With some help from Monster Jam, the motorsports competition which features drivers competing in 12,000-pound trucks on dirt and pulling off gravity-defying feats, Keelan was able to surprise his dad with a special paint scheme for Sunday’s Cup Series race at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway, which falls on Father’s Day.
Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Ford will feature the iconic artwork of the Grave Digger Monster Jam truck. Keelan and Kevin have attended several Monster Jams together and seen Grave Digger in action.
“My dad has watched ‘Grave Digger’ since he was a little kid and he loves to watch him,” Keelan, 8, told Motorsport.com. “I just thought it would be a cool gift.
“I’ve made him paper things for Father’s Day and this one I wanted to be really good.”
Kevin Harvick’s surprise livery for Father’s Day
Photo by: Feld Entertainment
Harvick and his family visited the Stewart-Haas Racing shop earlier this week where both he and Keelan were surprised to find the real ‘Grave Digger’ Monster truck in the SHR parking lot.
A garage stall door soon opened nearby and Harvick’s No. 4 Ford adorned with the Grave Digger livery roared out and parked alongside.
Keelan said his dad was “big-time surprised,” as was he.
“I didn’t know the real Monster truck was going to be there. That was cool,” he said.
Adam Anderson, driver of the Grave Digger Monster Jam truck and his brother, Ryan Anderson, who drives the Son-uva Digger Monster Jam truck, were on hand at SHR to help Keelan pull off the Father’s Day surprise. Both plan to attend this race this weekend at Nashville to see the car in action.
“It’s the monster truck. Loud noises, big engines, big wheels, big tires, fast race cars, and to have that be a surprise, it’s surprising to me because of the fact that it’s with ‘Grave Digger’ and everything, the history, that goes with that truck,” Kevin Harvick said.
“But it doesn’t surprise me that it’s something related to a car and tying it in to what we do. This one caught me off guard, though, because I had no idea that any of this was happening and, to have my 8-year-old son be able to pull that off and know more about it than I do makes me feel like I’m a little bit left out.
“So, we’re going to have to talk to somebody.”
Asked if his dad would run well in Sunday’s race with his new-look No. 4 Ford, Keelan offered a candid answer:
“If he doesn’t wreck, yes.”
Kevin Harvick’s surprise livery for Father’s Day
Photo by: Feld Entertainment