43 Facts About Harry Gant

Harry Gant won 31 NASCAR races combined between the Cup Series and Busch Series, and had a four-race win streak on the Cup circuit in 1991.

Harry Gant had a best result of second in the points championship in 1984.

Harry Gant holds the record for the oldest driver to win a Cup Series race.

Harry Gant gained a lot of nicknames throughout his racing career.

Harry Gant built a hobby class car with his friends, and took turns behind the wheel.

Harry Gant became the full-time driver and won the track championship.

Harry Gant excelled on the asphalt, and won his first race in the sportsman division.

Harry Gant won over 300 races with the car builder and crew chief Kenneth H Sigmon, in the NASCAR Sportsman on his way to winning three national championships, in 1972,1973, and 1974.

Harry Gant finished 2nd three times in the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Division in 1969,1976, and 1977.

Harry Gant finished in the Top 10 of the final points standing in several other years.

Harry Gant sold half of his construction business in 1979 upon deciding to race full-time in the Winston Cup Series.

Harry Gant made his first Cup start in 1973 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, finishing 11th in the No 90 Ford for Donlavey Racing despite initially not being interested in the opportunity.

Harry Gant made six starts over the next four years and had two Top 10 finishes.

Harry Gant competed for the rookie of the year honors against Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte.

Harry Gant finished 4th in the overall rookie battle in the No 47 Race Hill Farm car for Jack Beebe.

Harry Gant debuted with the team by placing second at Darlington Raceway, followed by five more 2nd-place finishes and three poles, ending the season 3rd in points.

Harry Gant stayed with the team for the rest of his career.

Harry Gant finished 2nd 10 times before winning his first Winston Cup race, at Martinsville April 25,1982, in the Virginia National Bank 500 and he finished 4th in the final points standings.

In 1983, Harry Gant only won once at Darlington in the Transouth 400 and collect 10 Top 5s and 16 Top 10 finishes en route to 7th in the final points standings.

In 1984, Harry Gant notched three poles, 15 Top 5 finishes, and 23 Top 10 finishes and won at Pocono and Martinsville in the fall, he ended up finishing 2nd to eventual Winston Cup champion Terry Labonte.

In 1985, Harry Gant won at Martinsville in the spring, and at Dover and at North Wilkesboro in the fall, notching a career best for Harry Gant up to that point.

Harry Gant finished 3rd in championship standings, 259 points behind eventual champion Darrell Waltrip.

Harry Gant did not win again in 1989 but finished 7th in the final points standings.

Harry Gant won the International Race of Champions championship in 1985.

Harry Gant tied on points with Darrell Waltrip but was awarded the title on tiebreak by finishing higher in the final race: a photo-finish win over Labonte at Michigan International Speedway.

Harry Gant drove the No 33 in the 1985 Talladega NASCAR race with the first telemetry data system ever installed on a race car.

Harry Gant entered the decade with a win at Pocono in the spring of 1990.

Harry Gant finished 17th in the final points standings, with six Top 5s and nine Top 10s.

Harry Gant won the 1991 Winston 500 in the spring, gambling on fuel mileage.

Fellow competitor Rick Mast drafted behind Harry Gant to give him a push the last few laps but let off in the final laps to preserve the victory.

Harry Gant earned the nickname "Mr September" in 1991 after winning all four September Cup races and two Busch races at age 51.

Harry Gant scored 5 victories in 1991, notching 15 Top 5 finishes and 17 Top 10s, and finishing 4th in the final point standings.

Harry Gant followed up 1991 with a strong 1992 and finished 4th in points again.

Harry Gant won at Dover in the spring, and he scored his last Cup victory on August 16,1992, at the Champion Spark Plug 400 at Michigan International Speedway, gambling on fuel.

Harry Gant finished his career with a pole and seven Top 10 finishes, finishing 25th in the final point standings.

In 1996, Harry Gant substituted for the injured Bill Elliott in the 1996 Winston Select, driving Elliott's No 94 McDonald's Ford Thunderbird after Elliott's injuries at Talladega.

Harry Gant was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on April 27,2006.

Currently, Harry Gant continues to work on his 300-acre ranch in North Carolina and enjoys riding his motorcycle.

Harry Gant holds the record as the oldest driver ever to win a Cup Series race and as the oldest driver ever to collect his first career Cup victory.

Harry Gant won four races in a row in 1991 tying a "new era" record and came in second in the fifth race.

Harry Gant appeared in the 1983 Burt Reynolds movie Stroker Ace.

Harry Gant gave a short interview in the film Days of Thunder and was mentioned for spinning out in the Daytona 500 late in the movie.

Harry Gant appeared as a mob henchman in the 1984 movie Cannonball Run II.