Practice sessions are typically the safe part of the weekend. For Keelan Harvick at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington, it was where everything fell apart. His No. 62 car was done after a heavy crash, and with it, so was his zMAX CARS Tour West weekend. Or so it seemed.
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“I wrecked my car in practice, fixed it all night. We missed the first practice, got five laps before qualifying. Qualified 11th, went back to back, drove up, went back to back again,” the 13-year-old said after the race, posted via Short Track Scene on X.
Here is what actually happened overnight. Kevin Harvick Inc. and Rackley WAR took the car Kevin himself had driven to a second-place finish the night before in the Pro Late Model race.
They pulled the engine out of Keelan’s wrecked car and dropped it into Kevin’s chassis. Then they stripped Kevin’s car completely and re-wrapped it as Keelan’s No. 62. Two cars, one night, one working race car by morning.
Keelan got 30 minutes of practice to figure out a car he had never driven before. Then qualifying. Then the race, where he went through the field twice and came out with a podium. He knew that results wasn’t only because of his driving on the racetrack.
“It just wouldn’t be possible without all my crew guys. Stayed up more than 24 hours to fix my car. All the props to them. That’s pretty much what it boils down to.”
A podium finish for Keelan. Bragging rights that belong to the crew. What happened at Evergreen Speedway fits neatly into where Keelan’s career is headed. Earlier this year, Toyota Racing Development signed the 13-year-old to a long-term development contract, placing him in their TD2 program alongside names like Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs. For a family with ties to Chevrolet and Ford, it was a genuine surprise to see him go the Toyota route.
Toyota Racing Development President Tyler Gibbs went after Keelan for good reason. At 13, his resume is already unusual. Youngest-ever winner of the Snowflake 125 at Five Flags Speedway.
Winner of the Florence Motor Speedway Icebreaker. Made history by winning in both CARS Tour and CARS Tour West Pro Late Model Series. Took the 2024 INEX Young Lions National Championship.
The deal comes with full access to the Toyota Performance Center, covering fitness, sports psychology, and nutrition. ExxonMobil is on board as primary sponsor for a multi-race schedule.
None of this was the original plan. Keelan spent years in Europe chasing Formula 1 through international karting. A weekend in Italy changed that. Charles Leclerc came to watch his nephew race. The crowd, the energy, a few conversations, and something clicked. Keelan came back home and pointed himself toward NASCAR instead.
The overnight rebuild at Evergreen Speedway tells you a lot about how this program works. For Keelan Harvick, that kind of support is what the next few years are going to be built on.