Practice sessions are typically the safe part of the weekend. But for 13-year-old Keelan Harvick, a routine run at Washington’s Evergreen Speedway was where everything fell apart.
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During Friday afternoon practice on Evergreen’s fast 5/8-mile oval, Keelan lost control at high speed and slammed into the concrete retaining wall. The heavy impact completely crushed the front clip of his No. 62 Super Late Model. And even though he walked away uninjured, his car was destroyed.
“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.
Because of the wreck, Keelan’s chassis was ruined, but his Super Late Model engine survived the crash, and the crew then decided to combine the two vehicles.
They pulled the heavier Super Late Model 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 and then the race.
His 200-lap run, however, was nothing short of chaotic. Keelan moved up from 11th to fifth during the opening 70 laps. However, a tight battle with Rackley W.A.R. teammate Vito Cancila ended with Cancila spinning off Turn 4. This led to Keelan getting penalized as the race officials determined that he initiated the contact.
This sent the No. 62 to the back of the field. He then somehow managed to navigate through the field and fought his way back to a third-place podium finish. Keelan was quick to credit his team for the result.
“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.”
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 the CARS Tour and CARS Tour West Pro Late Model Series. Took the 2024 INEX Young Lions National Championship.
The TRD deal provides him with ExxonMobil sponsorship and full access to the Toyota Performance Center, covering fitness, sports psychology, and nutrition.
Yet, a NASCAR career was not the original plan. Keelan spent years racing karts in Europe with dreams of reaching Formula 1. However, a chaotic weekend in Italy involving a Formula 1 star changed that.
“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.”
The incident made him realise he was maybe better suited for NASCAR.
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.