It is a well-known fact now that Keelan Harvick, son of the 2014 NASCAR Cup series champion Kevin Harvick, has the potential to be the next rising star. The boy, at a mere age of 12 years old, races with professional drivers and a champion like his father, Kevin Harvick. With 27 wins in 49 starts in the INEX Young Lions Asphalt Series, he jumped into the full-bodied stock cars in 2025, and he’s starting to get into his groove. Starting with a Limited Late Model win at Florence Motor Speedway, Keelan then outpaced his father, the 2014 Cup Series champ, to snag the Pro Late Model win at Kern Raceway.
“I hate that we got tangled up there, but that’s a part of short track racing. [Gomes] just wiped me out, but I know he was going for it. Buddy was going for it; I was doing all I could do. It ended up benefitting Keelan,” Harvick said this after he crashed late race, and wasn’t able to put up a fight, allowing Keelan to pick up the pieces. A win is a win, but the former SHR driver was still hesitant to rave about his son’s racing prowess. But, that changed after Keelan’s heroics at Evergreen Speedway.
Keelan stretches his lead in the battle of Harvicks
The next edition of the Battle of Harvick’s took place at the Washington Evergreen Speedway, where the fans witnessed the unthinkable. Although Keelan wasn’t able to match his win from Kern Raceway, but with a runner-up finish, he was able to get the better of his father. Haed Playbon was declared the winner of the CARS Tour Pro Late Model event, but for Kevin Harvick this was a visual treat to see his son rise through the ranks and compete against talented drivers.
“So it was the first time I’ve watched him in the car because I got to race behind him pretty much all day. It’s the first time that I’ve watched him in the car, and I was like, he’s confident, He knows how wide his car is. He’s comfortable sliding the car around his side-by-side, you know. I mean, they’re close enough right there, you know, I think that you know. He felt comfortable driving the car in the corner,” Harvick explained.
“This time he just beat me.” @KevinHarvick on racing against @KeelanHarvick in front of a great crowd at Evergreen Speedway. pic.twitter.com/2SgOI1gVq2
— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) July 1, 2025
Fortunately, this isn’t the last time the two Harvicks are going to go head-to-head. They are going to run multiple races together in the CARS Tour event on both coasts throughout the 2025 season. But, Harvick was just blown away by the reception and the energy of the crowd at the Washington Evergreen Speedway.
“They used to have a 500-lap West race yearly. I mean tons of merch, Cup merchandise from 29 car to the 4 car, and just a great all around event. We will be going back and when you see something that is that successful and you realize that a section of the country that is starving for more, just pure excitement for the sport. I mean it instantly energizes you to go back and do it again,” the veteran driver added.
On the flip side, Harvick also talked about NASCAR’s return to one of the controversial venues, the Chicago Street course.
Kevin Harvick explains why Chicago street race is special
For the traditional fans who have watched NASCAR for a long time, anything other than oval racing seems generic. Be it the road course at Charlotte or the full-fledged street style racing in Windy City. The sanctioning body wanted to tap into new markets and after the exit from Chicagoland, they made an ambitious call to go street racing in 2023. Although there is no official word out yet on whether NASCAR will return to this venue in 2026, Harvick couldn’t help but share his two cents about the special event.
“I think the impression it made the first time that I walked into the racetrack in Chicago, I’ll never forget it. I mean, it’s just makes a statement when you see the street course set up and the way that it looks and the way that it races, the atmosphere that it has and the thing I always liked is just the engagement that everybody there knows what’s happening. That’s not the case when you go to all the racetracks. You might not be there for the race, but you know it’s happening,” Harvick stated on the Happy Hour podcast.
Now there have been rumors about street racing in San Diego and a potential shuffle with the Cup Series schedule. So, it is hard to tell if NASCAR will return to Chicago beyond 2025.
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