13-year-old Keelan Harvick is fast becoming one of grassroots racing’s brightest stars, and his latest feat proves it. The son of 2014 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kevin Harvick, Keelan, has already racked up impressive wins in his short career. From karting, Legends Car, to most recently, in the CARS Tour West, where he claimed his first late-model victory at Kern Raceway in California this May.
With the grounded confidence and fierce competitiveness well beyond his years, he’s shown he’s not just Kevin Harvick’s son; he is forging his own legacy. Watching the young phenom dominate tracks, Dale Earnhardt Jr. couldn’t help but draw comparisons to one of his own. The compliment didn’t just light up social media; it underscored just how quickly Keelan is making his mark among motorsport’s elite.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is impressed as Keelan Harvick makes it three in a row
Keelan Harvick absolutely owned the CARS Pro Late Model Tour at Hickory Motor Speedway. Starting from the pole, he led all but one lap, and in doing so, he not only claimed his first win on the main door but also punched his ticket to the $30,000 to win Throwback Classic set for August 2.This marked the third straight time this year that Keelan had shown his mettle against his dad, Kevin Harvick, and once again, 13-year-old Keelan topped him, moving to a perfect 30 in head-to-head CARS Tour West battles.
He took the first win at Kern Raceway, followed by a second-place finish ahead of Kevin at Evergreen, and most recently at Hickory, where he sealed another win while Kevin settled for third, just behind Caden Kvapil. In Victory Lane, Keelan expressed his delight and gratitude, nodding to Rick Hendrick himself, the HendrickCars.com sponsorship that supported both his and Kevin’s entries. He said, “I can’t thank Rick Hendrick [enough]. Happy birthday to him. I can’t thank you fans [enough] for coming out. It feels good.”
But it is what Dale Earnhardt Jr. said that summed up little Keelan’s triumph the best. In context, the post is about Junior’s own thrill of seeing eighteen-year-old Connor Zilisch outduel 36-year-old Shane Van Gisbergen in Xfinity competition, a memory he likened to witnessing a rising star pass an established legend. Junior’s message affirmed what everyone watching now knows: Keelan’s performances aren’t flukes. They are precarious indicators of a genuinely gifted racer, a young driver who may just be following in the footsteps of NASCAR’s finest. Dale Earnhardt Jr. took to X and wrote, “Coincidence that @KeelanHarvick also beat Kevin today at Hickory in the @CARSTour? I think not.”
Coincidence that @KeelanHarvick also beat Kevin today at Hickory in the @CARSTour? I think not. https://t.co/uRzvlp2OiS
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) July 13, 2025
Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick, who displayed a late race charge, couldn’t match the youngster’s pace. In a lighthearted moment, Kevin admitted, saying, “It’s just so special to be able to do what we’re doing right now. It’s not anything that I had really thought about or planned. And even though he kicks my b—, it’s fun to be on the same racetrack. It creates new conversations that we didn’t really have in Legends cars and go-karts. And just to see the progression. I think it happens faster when we’re racing together. So we’re having fun.”
The 2007 Daytona 500 winner emphasized that racing together created fresh conversations beyond their go-kart days and showcased Keelan’s rapid growth. The race itself was a classic showcase of Keelan’s competitive edge. Ben Marie started behind him on the front row and briefly led following a caution with 62 laps to go. But Keelan took control immediately with a pass inside pass.
He dominated the restart after another caution with 23 laps left and steadily pulled away, while behind him, Kevin was battling through the back to earn a hard-fought third. Looking ahead, Keelan will return to Hickory on August 2 to chase the $30,000 prize in the throwback classic, a reward he earned with his pole position and victory this weekend. With momentum like this, anything feels possible.
Kevin Harvick’s racing protégé breaks one of his records
On Friday, William Sawalich etched his name into ARCA Menards Series West history with a breathtaking victory at Sonoma Raceway, one that shattered a 37-year-old Sonoma record held by none other than his mentor, Kevin Harvick. Enough finish that was as chaotic as it was courageous, the 18-year-old Joe Gibbs racing talent pulled off a gutsy comeback to win the General Tire 200 by a mere 0.066 seconds. Not only did the razor-thin margin rewrite the record books, but it also symbolically passed the torch from Harvick to a new generation.
Harvick’s own iconic win came in 1998, when he edged Brandon Ash by 0.154 seconds to capture a Winston West Series victory that helped launch a legendary NASCAR career. Driving the No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet, Harvick’s last race surge at Sonoma was a defining moment in a season that earned the championship, five wins, 11 top-fives, and the start of something great.
Fast forward to 2025, and history repeated itself with a twist. Sawalich had dominated the race from the green flag, leading every lap until a late-race caution threw the race into disarray. On the ensuing restart, Israel Driver Alon Dat shoved William off-track, dropping him from the lead to 4th place. But when most would have cracked, Sawalich kept his cool.
In the breathtaking overtime one-lap shootout, William Sawalich clawed his way back through the field in a daring three-wide dash to the finish. Trading paint with Christian Eckes through the final turn, he managed to surge ahead at the line, clinching his first Sonoma when I’m delivering one of the most dramatic finishes in series history. It was more than a win. It was a statement. And it brought Kevin Harvick’s long-standing Sonoma legacy full circle, now carried forward by the protégé who learned from the best.
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