Patience paid off; Gant tied modern record in '91

Harry Gant is the perfect example of the adage, "good things come to those who wait." At the age of 51, Gant won four consecutive races, capping it off with a remarkable comeback victory in the 1991 Goody's 500 at Martinsville Speedway, the site of his first Cup win.

Even though Gant didn't make his Cup debut until he was 33 -- and didn't win his first Cup race until he was 42 -- to most folks in the NASCAR garage, he wasn't an unknown. Born in 1940 in Taylorsville, N.C., Gant put a Corvette engine in a 1957 Chevrolet as a teenager and raced his car on the rural roads of Alexander County.

In the winter of 1963, Gant and his buddies built a hobby stock car for Hickory Speedway. And by 1970, Gant's orange and yellow No. 77 was a frequent entry at places like Columbia, Kingsport, Asheville and Hickory.

With 14 wins in 92 races, Gant finished second in the national sportsman division standings to Red Farmer that season, wound up fourth the following year and then recorded three consecutive national championships between 1972 and 1974.

But racing wasn't "Handsome Harry's" full-time occupation. Building houses was. And even though Gant made his Cup debut in 1973, he was still in the construction business six years later when he ran for rookie of the year against Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte and Joe Millikan.

In 1981, Gant landed a ride with the team owned by movie star Burt Reynolds and Hollywood producer Hal Needham and sponsored by the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., which earned him the nickname the "Skoal Bandit." One year later, Gant recorded his first win in the Virginia National Bank 500 at Martinsville. He won three times in both 1984 and 1985, finishing second to Labonte in '84 and third behind Darrell Waltrip and Bill Elliott in '85.

But perhaps Gant's greatest achievement in racing came when most drivers have already hung up their helmets. At the age of 51, he won four consecutive races, beginning with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, earning him the moniker of "Mr. September." He followed that with wins at Richmond and Dover, and came into Martinsville with the opportunity to tie a modern era record with a fourth victory in a row. (Continued)