was getting emotional at the bottom of the bleachers. He seems like a great guy, the track is in good hands.

Make some copies of those plans! Frame the originals and whip up some high quality small copies to sell on the website - very cool history, glad he stopped by and you had a camera ready to go!

Seriously so cool seeing this dude talk about the FF

I love how James get all sentimental he lowers his voice like he doesn't want to wake a sleeping baby in the next room 😂

the local drag strip and circle track just got tore down here, living vicariously through you guys for the time being! Keep it up!

who else is truly truly excited for garrett and the boys with the racetrack its amazing how somthing so simple like a piece of land built in a circle can bring so much joy 2020 is gonna be fucking sick dam i wish i was in america for these events

Ol’ Cleaters gears were a turnin’ when he mentioned a Moto X track.

Turn one of the grass parking lots into a rallycross course.

This man sounds like every old school racer I've heard. How awesome of him to come out and share his stories about his old track. I'm sure he's super proud of you boys fixing her up!

It's crazy looking at this and realizing that it took 1 year to open and completely transform. Nicely done Cleetus and team!

This is the most legit man I've ever seen. I could see him get the feels hard when he first walked into the track even with his dark sunglasses on and smooth mellow tone

Hey, all you young bucks are gonna be like that some day. Be kind. We ain't all that bad. We just did it in a different way.

Man it would be so cool to see those old blueprints of the track…. To know where and what everything was back then would just be awesome!

Something like this is golden! Most of the times, history is hard to find, or anything you can find is just from paper or internet.

You should invite him to hang out at the track and keep him around. Make him part of the team. I'm guesing he would love that and would be a great asset with all the knowlege of the track history he has.

Gene is an absolute legend! So cool he still had all the drawings and information and shared the history with all of us! Men like him built so much of our legacy as automotive enthusiasts.

Cleetus mentioned changing all those bulbs in the lights to LED bulbs before, I know when changing fluorescent lights over to LED you have to have different tombstone connectors and completely re-wire the light fixture do bypass the ballast. Metal halide also use a ballast so there’s probably some wiring work needed.

Cleet, it may be a long shot, but maybe you can get Florida to classify the Freedom Factory as a Heritage Site and protect it for generations to come !!!!

That’s pretty valuable info he gave you on the lights. Probably just saved you guys hours and hours of figuring out how to get them working. Enjoyed the video

For your first race, get this guy back to announce "Ladies & Gentleman, Start your engines!"

Sad truth is there are 100s of tracks all across America that have fallen by the way side. Would be nice to see more people like Cleet bring them back to life. Just 3 miles from me sits a 1/2 mile concrete oval right next to a drag strip just sitting there rotting away.

It’s awesome to see the handoff from old Motörhead to new Motörhead. Cletus, you OWE this man a ridealong in Neighbor.

Bit disappointed you never let him go round his old track in one of the cars... but maybe that's for another video? I sure hope so.

That is great to get some living history of the track. I would get those drawings Framed and placed in the offices and maybe some blown up duplicates to put on the sides of the buildings for spectators to see.

It's nice that Mr. Tharpe saved those original drawings for the facility. It will save a lot of time and expense when renovating. Those pole mounted fuse boxes were perhaps a good way to save money 40 years ago when operating on a shoestring budget. But I'd see about relocating them on the ground level and upgrading the fuses to circuit breakers. Way easier to maintain and not that much to install especially if rewiring for LED's anyway.

Thank you for sharing. HOW FUN! I have worked for my company for 25 years and they gave my airline tickets to go ANYWHERE I want to. I want to see the Freedom Factory!!!

This old guy was cool, thanks for including him. Im sure its made his year already to see his former track being brought back to its glory. Love you guys!

James is a genius when it comes to cars Also james: oh yeah I actualy went to school to be an engineer. What a g

I love how that man is so cool and willing to help he’ll yeah !!!! 💪🏽