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Kevin Harvick said NHRA drag racer Doug Herbert once gave him advice about his son Keelan‘s racing that has stuck with him.
Harvick told the story on Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s Dirty Mo Media podcast.
Harvick: ‘Don’t ever apologize’
“Doug Herbert called me one day and said, ‘Hey, I know you’re going to take a lot of grief for your kid, racing and all the things he does. But don’t ever apologize for what you spend or the amount of time you spend with them, because they might not be there tomorrow,’” Harvick said.
Herbert, a former Top Fuel driver, lost his sons Jon and James in a car crash in January 2008. He later started B.R.A.K.E.S., a nonprofit that teaches teen drivers and their parents safe-driving skills.
‘It won’t be like this’
Harvick said the travel to Keelan’s races gives them time together that would not exist later.
“If my son makes it to the Cup Series, I can go with him, but it won’t be like this,” Harvick said. “The time we spend sitting in the car, travelling around the country on airplanes and in our own vehicles, and just being together is something you can’t replace later.”
He said watching Keelan’s racing reminded him why he loved the sport. “Even though I probably didn’t enjoy Cup racing as much toward the end because it had become work, going to the go-kart track when my son started racing made me realize, ‘You know what? Your job’s pretty cool.’”
Keelan’s rise
Keelan signed a long-term development deal with Toyota Racing Development in February, at 13. He races late models and this season became the youngest winner in ASA STARS National Tour history, at Owosso Speedway in Michigan.
Harvick said a recent flight home with Tony Eury Sr. and Tony Eury Jr., who were laughing and teasing each other like kids, made him hope he and Keelan will have the same relationship decades from now.
Harvick’s career
Harvick won 60 Cup races and the 2014 championship before retiring from full-time racing after 2023. He is an analyst on FOX’s NASCAR coverage and part of the group that runs the CARS Tour.
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