HICKORY, N.C. — There was plenty of motivation for Keelan Harvick to find his way to Cook Out Victory Lane at Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday.
Not only was Keelan’s father in zMAX CARS Tour co-owner and 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick in the field, but a victory carried long-term significance for the young prospect.
Crossing the start-finish line first would guarantee Keelan a starting spot in the $30,000-to-win Throwback Classic at Hickory next month.
From the moment the green flag waved, nothing stood in the way of Keelan obtaining his first win in a full-bodied stock car. The best drive of Keelan’s brief CARS PLM Tour career to date saw him lead every lap from the pole, allowing him to celebrate the milestone moment alongside Kevin and the rest of his family.
With the final margin of victory being over four seconds, Keelan could not have asked for a better scenario to celebrate his maiden CARS PLM Tour win.
“I can’t thank Rick Hendrick [enough], happy birthday to him,” Keelan said. “I can’t thank HendrickCars.com [enough] for coming on board. This wouldn’t be possible without all my sponsors, Panini, RealTree, iRacing, Hunt Brothers Pizza and everybody who helps me. [A win] feels good.”
Keelan’s triumph gives him a 3-0 advantage over Kevin in the eight-race Harvick Cup fueled by Hunt Brothers Pizza, with two of those events resulting in trips to victory lane for Keelan.
“It’s so special to be able to do what we’re doing right now,” Kevin Harvick said. “It’s not anything I had really thought about or planned. Even though he kicks my butt, it’s fun to be on the same racetrack. It creates new conversations that we didn’t really have in Legends or go-karts. We’re having fun, but I’m definitely out of shape. I know that for sure.”
During the closing laps, Caden Kvapil could only watch as Keelan Harvick pulled away with a commanding lead in the Road to The Throwback.
Kvapil would have loved to lock himself in for next month’s Throwback Classic, but he was still pleased with his performance on Saturday night.
Battling an ill-handing car for most of the 100-lap feature, Kvapil took advantage of every opportunity available to gradually advance from his fifth starting position.
“If anything, I feel like I needed a shorter race,” Kvapil said. “We probably had a fifth-place car but brought it home second. We were super loose from the start, couldn’t get drive off, I gained all my spots on restarts. At the end, it started coming to me a little bit.”
The finish:
Keelan Harvick, Caden Kvapil, Kevin Harvick, Jade Avedisian, Ben Maier, Evan McKnight, Nick Loden, Rodney Dowless, Carson Ware, Kaden Honeycutt, Jace Hale, Dylan Cappello, Brandon Lopez, Dylan Garner, Mason Diaz, Taylor Hull, Sheflon Clay.
