Toyota Racing Development has signed the third-generation driver son of Kevin to a long-term deal.<\/p>\n
Published Feb 23, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 12\u00a0hours ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 3 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n We may see the son of NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick racing in the Daytona 500 in 2031.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Toyota Racing Development announced Monday it signed 13-year-old third-generation driver Keelan Harvick<\/a>, son of Kevin, to a long-term deal.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cMy main goal is to be just like my Dad and just try to make it to the Cup Series,\u201d Keelan Harvick told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n From Europe to the U.S.<\/p>\n It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI was in Italy racing and Charles Leclerc\u2019s 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,\u201d Keelan said. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Your Midday Sun<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Toyota\u2019s plan for Keelan<\/p>\n 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<\/a> (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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n In this case, Kevin thought Toyota would be a good match for his son.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve 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,\u201c Kevin explained. \u201dI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Current full- and part-time NASCAR Cup drivers Christopher Bell<\/a>, Corey Heim<\/a> and John Hunter Nemechek<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Keelan\u2019s already a winner<\/p>\n 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<\/a> at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., a win where he was told by his racing team not to gloat, but to, \u201cGo straight to Victory Lane! No burnouts, no nothin\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n He followed it with a victory in Florence Motor Speedway\u2019s Icebreaker in early February, where he was the youngest winner of that event while also earning his first career Late Model victory.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n As for his aspirations to reach the Cup Series and follow in his father\u2019s footsteps?<\/p>\n \u201cI think whatever Toyota thinks I\u2019m capable of, the talent that they think I have, and whenever they think I\u2019m ready to move up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u2013 With files from The Associated Press<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n The Amateur Investor: Stocks to buy that your liberal friends will hate<\/p>\n <\/a> Trump’s White House ruthlessly trolls Trudeau after Team USA victory in men’s Olympic hockey<\/p>\n <\/a> U.S. hockey team honours late Johnny Gaudreau: ‘Here in spirit’<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Check out our sports section<\/a> for the latest news and analysis. Care for a wager? Head to our sports betting section<\/a> for news and odds.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links SportsMotorsports Toyota Racing Development has signed the third-generation driver son of Kevin to a long-term…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495756,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-495755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"In](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/699c78bb84dfb4ee61ea3e14jpeg-e1771868933225.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.6.2\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tsun.svg\"){kind=logo}
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