Nowadays he’s Harry Gant the carpenter, living the good life on a 300 acre farm in North Carolina but there was a time he was known by many names.
Harry Gant was once “Handsome Harry”, “The Bandit”, “Mr. September” and he even answered to “Hard Luck Harry”. By any of those nicknames, Harry Gant is best known as one of the all time great NASCAR drivers, indeed a member of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (April 2006). Gant will honor Bobby Watson’s Carteret County Speedway as the keynote speaker on January 21st at Carteret Speedway’s annual driver's award banquet at the Silos Event Center in Newport, North Carolina.
The pilot behind the wheel of the no.33 Skoal Bandit on the Winston Cup Series for years, Gant started his racing career on a dirt track in Hickory, North Carolina. He won over 300 races with the NASCAR Sportsman series in the ’60s and ’70s winning national championships every year from 1972-74.
In 1979 Gant began a long and glorious Winston Cup Career by battling the likes of Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte for 1979 rookie of the year honors finishing fourth. In September of 1991, Gant had his best month ever winning six races, four Winston Cup events (Darlington, Richmond, Dover, Martinsville) and a pair of Busch Series races. He was tabbed “Mr. September” and went on to appear in several movies including Stroker Ace with Burt Reynolds, Days of Thunder, and Cannonball Run II. Mr. September then became “Handsome Harry” for his Hollywood good looks.
Gant never let up on the pedal and at the age of 52 years 219 days became the oldest driver to win a Cup Series race.
We are excited to hear the many great stories from the illustrious career of “The Bandit” as our keynote speaker on January 21st at the Silos in Newport. As mentioned, these days Harry spends his time on his North Carolina farm doing one of his first loves, carpentry. Gant once said, “I’m a good race driver but a great carpenter”.
The 2023 season schedule for Bobby Watson’s Carteret County Speedway will be announced at the January 21st banquet as we look forward to an exciting season ahead.
The top five drivers in each division will be honored at the 2022 banquet.
Late Model
Dylan Newsome
Daniel Vuncannon
Jody Measamer
Tristan McKee
Tyler Matthews
Jr Mini Cup
Colby Gurganus
Anthony Ventresca
Michael Bivens
Alexis Steffan
DeeDee White
Chargers
Michael O'Brien
Gator Williams
Matthew Gurganus
James Stroud
Michael Waters
Street Stock
Tyler Smith
Steve Wales
Dennis Woehrle
John Sharp
Mike Cooper
Mini Stock
Neil Mason
Steve Sullivan
Brantly Dawson
Travis Miller
Robert Strmiska
UCAR
Dustin Jolly
Steve Sullivan
Andrew Jackson
David Fulk
Cornell Williams
Legends
Brenton Irving
Scotty Benford
DJ Murphy
George Phillips
Ed Radley
Bombers
Cornell Williams
Brian Gooden
Brent Rowse
Duane Walker
Joey Vereen