Retired NASCAR champion Kevin Harvick to face off against 13-year-old son at Owosso Speedway

OVID, MI – A NASCAR Cup Series champion will face off against his 13-year-old son in a stock car race in Shiawassee County.

Former NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick and his son, Keelan Harvick, first began racing together this summer, sparking a friendly rivalry between them.

“It’s the first time in a long time for me to go to the race side and have fun,” Kevin Harvick said during a press conference after a practice session at Owosso Speedway Tuesday evening, July 15. “My result doesn’t really matter.”

Kevin and Keelan Harvick will race in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Masters of the Pros 200, a pro late model race, which will take place on Wednesday, July 16, at the Owosso Speedway, located at 7204 W. M-21 in Ovid.

“We’re honored to have this race three years in a row now, and it’s getting bigger and bigger. And anybody that wins a race at this track has really earned it,” said Owosso Speedway owner Rex Wheeler.

In the father-son duo’s first race together in Kevin Harvick’s hometown of Bakersfield, California in May, Keelan Harvick came out on top, finishing first and proving himself as a force to be reckoned with at a young age.

“It’s really cool to race because my dad taught me everything I know,” Keelan Harvick said. “It’s really cool just to race against him and kind of build my own path and try and make it to what he made it to in the Cups Series.”

Kevin Harvick described what it’s like to balance his relationship with Keelan Harvick as his father and a fellow driver, noting it reminds him of the time he spent traveling with his own father early in his racing career.

“It’s something that I’m going to enjoy for the next several years, take it all in, but it is a little surreal just because of the fact that he’s 13 and a lot of people kind of laugh at that,” Kevin Harvick said. “It is a little bit weird, but we’ve had fun with it.”

“There’s just no price you can put on that because you just don’t know what tomorrow brings and to be able to do that racing is something that I don’t take for granted.”

The race will also feature former JEGS Tour champions Chase Burda and Blake Rowe as well as Kyle Crump, who has won races at the Owosso Speedway in his past five appearances there.

“Having folks like the Harvicks here is a real testament to the level that this event has grown to,” Crump said. “It’s really an honor to get to be a small part of it.”

As the son of a NASCAR driver, Keelan Harvick has spent his entire life in the world of racing, and he honed some of his racing skills by driving go-carts during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kevin Harvick said.

Each of the 30 drivers on the entry list for the race will receive $1,200, and the winner of the race will receive $25,000, the highest-ever cash prize for the race, and the coveted Masters of the Pros Green Jacket.

“It’s not all about what Keelan and I are doing,” Kevin Harvick said. “It’s about the racetrack and the series and the competitors and being able to get the exposure that they deserve, and hopefully we bring some attention to that.”

Kevin Harvick joked if he wins the race on Wednesday, he will hang his Green Jacket in his son’s bedroom.

“It’s not every day you wear a Green Jacket,” Kevin Harvick said.

Race day will kick off with practice sessions at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Owosso Speedway, to be followed by qualifying at 5 p.m.

An autograph session is planned for 6 p.m., and pre-race ceremonies will start at 7 p.m. The race is to begin at 7:35 p.m.

Tickets to the race can be purchased at Owosso Speedway’s ticket window, which is in the speedway’s grandstand area.

Tickets cost $15 for anyone 16 and older, and anyone 15 and younger old will be admitted for free. Tickets for seniors, first responders, active military, and veterans can be purchased for $12 with a valid photo I.D.