NASCAR has always been a family affair, where one generation passes the torch to the next. Legends like Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Richard Childress, and Bill Elliott set the stage, and their families have continued their legacies on the track. It’s this very tradition that Kevin Harvick hopes to build with his son, Keelan, who’s gearing up to make racing his own. For Harvick, it’s about creating a lasting legacy—a journey that started with him and now fuels Keelan’s drive to follow in his father’s tire tracks.

However, Kevin Harvick will have a tough task given that Keelan has already expressed his desire to compete in the Formula 1 race someday. Last year he took to his X account posing in the streets of Monaco, where the iconic Monaco GP takes place. He further confirmed this in an interview, stating, “I want to build something different. I want to go to F1.” But despite Keelan’s hopes of a dream career in open-wheel racing, Harvick seems to have drawn the line.

Kevin Harvick wants his son to stay within the realms of NASCAR

Mario Andretti is one of the most successful race car drivers of all time and one of the few American drivers to have succeeded at F1 apart from his exploits in different disciplines of racing. But, since then, very few drivers from the United States have been able to reach such heights. Even the talented race car driver, Connor Zilisch, who became the first American to win the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy, opted for stock car racing.

Apart from talent and money, luck also plays a crucial role for young drivers to break through at the F1 level. This is why Kevin Harvick wants Keelan to continue his path toward NASCAR racing and carry the family banner. He reiterated the same when a fan asked about Keelan’s eventual path considering his affinity for open-wheel racing.

“@KevinHarvick is Keelan eyeing NASCAR or open-wheel racing? With his interest in F1, what does he like more?” Asked a race fan on X, to which the former Stewart Haas Racing driver replied, “All NASCAR.” So, it’s fair to say, the fans are going to see Harvick’s name back up in NASCAR racing very soon.

The 12-year-old is certainly making a lot of noise, winning multiple events and races. In 2024, he bagged the INEX Young Lions National Championship driving the #62 entry-level Legends car. He clinched 33 races out of a possible 57 and has already started to collect championship trophies at such a tender age. Moreover, Kevin Harvick has already made all the right moves within the stock car racing circuits that will see him land at NASCAR eventually.

Keelan Harvick will compete in the Pro Late Model stock car races in 2025

Keelan was restricted to Legends cars, dirt racing, and karting as far as competitive racing was concerned. However, to make it to NASCAR, he will have to get up to speed with racing in a stock car. At 12 years old, he is eligible for Pro Late Model racing, and this is exactly what he will be doing for the 2025 season. Kevin Harvick did breathe a new life into KHI as he entered late model racing this year. But he feels that a partnership with Rackley W.A.R. will see his team become competitive.

Through this partnership, both Kevin and Keelan will join Rackley W.A.R.’s driver lineup for the Super Late Model and Pro Late Model programs. Meanwhile, Harvick will serve as the consultant for Rackley’s Truck Series program with rookie driver Dawson Sutton, who will compete full-time in 2025.

“Although KHI had some success this year in the Late Model Stock world, the Pros and Supers are different animals. We still plan to have a presence in the CARS Tour next year, but Rackley W.A.R. has a solid and proven track record that will drastically improve the learning curve for Keelan and I in the Super and Pro Late Models.” Harvick said this in a press release.

Harvick will get his dose of grassroots-level racing in his retirement days, whereas Keelan will develop new skills competing in the stock race cars. It certainly won’t be surprising if Keelan does bag a win or two in his first-ever season running in the Pro Late Model division.