Harvick’s son steals limelight after dad’s victory

BROOKLYN, Mich. — Kevin Harvick and his 6-year-old son, Keelan, have had a plan since the NASCAR racer gave away the checkered flag after a win last month at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

If Harvick won again, Keelan would get the checkered flag.

Keelan got the checkered flag following Harvick’s dominating win Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. Keelan was brought out to the car on the frontstretch after the win, and dad ushered his son to run to the flag stand and pick up the flag.

“I told him if he wanted the flag, he had to come get it himself,” Harvick said. “It’s definitely something he and I have been talking about, and it was pretty neat to actually do.”

His son then rode in the passenger side of the car, holding the flag out of the car as Harvick drove it around the track.

“It’s pretty cool to look over there on your victory lap and see your 6-year-old in the passenger seat and being able to enjoy it with you,” Harvick said.

“That definitely was way up there on the bucket list of things you didn’t expect. That was pretty neat.”

The celebration capped a “boys weekend out” at Michigan for Harvick and his son, something they have done over the past few weeks at the track.

“It was fun to do that,” Keelan said as he joined his father in the media center after the race.

Not everything was fun for the Harvicks over the weekend. In an apparent boys-will-be-boys moment during their weekend, Keelan crashed a golf cart into a pine tree.

“All we could see were the golf bags sticking out of the back of the tree,” Harvick quipped. “I had to go in and dig them out. They got a little racy down the fairway. That was entertaining after we figured out his eyes weren’t poked out.

“We’ve had some unapproved mom moments this weekend.”

And for the record, Harvick didn’t have permission from his wife, DeLana, to have Keelan ride in the Cup car around the track.

“I’m sure she’d be OK with him riding in the right side of the car, since we didn’t do any burnouts,” Harvick said.

Harvick turned to his son: “We’ve learned to ask for forgiveness later, haven’t we? It works a lot better that way.”