Kyle Loftis funeral: Cletus McFarland delivers heartbreaking speech; ‘remember to smile’

McFarland noted his friendship with Loftis and how he has given back to the racing community. what’s here cleatus mcfarland said of Kyle Loftis.

McFarland began, “I think these guys did a great job of showing how effortlessly Kyle helped everyone around him and started his career.” He added, “I can’t count how many times Kyle has jump-started someone’s career or passion and taken their life on a different path than they ever could have imagined. And it’s really incredible what kind of guy he was.”

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Additionally, McFarland remembered Loftis and said, “It’s also incredible how many friends Kyle had. I think he had more friends than anyone I know. He was one of the kindest, most loving people and could talk to anybody, but you know, he had a lot of friends.”

Loftis’ friend also noted the many people brought together by the late video producer and said, “I mean, you look around the room and the diversity of people Kyle brought together was really amazing. And his unique skill at bringing people together was one of his best. If you look around, there’s a good chance Kyle has introduced you to the person you’re sitting next to.”

McFarland said of Loftis, “However, his passion for cars was absolutely infectious. When we met Kyle many of us had no idea what a journey we were about to take.” McFarland then recounted his meeting with Loftis.

“When I met Kyle… he was at the Sonic, too. And man, does Kyle love the Sonic. I don’t know how much he boosted the economy of the Sonic, especially in the Nebraska area, but he deserves some credit there. But, uh, I ended up here at the Sonic on 180th and Center after getting an invitation from Chase. And I remember this guy stuck a GoPro on a Fox body. And at that time, you know, Had come out. I didn’t really know this was putting this GoPro on. There’s this huge camera, you know? I’m 15 years old. I’m like, this is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” McFarland said.

He continued, “So, I jump in my car and I’m chasing these guys and Kyle is in the car behind to coordinate the race. Sure enough, they race straight down Center Street and then they come in and I’m like, this was the first street race I had ever seen. It was the best thing I had ever seen in my life.”

Speaking about his first conversation with Loftis, McFarland said, “I go to Kyle, you know, because I can tell this guy I think he’s in charge of this deal. And I’m just like, what are you going to do with this video? You know, it was great. And he said, “Oh, I’m putting it on my YouTube channel, 1320 Videos. It’ll wake up in the morning.” I’m like, “Holy cow, this is the coolest guy I’ve ever met.” So, I go home, probably like most of you, once you meet Kyle, you watch 13, 20 videos, right? I watched as many videos as a man can watch in one night. And I was completely obsessed. After just one conversation with Kyle for a conversation period, my love for cars 10x By this point in my life, all I wanted to do was be a part of Kyle’s crew.”

Talking about the way Loftis inspired those around him, McFarland said, “And I think a lot of you can relate to this, but I wanted one of those 1320 video shirts that had the film crew written on it. And I just wanted to be around Kyle and see what he was doing because obviously he was doing good work and everyone there loved him and you know I Let’s just say he was the guy who wanted to be like him. And that’s just a small example of how easily he inspired other people. I mean, you can’t watch a 1320 video without putting a big turbo on your car, right?

“Kyle’s passion for cars was extremely strong, right? That’s what we all know him for. But if you really knew him, his passion was really for documenting everything. And I can guarantee that if he were here, he would have the most photos and videos on a cell phone in this room. And he probably already has about a hundred photos from this morning. Maybe that’s not enough. Maybe like 250 photos by this time in the day, because he saw that brick structure Would be out, took 20 pictures of him. He would come in, take pictures of all of you. And that was one of his best features, but it was almost exhausting how many times he would take pictures, and uh, there was no stopping him,” McFarland also said of his late friend. He then recounted an anecdote, “I mean, I remember driving down the road in Australia. Cooper and I were talking about this last night, and there’s a train on the side of the road that’s just like going, you know, just going by. And he hits the brakes. We switch so he can film from the passenger seat. And I mean, we’re following this train for about 20 minutes, you know, just getting video of it. And uh, this is just some of the footage that you’ve never seen before, but I mean, it’s like 5% because he took a lot of the videos and photos, I’m sure we went to this zoo in Australia, Kyle. You can pass up this exhibit with birds, but we got a photo and video of literally every animal in the zoo.

“And I think a lot of you can remember when Kyle first downloaded Snapchat. None of us were prepared for how many Snapchats Kyle was going to take. I don’t think the servers at Snapchat were ready. I mean, he had to be the number one user of Snapchat or the top five. I mean, his Snap stories were so long. It was incredible to get through them. And even at this point in his life, he wanted the permanent version too. But Kyle was like, you know, downloading Snapchat, and then switching on his camera, but it was, you know, you got at least a hundred Snapchats, cars, food, puppies for that day. Loved documenting. And it didn’t matter if it was the car or his friends or anything interesting.

He praised the late video producer’s leadership and told attendees, “I also think Kyle was one of the best leaders we could have asked for when we worked for him. And whether you worked directly for 1320 Video or you volunteered at one of his events, as I know many of you did, he really treated us great. The meetings before the events were so much fun. Like they were more of a party than a meeting. I don’t know how he did it, but he, you know, made these creative shirts and a lot of the little things. And he never stopped there to make sure that his employees were really taken care of.”

McFarland recounted some funny moments with Loftis. He said, “I loved Kyle’s sense of humor. I mean, you really had to go out of your way to upset him. I mean, you could get away with a lot. I remember one time Alec and I went to the front desk of our hotel, told him we needed his room key. Went up to his room about 2:00, you know, we had a few drinks and we put pizza on top of him. We put pizza on his arm and then Matt, You were there, too. Uh, and I just remember being in this shitty hotel, and I, you know, I could hear him laughing through the paper-thin walls. I mean, he was never that angry, you know. Boy.”

McFarland said, “Uh, another fun story, just one more before we go. I remember Kyle had this brand new drone. It was cool when DJI came out, right? Like it’s state of the art and we’re in Colorado. There’s a waterfall. Of course, Kyle is on it, right? Like it’s a waterfall. It looks like Kyle’s phone is out of his pocket. You know, we have a thing for this thing. Magneto. I don’t even know what happened to the waterfall before that. You know, we charged it and Kyle was getting so close to the waterfall, and ultimately the drone flew in and never got it, but it’s like he was always making the extra effort to get the best video and picture of Kyle. He never missed a shot. He had to get the right picture, get the right video. It was amazing.

Ending on an emotional note, McFarland said, “We were so lucky to have Kyle. So, let’s not let his legacy fade away. Now is the time to spread the great word of 1320 Video more than ever. Wear your shirt. Wear your hat. Keep tagging those stickers wherever you go. And most importantly, remember to smile like Kyle.”

On Facebook, McFarland recently posted again about Loftis, writing, “My brother. Still no words. The most inspirational boy of my life.”