Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick have been showing that parenting is not all kid gloves and gold stars. While Harvick keeps his 13-year-old son focused off the track so he stays competitive on it, Busch has been handing Brexton the truth without sugarcoating it. He talks lap times, data, mistakes, and the kind of feedback that does not come wrapped in a bow.
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Even when it comes to racing his son straight up, Busch does not back down. In events where Kyle and Brexton have shared the track, the elder Busch has raced him as he would any rival, no free passes and no family discount. Blood may be thicker than water, but on race day, the door swings both ways. That does not mean he drives dirty. He keeps it clean and fair.
Busch has even altered his own racing ways in the NASCAR Cup Series since Brexton began racing, knowing his son watches every move, and takes to what example his father sets. So when Busch was asked whether he would plant a bumper on Brexton, he did not mince words.
“Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, we’ve raced against each other a couple of times, and I’ve been really fair with him and really clean with him. He might get stuck on the outside, and I’ve got to build a gap because I see him out there. So I got to build a gap for two guys with people behind me to let him in, you know, so I’m feeling some bumpers from behind to try to help him,” said the veteran Cup Series racer.
Busch also looked back at the racing between Keelan Harvick and Kevin Harvick during the 2026 Chilly Willy weekend at Tucson Speedway. In that Pro Late Model race, Harvick tried to throw a slide job on Keelan, but the kid stood his ground and moved him off turn two.
Soon after, Harvick paid him back and made his move to move Keelan off line. Busch saw it as a battle worth the price of admission, a case of like father, like son, with neither giving an inch.
At the same time, Busch admitted there is a certain kick to running one-two with one’s own kid, moments when Busch likes to remind his son who the father figure is in the dynamic between the two racers.
Still, he appreciated Keelan, noting that in the Harvick household feud, the younger Harvick had come out on top more than once. For instance, in June 2025 at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, during the “Battle of the Harvicks,” Keelan beat his father and added another chapter to the family ledger.
Busch wants that same fire in Brexton. In fact, he hopes his son one day aims for his mark of 233 wins across the three national NASCAR series. Under the current format, that number stands like a mountain peak few can even see, let alone climb. But if anyone is going to rewrite that page in the record book, Busch would rather keep it in the family and see Brexton carry the torch.
