Keelan Harvick claimed an impressive win in Tuesday night’s Legends Pro Feature at Charlotte Motor Speedway (local time), holding off Shane van Gisbergen and London McKenzie in the closing laps of the 25-lap race.
The 13-year-old, son of former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick, started from the second row and managed to take control of the race in the second half, keeping calm under pressure to secure the victory in Round 7 of the Cook Out Summer Shootout.
Sean McElearney led the field to green after securing pole position, with Denny Chisholm starting alongside. Jensen Jorgensen and Keelan Harvick occupied row two, while Shane van Gisbergen rolled off from 10th and Scott McLaughlin from 16th.
The race got off to an eventful start under the lights, with Van Gisbergen going wide at Turn 1 but recovering quickly to move into ninth. A spin by Nick Woodall at Turn 3 brought out an early caution, advancing Van Gisbergen to eighth.
Once racing resumed, Van Gisbergen began working his way forward, climbing to sixth and then moving by Chisholm and McElearney in quick succession to take over fourth. At the front, Jorgensen led the field ahead of Jake Bollman, Harvick, and a fast-moving Van Gisbergen.
With 21 laps to go, a multi-car crash at Turn 3 involved Tyler Reif, Nicholas Sowa, Bubba Wallace, and Alex Reling. Sowa’s car sustained significant front-end damage, while Reif was forced to retire. Wallace was penalised and sent to the back for his role in the incident.
Van Gisbergen lined up on the second row for the restart and briefly tangled with Jorgensen in a close battle.
That opened the door for teammate Scott McLaughlin to join the fight, with the two Kiwis running side-by-side just before another caution was triggered by a spin for Bollman in Turn 4.
Keelan Harvick emerged as the new leader and restarted from pole position with Van Gisbergen on the outside of the front row. McKenzie and Chisholm lined up behind, followed by McLaughlin and Michael Crafton.
Harvick and Van Gisbergen raced side by side when the green flag dropped again, but Harvick held the advantage and maintained the lead. Van Gisbergen managed to hold off McKenzie, who remained close for the remainder of the race.
With 15 laps to go, McLaughlin found himself battling Wallace, with the NASCAR driver getting the upper hand as he continued his charge through the field. McLaughlin later dropped back to 11th as the field settled into the final run.
Harvick extended his lead to just over a second in the closing laps. Despite consistent pressure from McKenzie, Van Gisbergen held onto second place, with McKenzie rounding out the podium in third. Wallace recovered to finish ninth, while McLaughlin ended up in 11th.
The win adds to Harvick’s growing resume, who has been turning heads in both Legend Cars and full-sized late model competition across the United States.
Van Gisbergen, racing as part of Team SSR for Joe Ryan Race Cars during his NASCAR Cup Series campaign, will now switch focus to the upcoming Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend.
McLaughlin, meanwhile, returns to IndyCar action this weekend at Laguna Seca, looking to bounce back after a disappointing weekend on the Streets of Toronto.
Header Image: Adrenalens Media
