(born
January 10 ,
1940 in
Taylorsville, North Carolina ) is best known for driving the number 33 Skoal Bandits car on the
NASCAR Winston Cup circuit.
He was known as due to his
Hollywood -style good looks, '''The Bandit''' after his longtime sponsor, and '''High Groove Harry''' after the high line he often took through the corner. A humble man, Gant often stated that he was a good race car driver, but a great carpenter.
The
North Carolina native began his racing career at the old dirt track in
Hickory . Harry built a hobby class car with his friends, and took turns behind the wheel. Harry became the full-time driver and won the track championship.
Hickory Speedway was paved in
1967 after
Ned Jarrett became the promoter. Gant excelled on the asphalt, and won his first race in the Sportsman division.
Harry won over 300 races in the NASCAR Sportsman on his way to winning three national championships in 1972, 1973, and 1974. He finished second three times in the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman (now
Busch Series ) in 1969, 1976, and 1977. He finished in the Top 10 of the final points standing in several other years.
Harry's first full season in Winston Cup was in
1979 . He competed for the Rookie of the Year against an extremely strong rookie field including
Dale Earnhardt and
Terry Labonte . The hotly contested award was decided at the final race of the season in favor of Earnhardt.
Gant finished second 10 times before winning his first Winston Cup race at Martinsville
April 25 ,
1982 , in the
Virginia National Bank 500 . He then went on to become runner up to Winston Cup season champion
Terry Labonte in
1984 .
Gant won the .
Gant earned the nickname "Mr. September" in
1991 after winning all four September Cup races (Darlington, Richmond, Dover and Martinsville) and two Busch races (Richmond and Dover) at age 51. The four consecutive cup victories ties the modern era record set in 1972.
Harry Gant got his last cup victory on
August 16 ,
1992 , at the
Champion Spark Plugs 400 at
Michigan International Speedway . Harry might have won his fifth straight race if his brakes hadn't faded with 9 laps left to go at
North Wilkesboro Speedway .
He holds the record as oldest driver to win a cup race (52 years and 219 days). In his career he has collected 18 cup wins, 21
Busch Series wins, and 3 runner-up finishes in the Busch Series Championship (69, 76, and 77).
"Handsome" Harry Gant retired from Winston Cup and Busch Series racing at the end of the 1994 season, and later ran a partial season in the Craftsman truck series in 1996. Gant also substituted for the injured Bill Elliott in the 1996 Winston Select, driving Elliott's #94 McDonald's Ford Thunderbird instead of the trademark #33 Skoal Bandit.
Harry Gant was inducted into the
International Motorsports Hall Of Fame on April 27, 2006.
