NASCAR Hall of Famer Kevin Harvick and son Keelan bring star power to Stateline Speedway

NASCAR Cup Series champion and recently elected Hall of Fame driver Kevin Harvick and his teenage son, Keelan, will bring their star power to Stateline Speedway as they compete in the Championship Auto Racing Series Tour West race on Saturday at the Post Falls oval.

Harvick is part of the CARS ownership group working towards the goal of growing grassroots racing. Their vision includes long-term growth of the organization in the Pacific Northwest.

For more than 20 years the NASCAR Northwest Tour was the premier late model series in the region. With NASCAR’s departure after the 2006 season, numerous touring divisions and entities have tried to fill the void.

There has been some success, including the still operating Northwest Super Late Model Series. However, the buzz being generated by the CARS Tour West’s entry into the region has brought renewed focus on drivers, tracks and events.

In 2023, former NASCAR drivers Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton, along with Justin Marks, owner of NASCAR’s Trackhouse Racing, bought the CARS entity with a focus on competitive racing, building local heroes mixed with occasional starts by top NASCAR drivers. The program has been so successful that it expanded to the West Coast, bringing Pro Late Model and Super Late Model races as companions to the Southwest series, East Coast tours and Northwest events that began last year.

“When I ran on the NASCAR Southwest Tour, I was able to see some of the Southwest and Northwest combo races that we’d have at Phoenix and Winter Heat, where you’d see 70 to 80 cars show up,” Kevin Harvick said. “I raced a lot of good competition from the Northwest. When NASCAR left, it created a hole in regional touring series racing. We’re working to put that back together. That really is the goal and the goal for me to be here is to bring the attention back to the people. There is so much enthusiasm from teams and fans who want structure and notoriety.”

Harvick’s racing operation and CARS officials have been instrumental in building up the series, according to Chris Wright, CARS Tour West series director.

“Kevin Harvick and (his partner) Tim Huddleston are putting a tremendous effort into the success of this program and initiative to keep West Coast racing strong and healthy,” Wright said. “Candice Hornaday at Kevin Harvick Inc. does an amazing amount of work to continue to build the program. I feel like we have a group of people in the West Coast garages pulling together for the greater good of our passion, which is racing, and I’m proud to be a small part of it.”

Since spring 2025, when the organization entered the Northwest, CARS has gained fans and racers alike. Harvick emphasized that it has taken more than just him to bring about that success.

“It’s a whole group of people, not just me,” he said. “They had to close the gates back in April at Tri-Cities because so many people came to watch, and I wasn’t even there racing. Keelan and I are just a small part of it. It’s all growing and we want it to continue.”

This will be Kevin Harvick’s second start of the season in the Pacific Northwest. On May 30, he posted a fifth-place finish in the CARS Tour series Super Late Model event at Wenatchee Valley’s Super Oval. Keelan also competed in the May event, finishing one spot in front of his father in fourth place. This weekend both drivers will put their focus on the Pro Late Model division’s stop at the Idaho quarter-mile oval.

For the elder Harvick, races like Saturday’s are a chance to compete, have fun and interact with race fans. His son’s approach is to learn and grow as a budding race car driver.

“What I’ve done over the years (since retiring) is see so many tracks, so you just show up, race and have fun. To be honest, I don’t have time to get prepared with my schedule now. For Keelan, he’d better be prepared when he comes to a new track. His racing this weekend is good experience for him to learn different tracks,” Harvick said.

Harvick is quick to point out that racing is the priority when planning out events to run during the year. It’s also an opportunity to travel with family and see new places.

“We’ve been to Jackson Hole as a family but not to this part of the country,” he said. “We’re looking forward to vacationing out here and Keelan and his group have already taken fishing trips while they were up here earlier in the year.”