A common argument when it comes to the children of famous athletes or racecar drivers in specific is that they have a leg up, that the reason behind their success, if they’re successful, is because of their background. This was something Kevin Harvick also spoke about recently.
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Harvick’s son, Keelan, is a racecar driver in his own right who has been pretty successful so far in his young career. But more often than not, his success is written off considering his last name. But Kevin Harvick believes what he can provide to his son, no other parent can.
“He’s always gonna have a better motor, a better car, and you just gotta learn to deal with that. They still hear it whose dads and moms are telling them that’s the only reason they’re beating you,” Harvick said on a recent appearance on the Dale Jr. Download. “I tell people all the time, we’re fortunate to be in the position that we’re in and you can’t do it like me.”
“There’s no way that a parent who knows nothing about racing can do it like we do with our families.”
Kevin Harvick uses Lionel Messi’s example to make his point
Further making his point, Harvick claimed that as a racecar driver himself, as someone who has spent a majority of his life around racecars and racetracks, he knows what to expect, he knows what’s fast, what’s slow, and most importantly, what he is looking for. “Most parents that aren’t around racing don’t know what they’re looking for, so you have to do it differently and you have to teach the parents as well along the way,” he said.
This prompted Mike Davis, the co-host of the show, to add, “This is true in every sport. I’m a soccer dad.” Harvick agreed to Davis’ words and gave an example to support his point with the name of Lionel Messi.
“Do you think your kid is going to be better than Messi? Messi’s kid is going to be a better soccer player than you because he has seen it his whole life and he’s going to be able to teach him better,” Harvick added.
In the end, the recently retired NASCAR driver concluded that this is the way it is, and this is the way it will be for his children, considering its “just part of it.”