NASCAR Legend Says He’s Getting His “Ass Kicked” When Racing His Son

What’s Happening?

NASCAR Legend Kevin Harvick did not mince words when talking about going head-to-head with his son Keelan at Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday night.

"I got my ass kicked."- @KevinHarvick on racing against Keelan Saturday night at Hickory Motor Speedway. pic.twitter.com/ulUxb54dot

— HarvickHappyHour (@HarvickHappyPod) July 15, 2025

On Saturday, 13-year-old Keelan Harvick, son of former NASCAR Cup Series Champion and FOX Sports Analyst Kevin Harvick, captured his first win in the CARS Pro Late Model Tour at Hickory Motor Speedway.

While this is not a major national touring series, Harvick is proving himself at an extremely high level at a young age. This evening was made all the more special by the fact that, alongside NASCAR National Series talent like Kaden Honeycutt, the elder Harvick was in the field competing against his son.

Kevin, who went on to finish third behind Keelan’s fellow second-generation driver Caden Kvapil, reflected on the evening on the latest episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour Podcast. The future NASCAR Hall of Famer was upfront with how blown away he was by his son’s performance in a stacked field, admitting, “I got my ass kicked.”

The 49-year-old went on to say, “I knew this was gonna happen, right? The kids have speed.” By the ‘kids,’ Harvick is referring to the next generation of legacy drivers in NASCAR, even going as far as to share a conversation he had with NASCAR veteran David Gilliland about his son Todd, who currently drives for Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“I was talking to David Gilliland, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, I remember when Todd was 12, and I put him in the late model stock, and he ran faster than me, too.’ It’s just the natural evolution of what’s happens from generation to generation. We get slow, they go fast.” — Kevin Harvick

Keelan’s 2025 Season

This race was not the first race for the future superstar this season, as Keelan has entered six of the first seven races in the CARS PLM Tour. Harvick is off to a stellar start in his first season in the CARS PLM Tour, finishing no worse than 11th through six starts.

While fans have been excited for Harvick’s racing future for some time now, the young driver made headlines earlier this year, putting up a solid performance at North Wilkesboro Speedway, starting fourth and finishing third just days before NASCAR’s 2025 All-Star Race.

The father-son duo is currently battling head-to-head in Late Model events across the country as part of “The Harvick Cup fueled by Hunt Brothers Pizza.”

As part of this series of eight races, both father and son are awarded a “win” by finishing ahead of one another. Keelan is currently up three wins to none. Hickory was the third of the showdown, with the next race scheduled for Wednesday night in the Masters of the Pros 200 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour race at Owosso Speedway.

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