BRADENTON, Fla. — For two years, the DeSoto Speedway has sat forlorn and abandoned. But it's about to experience a rebirth.

  • Cleetus McFarland has 1.8 million subscribers on YouTube
  • McFarland and his team plan to rehab DeSoto Speedway
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“This is the perfect playground for us car guys to have a lot of fun,” said new owner Cleetus McFarland. 

McFarland has racked in over 1.8 million subscribers on his Youtube channel

Originally from Nebraska, McFarland made his way to Clearwater, where he and his team rehab old cars and test them out on the track. 

The group calls it “live action."

“It requires a lot of breaking things, a little bit of fixing, and then more breaking,” said team member James Taal.

After four years of making videos, McFarland said he saw an opportunity of a lifetime: instead of rehabbing cars, he’s now remodeling the DeSoto Speedway. 

The team renamed it the “Freedom Factory.” It's where they hope to bring online and motorsports fans together for a one-of-a-kind attraction. 

“We are going to incorporate the old stuff, like circle track racing, but also intertwine the modern type of entertainment,” McFarland told us. 

McFarland says he expects to open the Freedom Factory to the public sometime this year. 

Shirts for the Freedom Factory are now available. All proceeds from t-shirt sales go to remodeling the speedway.