The son of a NASCAR legend is inching closer to his debut at the highest levels.
Keelan Harvick, the 11-year-old son of 2014 Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, made his official debut in a full-fledged stock car over the weekend while also continue to win in the entry level divisions that he has dominated for the past several years.
Harvick has been subjected to a wide variety of racing categories over the past half-decade, from European karts against very young Formula 1 hopefuls to the American style oval ladder system. The latest step came on Saturday when Harvick made his debut in a Street Stock at New River All American Speedway on the undercard for a CARS Tour event.
He was in position to win that race, but missed a shift on the final restart, and ultimately finished second to Tyler Smith but ahead of Steve Wells — who both praised the youngster for his race craft at a young age.
“Little Keelan, man, that’s a driver,” Smith said in Victory Lane. “Give him a couple of years, he’s going to be one of the best. I’ve got as much respect for him as anyone out here. I didn’t think the boy could drive that good. He saved it and I’m very proud for him.”
Ditto Wells.
“It was fun watching Keelan, man,” he said. “You should have seen him off of [turn] two. He was smoking the right-rear tire.”
For his part, Harvick enjoyed the experience.
“I just tried to get a little too greedy,” Harvick said. “I just missed a shift. It was really good. Congrats to Tyler, he did a good job. I’m excited to come back.”
Meanwhile, Harvick continues to win in Legends car competition, and did so again in spectacular fashion at New River. He traded the lead back and forth with Jacob Staten in a three-car battle that also included Aiden McConnaughey.
“It was pretty hard,” said Harvick after the win. “Good job to Jacob, he did really good. I just made a mistake, I hit the wall, but I came back.
“It’s really cool. It’s a really fun track, and I hope to be back here again.”
Following the oval weekend, Harvick was right back behind the steering wheel of a shifter kart, meaning that the young racer is developing skills that could take him to NASCAR, Formula 1 or IndyCar depending on how his interests and circumstances play out.
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.
