YouTuber buys abandoned Florida race track and turns it into a ‘Freedom Factory’ for extreme car events
- This YouTuber bought an abandoned race track in Florida
- He wanted to transform it into the ‘Freedom Factory’
- Now he holds motoring events and competitions at the track
Published on Mar 03, 2025 at 10:00 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Feb 28, 2025 at 12:47 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
This man bought an abandoned race track in Florida and transformed it into a space for extreme car events dubbed the ‘Freedom Factory’.
The Desoto Speedway in East Manatee opened in the 1970s, but in 2018 it went up for auction where it sold for just over $1 million.
However, after the sale, the former race track was pretty much empty and abandoned for two years.
Until 2020, when YouTuber and car enthusiast Cleetus McFarland bought it.
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He wanted Freedom Factory to be the ‘ultimate playground’
For Cleetus – who once bought a rare 1957 Chevy limousine in the hopes of turning it into a lucrative business venture – the idea of owning his own race track was a dream he’d had since childhood.
So, when the opportunity to make it a reality presented itself in 2020, he didn’t waste any time.
“We put everything we had into getting this track to have the ultimate content playground for us,” he explained in a video shared to his YouTube channel.
He renamed the 63-acre site ‘Freedom Factory’ and immediately started planning for its future.
McFarland said the track would be the perfect ‘mini burnout stadium’ and place to test any of the weird and wacky creations he and his team made.
The race track is now up and running and holds plenty of events
Given the track had largely been abandoned for a couple of years, it wasn’t in the best shape – but McFarland said he was up for the challenge.
“The track needs some work but I’m up for the idea to have races out here if the right promoter comes along,” McFarland told his audience.
“I’d be happy to have some circle drag races and it would be great to bring it back to what it was. I would love to see it run through its veins again … but there is a lot of work and problems in every corner.”
Fortunately, over the following weeks and months, McFarland was able to tackle all those problems and the Freedom Factory was able to hold its first public event in February 2021.
You’ll be pleased to know that since then, the Freedom Factory has gone from strength to strength and regularly holds and hosts motoring events.
Just last year, McFarland splashed out on his very own airport where he plans to build a house for himself and add a new runway.
Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
