Keelan Harvick, the 13-year-old son of former Cup champion Kevin Harvick, has signed a driver development deal with Toyota Racing Development.
TRD has the deepest roster of prospects and integrates vendors (gas companies, windshield companies, speaker companies, and more) to sponsor their development.
Harvick will have ExxonMobil as a sponsor.
“Keelan has proven himself on-track, and despite his young age, has continued to be wise beyond his years with his professionalism and work ethic off of it,” TRD President Tyler Gibbs said in a news release.
Could Keelan follow in his father Kevin’s footsteps with a successful career in NASCAR?
“TRD is thrilled to partner with Keelan and his family as Keelan continues to develop his racing craft. We see a bright future ahead for him, and everyone at Toyota is proud to be part of his journey.”
Keelan Harvick has risen quickly up the ladder in racing stock cars and has etched his name as the youngest winner of some of the biggest national late model events. He is ranked 12th in my most recent Cup prospect rankings.
“They win a lot, and I want to be with an organization that wins,” Keelan Harvick said in a statement.
When it comes to driver development, manufacturers take different approaches. Both Toyota and Chevrolet have staff that helps drivers with both physical and mental development. Toyota also works closely with Tricon Garage in the truck series as its place for developmental drivers to prove themselves for opportunities at the Cup and O’Reilly (formerly Xfinity) level.
Keelan with dad Kevin at track in 2023.
Kevin Harvick, the 2014 Cup champion and current NASCAR On FOX analyst, never drove for Toyota.
“We’ve 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,” Kevin Harvick said in a statement. “I 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 was one of the biggest reasons on why we went this direction.”
Keelan Harvick will have to wait a couple of years before being able to compete in NASCAR on a national level. To race in trucks, a driver must be at least 16 years old to compete on road courses and ovals 1.25 miles or less in length.
That rule is 17 years old for the O’Reilly Series. The minimum age for Cup is 18, which also is the minimum age for any oval bigger than 1.25 miles.
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