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Harry Gant through the years
By Zack Albert | Sunday, January 10, 2021
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Harry Gant became a popular favorite in stock-car racing with a successful 18-win career in NASCAR's top series and an easygoing manner that endeared him to fans. Gant earned several nicknames along the way and became closely linked to the No. 33. With a rich history of archival photos to choose from, we look at Harry Gant's career through the years.
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Harry Gant was a force in the weekly and touring Late Model Sportsman ranks, winning the 1973 track championship at Hickory (N.C.) Speedway. Here, he flashes the trademark smile that earned the nickname "Handsome Harry" in Victory Lane after winning a 1977 Modified event at Daytona International Speedway.
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Gant continued to drive in the Late Model Sportsman ranks as the tour evolved into the Busch Series and later the NASCAR Xfinity Series, first flying the No. 77 and later the No. 7. Gant scored 21 wins after the tour became a national series in 1982.
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Gant made spot starts in NASCAR's top series from 1973-78 before joining team owner Jack Beebe and his No. 47 outfit early in the 1979 season. Their partnership produced nine top-five finishes and Gant's first career pole in nearly two seasons together. Here, Gant's No. 47 works to the high side of Darrell Waltrip's No. 88 at Bristol Motor Speedway in 1979.
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Gant became connected with film director and stuntman Hal Needham, who became a car owner with partner Burt Reynolds in 1981. Needham brought some Hollywood flair to the circuit, but his birthplace was Memphis, Tennessee, in the heart of stock-car racing country. His green-and-white Skoal Bandit No. 33 cars soon became synonymous with Gant.
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Among his nicknames was one Gant never wanted: "Hard-luck Harry," which referenced his 10 runner-up finishes before collecting his first win. Gant's breakthrough victory finally came on April 25, 1982 at Martinsville Speedway, where he survived damage from a blown tire and wall scrape to beat runner-up Butch Lindley by a full lap. "You have to have luck, get the best pit stops or have the fastest car," Gant said. "Today, we had all of 'em."
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Victories began to flow with more regularity after his first win. Later in the 1982 season, Gant prevailed from the pole position at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the National 500 trophy.
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Harry Gant in the cockpit of his No. 33. Travis Carter, his crew chief from 1981-88, is outside the car to Gant's left.
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Win No. 5 on Harry Gant's career list was a prestigious one, coming in the 1984 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. The South Carolina venue was among Gant's best tracks, the site of four wins in his career.
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Harry Gant celebrates in Victory Lane at Darlington in 1984. He collected $46,180 for the win.
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Harry Gant drives under the checkered flag at Martinsville Speedway in April 1985. His No. 33 Chevrolet led 193 of the 500 laps.
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Harry Gant sits alongside Jack Ingram at an autograph session at Dover International Speedway. The two drivers competed in different series, but both were backed by sponsorship from Skoal. Both also had roots in western North Carolina, with Gant from Taylorsville and Ingram hailing from Asheville.
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The day after that autograph session, Gant landed in Victory Lane at Dover after winning the Delaware 500. The Monster Mile was also friendly territory for Gant, who recorded four Cup Series wins at Dover in his career.
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Harry Gant poses with one of his Skoal Bandit No. 33 entries from the 1980s at Daytona International Speedway.
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After three winless seasons, Harry Gant left Needham's operation at the end of the 1988 season to work with team owner Leo Jackson. That lean period included a broken leg in a crash during the 1988 Coca-Cola 600 that sidelined Gant for five races. Gant shrugged off the injury, saying "I could have done that falling off my house." Needham sold his operation, but Gant and Jackson continued with Skoal as the primary backer and the familiar No. 33.
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Harry Gant's new team hit paydirt quickly with a victory on April 2, 1989 at Darlington that ended a 90-race drought. "I thought it would take us a little bit longer than this to get everything all worked out," Gant said after his fifth start with the Jackson team. "It's real good to win. I just hope the other boys on the crew feel good."
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Gant won once in 1990 (at Pocono), but his best season was yet to come. Gant's No 33 Oldsmobile showed the way in the ninth race of the 1991 campaign as he claimed his only victory at Talladega Superspeedway.
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Gant's signature streak of performance near the end of the 1991 campaign earned him another nickname -- "Mr. September." Here, he celebrates in Darlington's Victory Lane on Labor Day weekend, leading 152 of the 367 laps in the Southern 500. That set the stage for a remarkable run of four straight wins for the 51-year-old veteran, a streak that had the NASCAR world buzzing.
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Harry Gant finds a path by Mark Martin at Martinsville Speedway on Sept. 22, 1991, on his way to victory in the Goody's 500. Wins at Richmond and Dover preceded that triumph, but Gant's streak ended the following week at North Wilkesboro with a second-place result.
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Gant drove for three more seasons at the premier-series level, posting two more wins in 1992. Two years after his final Cup Series start, Gant dabbled with 11 races in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series in 1996, posting four top-10 finishes.
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Harry Gant drove the No. 33 once again in a meeting of NASCAR legends in Late Model cars at Bristol Motor Speedway in March 2009. Gant, then 69 years old, exited the exhibition race early with engine issues.
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Harry Gant takes his place alongside Ned Jarrett in a Q&A session with fans at the Darlington Historic Racing Festival on September 25, 2010.
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Still a fan favorite, Gant signs Bandit memorabilia at the Darlington Raceway historic meet.
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Harry Gant stands with NASCAR Hall of Famer Jack Ingram after his induction on January 29, 2014. Gant presented Ingram with his Hall of Fame ring during the ceremonies.
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