Keelan Harvick took another big step towards matching Kevin Harvick’s legacy in motorsports on Saturday night. The 12-year-old dominated the CARS Pro Late Model Tour race at the Hickory Motor Speedway and earned his first series win on the East Coast.
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Speaking to the press after the race, he detailed how instrumental his father Kevin Harvick has been in developing his career. He said, “It is cool to have him in the car and coach me because he has never actually been in the go-kart or legend car with me.
“And I haven’t actually seen what he is doing on the data and all that. It is really beneficial, and I just can’t thank him enough for letting me do this and giving me the opportunity.”
Interestingly, Kevin was one of Keelan’s competitors as well. He finished the race in third place. It was the third time that the father-son duo went against each other this year, and Keelan has emerged victorious on all three occasions. He won the CARS Tour West race at the Kern Raceway back in May and trumped his father again at Evergreen Speedway a few weeks later.
– @KeelanHarvick dominated Saturday’s @CARSTour PLM feature at Hickory and scored his first series victory on the east coast, giving him a commanding #HarvickCup lead as well.#CARSTour | @HBPizza pic.twitter.com/sTxOgyZxwK
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) July 13, 2025
His win on Saturday also confirmed him a starting spot in the Throwback Classic race at the Hickory Motor Speedway on August 2. He stands to gain $30,000 should he reach Victory Lane in that race. Notably, his No. 62 car was adorned with the sponsorship of HendrickCars.com on Saturday. Keelan thanked Rick Hendrick as well for the show of support.
Why Kevin Harvick is happy to race against his son
Although he loses out to his son every time they race against each other, Kevin is only too glad that he is on the same race track as Keelan. It is because he gets to have conversations that simply weren’t possible when Keelan was driving go-karts or Legend cars.
“It’s just so special to be able to do what we’re doing right now,” the 2014 Cup Series champion said after the race. “It’s not anything that I had really thought about or planned.
“And even though he kicks my butt, it’s fun to be on the same racetrack. It creates new conversations that we didn’t really have in Legends cars and go-karts. And just to see the progression. I think it happens faster when we’re racing together.”
Keelan is bound for a NASCAR start soon at this rate. But it should also be noted that he has expressed a strong interest in Formula One racing in the past.
Going down the open-wheel racing pathway would mean that his father wouldn’t be able to help him as much. With how much he appreciates his old man’s participation in shaping his career, Keelan might soon have a big decision to make on his hands.
