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Toyota Racing Development has signed the third-generation driver son of Kevin to a long-term deal.
Published Feb 23, 2026 • Last updated 12 hours ago • 3 minute read
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In this undated image provided by Kevin Harvick, Inc., Keelan Harvick, center, poses with his family, from left, sister Piper, father retired NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick and mother DeLana Harvick following a victory. Photo by Uncredited /APArticle content
We may see the son of NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick racing in the Daytona 500 in 2031.
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Toyota Racing Development announced Monday it signed 13-year-old third-generation driver Keelan Harvick, son of Kevin, to a long-term deal.
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“My main goal is to be just like my Dad and just try to make it to the Cup Series,” Keelan Harvick told The Associated Press.
From Europe to the U.S.
It’s a change of course for the youngster, who had been driving in Europe until a karting event in Italy attended by F1 driver Charles Leclerc made him believe he was much more suited to a racing career Stateside.
“I was in Italy racing and Charles Leclerc’s nephew raced on my team, and (Leclerc) came to watch the race and all the fans followed him there and they broke down the tent,” Keelan said. “It was just a lot of people and just not for me. There was like hundreds of people at a go-kart race just trying to meet him.”
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Toyota’s plan for Keelan
Toyota has a detailed schedule for the teenager and will partner him this year with RACKLEY W.A.R. and Kevin Harvick, Inc., to compete in late model races (purpose-built cars for races that often headline dirt and asphalt tracks) across the U.S. It often acts as a stepping stone for drivers aiming for the NASCAR Cup Series. Keelan will drive the No. 62 Toyota Camry with ExxonMobil as his primary sponsor.
Papa Kevin Harvick never raced for Toyota, spending his 23-year career driving Chevrolets and Fords for Richard Childress Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing. Kevin retired after the 2023 season with 63 career Cup Series wins and the 2014 championship. He became an analyst for Fox Sports in 2024.
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In this case, Kevin thought Toyota would be a good match for his son.
“We’ve concentrated a lot on development and have a theory on how it should go, and I felt like the Toyota process matched what we would do,“ Kevin explained. ”I think that the effort that Toyota puts into, not only the driving piece of it, but the human piece of it is very important to us as a family. That was really one of the biggest reasons on why we went this direction.”
Current full- and part-time NASCAR Cup drivers Christopher Bell, Corey Heim and John Hunter Nemechek are alumni of the Toyota program and compete with Toyota partner teams. Other drivers, such as Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez, worked with Toyota but now compete for rival manufacturers.
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Keelan’s already a winner
Keelan has already found success across multiple racing series and in December scored the biggest victory of his career to date when he became the youngest-ever winner of the Snowflake 125 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., a win where he was told by his racing team not to gloat, but to, “Go straight to Victory Lane! No burnouts, no nothin’!”
He followed it with a victory in Florence Motor Speedway’s Icebreaker in early February, where he was the youngest winner of that event while also earning his first career Late Model victory.
He was the 2024 INEX Young Lions National Champion and transitioned from Legends to Late Models, where he won four zMAX CARS Tour Pro Late Model events and two CARS Tour West Pro Late Model Series races in 2025. Keelan is the first driver to win PLM events in both series in the same season.
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As for his aspirations to reach the Cup Series and follow in his father’s footsteps?
“I think whatever Toyota thinks I’m capable of, the talent that they think I have, and whenever they think I’m ready to move up,” he said.
– With files from The Associated Press
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