It has been barely over a year since Kevin Harvick retired. The veteran hung up his firesuit at the end of 2023 after an illustrious career of 60 NASCAR Cup Series wins. Yet he is already witnessing his 12-year-old son breathe fire in the stock car racing rite of passage. Keelan Harvick, the rising prodigy of American motorsports, proved that he can easily wheel stock cars.
This comes after a fabulous 2024 season – Keelan accumulated 27 victories across 49 starts. He ultimately secured the 2024 INEX Young Lions Asphalt National Championship. In 2025, Keelan was set to kick off his first year in full-bodied stock cars – and he already has a trophy in his hands.
Keelan Harvick leads the field all the way
Well, what father would not feel pride after seeing their child reach for the stars? For Kevin Harvick, time flew faster than he thought from the moment when he held Keelan as a baby after missing the Coke Zero 400 in 2012, welcoming him to the world. Yet already, his son is the torchbearer of his racing legacy. In November last year, Keelan entered his first Limited Late Model event at Florence Motor Speedway. Driving against established veterans, the young racer finished in a quiet but solid 8th place. Now, after three months, the kid has mastered the art already, as he fetched a race victory at the same racetrack.
Florence Motor Speedway held its icebreaker Limited Late Model event recently, and Keelan Harvick was the belle of the ball. He started from the pole, led every lap, and crossed the finish line a whopping four seconds ahead of his next rival. Keelan was in a field of 11 drivers, and his rivals Ricky Loclair Jr., Truett Miranda, David Snook Jr., and Blake Lothian rounded out the top five. This tremendous win to start the season had his father beaming, as Kevin Harvick wrote: “Proud of @KeelanHarvick!”
Proud of @KeelanHarvick ! https://t.co/zSdj2sYglU
— Kevin Harvick (@KevinHarvick) February 8, 2025
The official Twitter handle of Florence Motor Speedway also posted its salute. “Keelan Harvick leads the field of Limited Late Models to start the 2025 Season at Florence Motor Speedway!” Indeed, Kevin Harvick’s son has aimed for the top seed ever since his debut in racing. He developed his craft in go-karting events not just in the US but also in Europe, and by the end of 2022, he already owned multiple championships in his name. Now he is on his way to higher glory – Keelan is booked for a multitude of Pro Late Model races on both the East and West Coast.
But Keelan also has a solid challenge trundling along his way – racing against his own father.
Going for the real test
Kevin Harvick’s achievements in the racing world are indisputable. Since his NASCAR debut year in 1995, Harvick has been a force to reckon with. He has collected 14 Craftsman Truck Series victories and 47 Xfinity Series victories. He owns crown jewel events among his Cup Series trophies, like the Brickyard 400, the Coca-Cola 600, and the Daytona 500. So as Keelan Harvick takes his first steps in the stock car racing world, who better to learn the tricks from than his dad? And the father-son duo will do it in the best way possible – by competing with each other.
They will race at the JEGS All-Stars Tour Masters of the Pro’s 200 at Owosso Speedway on July 16th. This is the first officially announced race, as Kevin Harvick and his son will compete in several more races. This turnout of events has the 2014 Cup Series champion a little baffled, as Kevin did not expect his son to reach this level so soon. “The biggest problem he had was us. We should have just let him go out there and not tell him what to do. I don’t think we all expected him to do as well as he did. He was very aware of his surroundings, communication and the things he did with the car.”
Evidently, 2025 is already a blast for the Harvick family. Keelan Harvick is carrying forward his father’s legacy with great aplomb, and we hope to see him gather more trophies soon!
The post Kevin Harvick Hypes Up His Son After Keelan Kicks Off the Year With a Limited Late Model Win appeared first on EssentiallySports.
