It could’ve been worse…
In case you missed the news, car YouTuber Cleetus McFarland didn’t escape Hurricane Ian without some significant property damage. That’s not surprising considering the guy and his famous Freedom Factory are in the Tampa Bay, Florida area right where the storm ripped through. Thankfully, nobody was hurt and it looks like Cleetus will get things up and running without many issues.
Check out the latest Motorious Podcast here.
The first big casualty came from a pole barn Cleetus thought would be safe because it had zero walls for the wind to push on. In hindsight, the wind also pushes on structural supports and the roof itself, so the massive roof came down. While he moved one vehicle before the storm, trapped underneath was the Bald Regal, the rafters crushing its roof. Several other cars were also trapped inside, but honestly none were nearly as much of a loss.
While the Freedom Factory track fared better, there were some casualties there like the scoreboard and a few minor structures as well as some sponsor signs and some fencing. In all honesty, the damage could’ve been so much worse. Thankfully, a ditch on the side of a road captured plenty of the water, so flooding didn’t seem to be much of an issue.
On the really bright side, McFarland’s house and surrounding property suffered relatively little damage. His family was also just fine and they didn’t even lose power, so count those blessings. After all, losing your house in a hurricane is a much bigger deal than a few so-so cars getting damaged, along with fences, signs, and a pole barn.
Not everyone fared so well in the storm. Two Mopar wing cars were dragged out of a garage by the storm surge, a collection of Ferraris and other high-end cars was tossed around in another garage, and another car YouTuber’s collection was flooded.
Images via YouTube
