Kevin Harvick and son Keelan, 13, at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway
Keelan Harvick was at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Nov. 8 for the All America 100 professional late mannequin race along with his father, former NASCAR champ Kevin.
Keelan Harvick, son of former NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick, started racing after stepping into go-karts through the pandemic.At age 13, Keelan is now racing Professional Late Mannequin automobiles on a number of the identical tracks his father competed on.Kevin Harvick helps his son’s profession by difficult him on numerous and troublesome racetracks.
It isn’t stunning that issues transfer quick within the family of former NASCAR Cup Sequence champion Kevin Harvick.
Simply a short time after his son, Keelan, turned bored through the COVID-19 pandemic and requested Kevin to take him to journey go-karts, Keelan is already racing Professional Late Mannequin automobiles on a number of the identical tracks his father ran.
Keelan, who turned 13 this previous summer season, was at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway on Nov. 8, the place he made his debut on the 0.58-mile monitor. He completed eighth in a 34-car area within the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour All American 100. Corey Deuser gained the race.
“When COVID hit, I had nothing to do, so I requested my dad if I might go to the go-kart monitor and I’ve liked it ever since,” Keelan mentioned. “I acquired hooked on racing and my dad has supported me since then. I did not know I might be this far alongside in just some years, however I am actually joyful to be right here.”
Keelan Harvick likes racing the place his father raced
Keelan was on the identical monitor his father raced early in his profession, which finally included 60 NASCAR Cup wins, the 2007 Daytona 500 championship and three Brickyard 400 victories.
Kevin Harvick, who retired after the 2023 season and joined the FOX broadcast workforce, raced at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway within the NASCAR Truck Sequence in 1997 and 1998. In 2000, he ran within the final NASCAR occasion on the historic monitor within the Busch Sequence (now Xfinity Sequence) BellSouth Mobility 320, ending fourth.
Keelan mentioned the tracks he likes to run essentially the most are these like Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, for a few causes.
“One, I simply suppose it is neat to be on the identical monitor he was on, and in addition as a result of he is aware of the monitor and might inform me what to look out for,” Keelan mentioned.
Harvicks’ motto: ‘How comfy are you able to be being uncomfortable?’
What Kevin Harvick instructed his son in regards to the distinctive Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway paved oval with an 18-degree banking was that it may be tough.
“It is a very troublesome monitor,” Keelan mentioned. “However I like that. I like being uncomfortable. It pushes you to the sting. And I like a monitor the place you need to save tires, and also you undoubtedly have to save lots of tires on this monitor. I am fairly good at saving tires, generally.”
Ever since his son confirmed an curiosity in racing, Kevin Harvick has tried to place him on various kinds of tracks, and the asphalt oval on the Fairgrounds suits that invoice.
“From the go-karts to the Legend automobiles to the place we are actually, we all the time attempt to go to totally different racetracks to have the ability simply to have one thing that’s totally different to go, drive, no matter it’s, to have the ability to get these totally different seems to be and have to determine a brand new racetrack,” Kevin Harvick mentioned. “Our motto has all the time been, ‘How comfy are you able to be being uncomfortable?’ “
Kevin Harvick hopes Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway survives
An effort to carry NASCAR racing again to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway is being made by Speedway Motorsports, and Kevin Harvick wish to see it occur.
However extra importantly, he desires to see brief tracks just like the one at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway survive in order that his son and different younger drivers could have locations to race.
“It is necessary to maintain the short-track system wholesome to have the ability to have amenities for younger drivers,” Kevin Harvick mentioned. “And this one is fairly versatile from the quarter-mile (monitor) standpoint to the 0.58-mile. It is acquired a longstanding historical past in short-track racing typically. It is necessary to protect stuff like this. It is not like they’re constructing them new on a constant foundation.”
