Keelan Harvick Steals the Show at Asphalt Nationals Amid Kevin Harvick’s Dismal Retirement Season

Kevin “Happy” Harvick is arguably one of the sport’s best drivers. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver revealed earlier this year that the 2023 season will be his last in NASCAR as he prepares to bid farewell to the sport forever. But sadly, the veteran’s final season with the team has been nothing but a far cry from his glory days.

Though the #4 driver relied on points to make his way into the playoffs, he was eventually knocked out of the tournament in the eliminator at Bristol, ending the abysmal season on a sour note as he went out without a win under his name.

While the veteran had to go out with no win, his son Keelan Harvick just racked up an impressive win in his first opportunity, making his old man proud.

The young Harvick makes the veteran, Kevin Harvick proud as he picks up his first Legends race win

Unlike the older generation drivers like Kevin Harvick or Kyle Busch, the younger wave of drivers have picked up the habit a bit earlier. Starting their budding racing careers, young talents like Brexton Busch have already made it into the racing scene, making a name for themselves early on. While Busch’s son has his sights set on Sprint races, trying to set the basics right, Keelan Harvick, the SHR veteran’s 11-year-old, has his sights on Legends cars.

After a successful campaign in smaller promotions racking up titles including  2022 USPKS Nat Champ (Mini), 2021 SKUSA SuperNats, USPKS Nat, CKNA Grand Nats 5 & IAME Grand Nat Champ (Micro), the young Harvick tasted success when he aced his first Race of Champion event. 

The youngster won the Young Lions Race of Champions at the 2023 Asphalt Nationals, making his father proud and partly cleansing the veteran’s awful Cup Series season. Keelan Harvick on his social media broke the news to the community, tweeting and posting a picture of himself standing next to his race-winning #62 car with the caption, “First opportunity to participate in the Race of Champions and I took home the W!”

WATCH THIS STORY: Kevin Harvick’s legendary tribute: A farewell to remember 

Jenson Button shares his thoughts on the young Harvick, giving the youngster a piece of advice

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While most young drivers in America aspire to put on the helmet and get inside one of those supreme Stock Cars in the NASCAR world, Harvick’s son, Keelan, is a bit off-beat in that aspect. The 11-year-old has a thing for Formula 1 as well. Even though he is still in his learning phase, soaking up the dos and don’t inside the tracks, whether it be the asphalt tracks or the local dirt tracks, the young Harvick has let his passion for open-wheel racing be known.

The youngster even had a brief conversation with 2009 Formula 1 champion, Jenson Button, where the Brit enlightened him with some valuable words. When the young driver shoots in the question, “What does it take to be a Formula 1 driver?” Button calmly answered, “Natural ability but that’s something that you’re gifted, you know, you need to work on that. Even the best driver in the world, they need to work on their talent to be better because somebody out there is working harder.”

READ MORE: Kevin Harvicks’ Honours Beats Out Hendrick Motorsports Legend at Legendary Final Race at Homestead Miami

With the youngster putting NASCAR first and F1 second, in the coming years, the community can certainly expect the favorite driver’s son to walk into the NASCAR world and put on a show.