| Harry Gant entered the world of NASCAR Winston Cup racing in 1973. His first full season wasn’t until 1979 when he competed for the Rookie of the Year title with Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte. Earnhardt grabbed the Rookie title, but Gant made his presence known by grabbing the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Gant joined forces in 1981 with U.S. Tobacco Skoal Bandit Racing and Hal Needham/Burt Reynolds. Things clicked quickly and Gant grabbed his first win in 1982 at Martinsville. In 1989 the Hal Needham/Burt Reynolds duo decided to step out of the NASCAR arena. Gant and Skoal stayed together moving to the cars owned by Leo Jackson and a young crew chief named Andy Petree.
Gant had for several years been dubbed “hard luck Harry” for finishing second so many times in so many events. A well liked gentleman racer, Gant really made his mark in 1991 and gained the nickname “Mister September” by winning 4 races in a row: Darlington, Richmond, Dover, and Martinsville. Gant was well on his way to making it 5 in a row when he lost the brakes on the Skoal Bandit Chevrolet leading at North Wilksboro. He slowed and Dale Earnhardt took the lead with 9 laps to go capturing the win and ending Gants streak. Gant finished the race in second place with no brakes. At the same time that September, he also recorded two NASCAR Busch Grand National Series wins. He went on to accumulate 18 Winston Cup wins and 17 poles as well as 21 Busch Grand Nationals Series wins before retiring in 1994. Gant remains the oldest driver to win a Winston Cup event at the age of 52 when he won at Michigan. He was the NASCAR Sportsman Series Champion for three consecutive years, 1972, 1973, and 1974, and he won the IROC series championship in 1985. In 1991, he was voted Driver of the Year by the National Motorsports Press Association. A long the way, Gant became well known for taking an extremely high line on race tracks, flirting with the concrete for 500 miles just inches from the wall and never batting an eye.
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