NASCAR legend Kevin Harvick was spotted at the Carolina Panthers’ home game in Charlotte on Sunday afternoon.
The game pitted the Panthers against the Dallas Cowboys in an NFL Week 15 showdown, but it was an off-field interaction that caught the attention of spectators. Harvick was seen enjoying the game from the sidelines with his son, Keelan Harvick, by his side. The young Harvick is himself making waves in the racing world, following closely in his father’s footsteps.
Panthers safety Sam Franklin Jr. and Keelan Harvick shared a spontaneous handshake which took over social media.
Keelan, at only 12 years of age, has already started a promising racing career. In 2024, Keelan made his Limited Late Model debut driving the No. 62 Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet and clinched an eighth-place finish in a tough 96-lap feature event at Florence Motor Speedway.
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Reflecting on his debut, Keelan Harvick shared at the time:
“I feel really good. I can’t thank these KHI guys enough. They put in a lot of work. It’s definitely cool to get my first one under my belt, but I can’t wait for the next one.
“I think I did pretty good. You always want more as a race car driver, but that was pretty good for my first race. I think I saved a little too long there and probably could have been more aggressive, but those are some good steps [to take] going into the next one.”
He added:
“I’m going to try [and win] next year. I can’t thank my sponsors [enough in] Hunt Brothers Pizza, Realtree, along with everybody else that helps me. I couldn’t be here without them.”
Kevin Harvick remains a proud and invested father, commenting on his son’s racing:
“I think we kind of threw [Keelan] to the wolves.
“I didn’t really put all this together for him to be in the biggest Limited race of the year, but it worked out really well because he got to race against a really competitive field. His race craft tonight was something I was proud of.
“He did an amazing job in the car.”
He continued:
“[Friday] confirmed what we had planned next year. We’ll probably keep pushing down the road of 25-30 Late Model races for next year. Now it starts with all the little things. The last tenth-and-a half, two-tenths are the hard part, [along with] learning when to go, how hard to go, how to qualify and restarts.
“Now he knows he can do it, so everything will start to slow down. It’s a matter of repetition at this point.”
