Harry Gant marked his 86th birthday two weeks in the past, however the passage of time has been kinder to the legendary driver than most. Simply ask his friends.
The fresh-faced octogenarian was celebrated in Friday evening’s NASCAR Corridor of Fame induction ceremony for an influential stock-car racing profession that ended some 30 years in the past. Based mostly on his still-dashing look, Gant appeared like he might nonetheless swimsuit up, climb in and lay down lap occasions that might nonetheless be current-day aggressive.
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“I inform people who the primary time I noticed him was round 1970. Once I noticed him [Thursday] evening, I hadn’t seen him in a few years, however I used to be simply amazed at how he nonetheless appears the identical,” stated fellow Corridor of Famer Dale Jarrett. “… It simply appears like he might bounce in and go.”
The group assembled on the NASCAR Corridor of Fame marveled anew at “Good-looking Harry” Gant, who joined Kurt Busch and Ray Hendrick as the latest members honored with stock-car enshrinement within the Class of 2026. The gala night additionally paid tribute to promoter extraordinaire Humpy Wheeler because the winner of the Landmark Award for excellent contributions to the game and veteran motorsports scribe Deb Williams because the Squier-Corridor Award recipient.
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The Corridor’s name was a very long time coming for Gant, elected in his seventh 12 months of eligibility. That very same worth-the-wait vibe additionally paralleled his late-blooming racing profession, from his youthful years as a short-track stalwart to a Cup Sequence rookie at 39 — an age when most present drivers are contemplating when to sundown their careers.
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His arrival was a research in contrasts — the North Carolina foothills meets Hollywood. Gant was plucked from his humble and blue-collar upbringing by film moguls Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham to drive the Skoal-sponsored No. 33 that might develop into certainly one of his calling playing cards. His smile was silver-screen-ready, and his popularity for being agency however honest on the monitor was about to hit the large time.
“When he acquired to the Cup stage, he got here with an entourage,” stated Ricky Rudd, a Class of 2025 inductee. “I imply, who else can begin racing and also you’ve acquired Burt Reynolds in your storage stall? And also you’ve acquired Hal Needham the film director and the Skoal Bandettes, I believe they even had. It was type of an attention-grabbing time however Harry’s a class-act man, a really powerful competitor on the race monitor and he raced you arduous, however he raced clear. You by no means heard anyone complain about if Harry gave ’em a fender or an affordable shot. He was simply that means. He would do what he needed to do to win, however he was honest.”
Gant was the uncommon case the place enchancment got here along with his advancing years. A few of the most memorable of his 18 profession Cup Sequence victories got here north of age 50 — a superb four-race win streak that earned him the “Mr. September” nickname as a 51-year-old veteran in 1991, and his remaining triumph a 12 months later at Michigan Worldwide Speedway that established him because the oldest Cup Sequence winner, a NASCAR report that also stands.
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Chalk it as much as both the knowledge of expertise or the enduring work ethic from his wealthy background as a carpenter and a farmer, however like Gant, his longevity stays a surprise all these years later.
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“That may be very distinctive. I imply, you don’t see that. You didn’t see it then, and also you don’t see it now,” stated Andy Petree, Gant’s crew chief throughout his 1991 stretch of success. “I imply, drivers have been older, the nice drivers. It took so much longer to get into the game to the excessive stage, so the actually profitable drivers have been older again then, however not what he was doing. By the point you get to round that 50-year mark, no one’s actually profitable and so they’re occupied with retiring. He simply hit this stride, man, and I believe it’s as a result of he’s so bodily match. He labored arduous on a regular basis.
“You look, I assure. I haven’t seen him tonight, however I wager he appears like he might get within the automobile. I believe that, together with simply his toughness, there was no driver that was as powerful as him — the most well liked days, the worst circumstances, he would all the time be the cream that rises to the highest. I believe that’s what actually set him aside, to have the ability to win races at 52 years outdated. It’s ridiculous how he did that.”
Petree stated Gant by no means totally thought-about racing as a job, even after he’d reached NASCAR stardom. “His job was constructing homes,” Petree stated, noting how he’d typically end a race Sunday and return to the carpentry commerce and arduous handbook labor within the fields the subsequent morning. The key to Gant’s fountain of youth won’t be so secret.
“I assume it’s begin driving late and put roofs on homes early, as a result of that’s what he did,” stated Kyle Petty, who introduced Gant along with his Corridor of Fame ring. “I believe the one factor with Harry is, Harry is that throwback, you understand? I believe so many individuals overlook that, as a result of he got here alongside late. I imply, he ran for Rookie of the 12 months at 39. Oh my God, there’s 39-year-olds which have 14-year-olds nearly driving Cup vehicles now, you understand what I imply? If you begin it, it’s simply such a special time. So I believe the factor is his work ethic, his entire whole life, how he approached farming, how he approached driving, how he approached every little thing. It was all the identical. It didn’t make any distinction.”
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Gant’s gait may need slowed a step from years of wear and tear and tear, his private odometer stacking up the miles on and off the monitor. His picture, nevertheless, has seemingly modified little since he final ran a Cup Sequence race in 1994.
Gant entered NASCAR folklore for his tendency to show again the clock. For the legends who as soon as competed with him, the race in opposition to time looks like one which Gant remains to be profitable.
“A few of them highschool youngsters, I assure you he might put on them out,” stated 2016 Corridor inductee Terry Labonte. “He was only a nice competitor, a pleasant man, and I used to be truly teammates with him one 12 months. He’s a enjoyable man to hang around with, however you may’t discover anyone to say something dangerous about Harry Gant.”
Harry Gant speaks after being inducted into the NASCAR Corridor of Fame.
