Limited Late Model debut for Keelan Harvick ends with eighth place finish

TIMMONSVILLE, S.C. — The first night of competition during Florence Motor Speedway‘s South Carolina 400 on Friday saw Keelan Harvick take the next step in his young career.

At 12 years of age, Keelan strapped into his father Kevin Harvick’s No. 62 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet for his first start in a Limited Late Model. The results were just about everything the Harvick family could have hoped for, as Keelan avoided trouble all evening to finish eighth in the 96-lap feature.

Debuting on a national stage like the South Carolina 400 would be imposing for any young competitor, but Keelan had plenty of confidence in himself and his Kevin Harvick Inc. team to assemble a strong performance at Florence.

“I feel really good,” Keelan said after the race. “I can‘t thank these KHI guys enough. They put in a lot of work. It‘s definitely cool to get my first one under my belt, but I can‘t wait for the next one.”

Two seasons of competing in Legends cars around the United States prepared Keelan for his first race against Late Model veterans.

Keelan primarily developed his craft in the Cook Out Summer Shootout and the INEX Winter Heat, both of which take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway. No matter if he was racing on the facility‘s frontstretch short track or road course, Keelan stood out with seven combined wins between the two events in 2024 alone.

With how well Keelan was performing in Legends competition, his father Kevin knew the first venture into full-bodied cars was coming sooner rather than later. After carefully analyzing how to approach this milestone, Kevin felt the South Carolina 400‘s Limited Late Model feature would be a good first test for Keelan.

A race that featured 30 cars required Keelan to be composed behind the wheel, particularly when it came to saving tires and perfecting restarts. Kevin believed Keelan passed such a daunting task in every aspect, commending his son for the composure he showed all evening.

“I think we kind of threw [Keelan] to the wolves,” Kevin said. “I didn‘t really put all this together for him to be in the biggest Limited race of the year, but it worked out really well because he got to race against a really competitive field. His race craft tonight was something I was proud of.

“He did an amazing job in the car.”

Aside from an incident under a red flag when Jason Myers made slight contact with Keelan‘s left front while he was stopped, there were no major setbacks for Keelan in his Limited Late Model debut. Kevin said he believed Keelan had a car capable of finishing in the top three, but he was more than content with his son‘s performance.

Keelan never once felt anxious about his first Limited Late Model race, but knew effort was needed on his part for the evening to be solid. The tenacious work translated into a strong run at Florence for Keelan, who gathered enough knowledge from Friday to exert more confidence for future events.

“I think I did pretty good,” Keelan said. “You always want more as a race car driver, but that was pretty good for my first race. I think I saved a little too long there and probably could have been more aggressive, but those are some good steps [to take] going into the next one.”

For Kevin, everything that transpired at Florence was equal parts rewarding and surreal.

The days of an infant Keelan standing inside his car during pre-race do not seem that long ago for the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion, but Kevin is doing everything possible to foster a similar winning environment for Keelan. If everything goes according to plan, Kevin knows Keelan will one day be in a Cup Series seat himself.

Until that time comes, the developmental process for Keelan continues through full-bodied stock cars like the Limited Late Model he raced at Florence. Kevin wants to get Keelan acclimated to the heavier cars now so that he will have all the fundamentals to continue a proud tradition of racing across the Harvick family.

“[Friday] confirmed what we had planned next year,” Kevin said. “We‘ll probably keep pushing down the road of 25-30 Late Model races for next year. Now it starts with all the little things. The last tenth-and-a half, two-tenths are the hard part, [along with] learning when to go, how hard to go, how to qualify and restarts.

“Now he knows he can do it, so everything will start to slow down. It‘s a matter of repetition at this point.”

The outline for Keelan in 2025 involves a partnership with Rackley W.A.R. that will see him run several Pro Late Model events. While his exact schedule has yet to be announced, Keelan is expected to tackle a diverse set of tracks across the country that will test both his physical and mental stamina.

Several more daunting races await Keelan, but the young prospect remains optimistic he can excel with the environment around him.

“I‘m going to try [and win] next year,” Keelan said. “I can‘t thank my sponsors [enough in] Hunt Brothers Pizza, Realtree, along with everybody else that helps me. I couldn‘t be here without them.”

Having already accomplished so much at a young age, the future remains bright for Keelan as he looks to build off a strong Limited Late Model debut.