NASCAR breaking news prompts Hendrick shock from – Sports News
Ryan Blaney was shocked to lean that Keelan Harvick would proceed his racing profession with Toyota (Image: YouTube (@DoorBumperClear))
The Harvick identify is formally aligned with Toyota in NASCAR for the foreseeable future, and the choice caught 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney utterly off guard.
News that 13-year-old Keelan Harvick signed a long-term driver development deal with Toyota Racing Development dropped whereas Blaney was recording Dirty Mo Media’s Door Bumper Clear podcast.
His reside response captured the shock of the previous NASCAR Cup champion, who was all however sure that the Harvick household prodigee would be part of Hendrick Motorsports.
“Thought it was going to be Hendrick Motorsports,” Blaney admitted. “Did not have [Toyota] on my bingo card.” The shock comes from many years of ties to Chevrolet related to the Harvick legacy.
Kevin Harvick gained his 2014 Cup Series championship and 23 races driving for Chevrolet, and a number of other NASCAR followers considered Keelan as a natural successor within that ecosystem. Keelan was projected to comply with a development arc much like that of Chase Elliott, one other second-generation expertise groomed by Hendrick Motorsports.
Kevin Harvick has long had close associations with Chevrolet, Rick Hendrick, and Jeff Gordon, which solely bolstered the idea that Hendrick Motorsports would in the end secure the Harvick legacy. Instead, Keelan will drive the No. 62 Toyota Camry in dozens of Late Model occasions during the 2026 season.
Keelan’s run will probably be backed by a partnership with RACKLEY W.A.R. and Kevin Harvick, Inc., with ExxonMobil serving as a major sponsor for a number of races. The choice reportedly got here down to timing, crew construction, and alternative to grow within NASCAR’s high construction.
“I’m really grateful to have this kind of opportunity with Toyota Racing Development,” Keelan Harvick mentioned. “To have their support and be able to represent ExxonMobil, it doesn’t get much better. I’m still getting experience, but it’s going to be a privilege to be part of the TRD program and learn from the other drivers.”
Chevrolet’s growth initiatives characteristic prospects together with Corey Day, Tristan McKee, Rajah Caruth, and Carson Kvapil. Toyota’s TD2 program affords a centralized development strategy via its Toyota Performance Center that features bodily coaching, sports activities psychology, and a more easy pipeline to the Cup Series.
Keelan Harvick poses along with his car earlier than the Star Nursery Classic (Image: Getty)
Kevin Harvick has mentioned the “human piece” of Toyota’s program was a key issue. “I think that the effort that Toyota puts into, not only the driving piece of it, but the human piece of it, is very important to us as a family,” he mentioned. “That was really one of the biggest reasons on why we went this direction.”
The system Keelan now joins has produced present Cup stars akin to Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, and John Hunter Nemechek, whereas present prospects like Corey Heim and William Sawalich proceed to climb via the ranks. In December, he grew to become the youngest-ever winner of the Snowflake 125 at Five Flags Speedway.
Keelan adopted that with a victory in Florence Motor Speedway’s Icebreaker, incomes his first profession Late Model Stock win and turning into the youngest winner in that occasion’s historical past. The 2024 INEX Young Lions National Champion additionally gained 4 zMAX CARS Tour Pro Late Model occasions and two CARS Tour West Pro Late Model races in 2025.
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