When we talk about racing movies, perhaps there is no greater NASCAR rendition than The Last American Hero. Based on Tom Wolfe’s 1965 essay: ‘The Last American Hero Is Junior Johnson. Yes!’, the film stole the heart of the stock car racing community in the early 70s and took inspiration from the real story of Junior Johnson with the Hollywood sensation Jeff Bridges playing the lead.

But the most memorable moments from the film arguably came from the antagonist played by William Smith II. His character, Kyle Kingman, was not only a formidable force to battle on track, but would also become Junior Jackson’s romantic rival. And while the crew were filming at Hickory Motor Speedway, it was none other than the icon Harry Grant who lent a helping hand to the Rich Man, Poor Man star.

Harry Gant reveals how he helped Hollywood Sensation William Smith II

In Stapleton42’s latest video, the host took the community on an eye-opening tour of Harry Gant’s car collection as well as his scrapbook. It was when going through the compilation of memories that Gant would reflect on his wholesome time working behind the scenes of The Last American Hero. Pointing out a picture of him and his wife from Hickory Motor Speedway during the filming, Gant immediately recalled the man who played Kyle Kingman’s role.

Gant shared: “They made a movie about Junior Johnson and um, what’s his name, big big star, ah yes! Jeff Bridges. Well, the guy that drove my car, he played the mean man, what’s that movie, he’s real strong, he played a couple of times the blacksmith on Gun Smoke before Bert went there, yeah, William Smith. Big, muscled up. He used to do all that muscle weight, well he’s going to drive my car in the race at Hickory, and it was fun, he was about 6’3 or so. And he says, ‘Show me how to get in this car so I won’t make a fool of myself.”

Mr. September’s solution was simple. He shared that he would climb into the car from the right-hand side of the door while crawling in. Having helped William Smith II not make a fool of himself, Gant prefixed the gears for Smith II so there are no hiccups. But the man with arguably the most nicknames in NASCAR had no idea just how eager Smith II was to truly become Kyle Kingman. Adding to the complexities, the filming was occurring during an actual race, which meant stock cars were running at full speed, zooming past the actors.

He added, “He goes out, and I set him the gears and he’s real if you’re next to the in-field and I said, ‘Watch you don’t go down too fast!’ I’m squatting down there and he goes around the corner then down the straightaway, he punched it wide open and it’s like a rocket you know, we were pulling in low gears, ain’t going to go but about a 110 and God here we went ‘Woah! woah! woah! I got to show you where the brake is at!’”

Eventually, William Smith II couldn’t get a hang of the braking, which meant Gant would have to bring in the car. He concluded, “Then they would put a sandbag about ten feet out before that boy William Smith and get the tires out and stop right there you know, and you’re back to film the original race, we wanted it, that double zero was in it in, a 250 Sportsman Race. So yeah they filmed a real race and just changed pictures and stuff in there.”

After a Disappointing Cup Campaign, Is Richard Childress’s Grandson Just Seat Warming for a 17-Year-Old?

This not only meant Harry Gant played a huge role in setting up Kyle Kingman’s role perfectly, but also was part of the race footage used from Hickory Motor Speedway. As the legend turns 84 in a little over a week, moments like these have forever cemented his legacy for NASCAR fans to come back and revisit. But did you know just how many nicknames he’s had?

Here’s why Gant was known as ‘Mr. September’ amongst other endearing nicknames.

Trending

“Get This M*f*** Down”- Disgruntled Bubba Wallace Puts 23XI on Blast After Shocking Let Down at Signature Track

May 06, 2024 02:30 AM EDT

Martin Truex Jr’s Crew Chief Makes Heartbreaking 4-Word Racing Admission

May 04, 2024 04:11 PM EDT

“Getting the Heck Out of Miami”- F1’s Outrageous ‘$’ Ask Leaves NASCAR World in Utter Disbelief

May 04, 2024 10:26 AM EDT

Tony Stewart’s ‘Little Bi**Es’ Warning Goes Wrong After Last Lap Horror in the Indy 800

May 04, 2024 04:25 PM EDT

Martin Truex Jr Blames Chase Elliott for Depriving Him of His Victory After Out-Maneuvering Denny Hamlin

May 06, 2024 10:13 AM EDT

Get instantly notified of the hottest NASCAR stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

We all know that the community loves to give driver’s nicknames based on their heroics. Whether it’s Ross Chastain and the Melon Man or Dale Earnhardt and the Intimidator, there’s a nickname for each kind of driver. But for Harry Gant, there’s a nickname for each of his quirks instead. Early in his career, Gant would earn the nickname ‘The Taylorsville Flash” from the announcer at New Ashville Speedway. Following this, he would be known as “Handsome Harry Gant” owing to his larger-than-life appearance.

He would also earn a few nicknames which weren’t all that flattering, such as “Hard Luck Harry” for infamously finishing second regularly early on and for his woeful journey with Mach 1 cars which were plagued with reliability issues and mechanical failures. Gant was also incredibly fond of the high line, which earned him the title of “High Groove Harry”. But perhaps his favourite has been “Mr September”, the title given to him by fans after winning four back-to-back Winston Cup races and two Busch Series races at the age of 51 in September 1991.

WATCH THIS STORY: Noah Gragson Opens Up About The Second Opportunity Given to Him by Tony Stewart

As the icon gets closer to his 84th birthday, Gant gives fans eye-opening insight into some of his fondest memories. And speaking of fondness, which nickname of his is your favourite?