NASCAR Legend’s Son Hoping To Pursue Career In Formula 1

There are few sports series that can claim to be as familial as that of the NASCAR Cup Series.

The sport is filled with legendary family names. Names like Earnhardt, Petty and Allison.

Even today, stars like Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch have deep family ties to the sport.

The son of one superstar, however, is hoping to blaze his own path.

Kevin Harvick is a 60-time winner in the NASCAR Cup Series. He won the 2014 series championship and finished in the top three in the series standings seven other times.

Harvick’s son Keelan, who turns 11 in July, is also an avid racer. Many believed that Keelan was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps. But as it turns out, he may have other plans.

Luke Smith of The Athletic published an article discussing the barriers to entry for American drivers in Formula 1. In it, Smith discusses the youngest Harvick’s unconventional path and how it could well lead to a future in the international open-wheel racing series.

“The 10-year-old son of NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick, Keelan was walking the same streets where so many Formula One legends have tasted success and setbacks. As iconic circuits go, none are grander than Monaco,” Smith wrote. “Keelan posed for a photo at that turn, arm raised with joy. When he posted it to Twitter, the caption read, ‘Maybe one day.’ To him, the dream one day is to race in F1. For that to be the goal of a second-generation racer in a NASCAR family at such a young age makes him an outlier…But to give oxygen to that F1 dream, sticking to the US racing ladder, like his father did, simply won’t cut it. Racing in Europe is the only option.”

Smith then revealed that the Harvick family took Keelan overseas in hopes to furthering his F1 dreams.

“The Harvicks have taken the first steps to make that happen,” he said. “Keelan has been go-karting in Italy, getting a feel for the racing culture on the other side of the Atlantic. It gives him a crucial understanding of some of the most competitive kart categories.”

Only two Americans, Phil Hill in 1961 and Mario Andretti in 1978, have ever won a Formula 1 championship. And Andretti was born and raised in Italy before moving to the US at 15. The last American F1 race winner was Peter Revson in 1973.

That’s 50 years!

Currently, American driver Logan Sargeant is the lone American on the Formula 1 grid. He’s a rookie with the legendary Williams F1 team. Though Williams is currently struggling and Sargeant sits second-to-last in the series championship.

Who knows, maybe Harvick is the answer. But he’s got a tall task ahead of him.