Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 7, 1993 TAG: 9310070086
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CONCORD, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Gant and his car owner, Leo Jackson, said Grand National driver Robert Pressley, who has close family ties with Jackson, will take over the Skoal Bandit Chevrolet in 1995.
"It's something that I've planned for a long time," Gant said during a news conference at Charlotte Motor Speedway. "I've had this number set in my mind for about two years or so. I came into Winston Cup racing about 1979, and I always figured on going about 10 or 11 years, to about age 50 or 51. Then I pushed it back to 52, then back to 54."
Gant's announcement, which had been rumored for some time, was the second-biggest retirement news of the sports day, trailing Michael Jordan's.
Even though he will be almost 55 when he quits, while Jordan is only 30, Gant said he felt he would be leaving the sport while still in his prime.
"As far as driving and everything, I think I'm maybe at my peak," he said. "But I think when you get older, not winning hurts you more than when you're young."
Gant and his team have failed to win this year in the wake of losing crew chief Andy Petree to Dale Earnhardt's team. He has nine top 10 finishes and is 13th in Winston Cup points.
He won twice last year. His biggest year was 1991, when he won five races - including four in a row in September - and finished fourth in Winston Cup points. He has 18 Winston Cup victories in his career and was second in the Winston Cup standings in 1984.
Gant said his main reason for retiring was to spend more time at home in Taylorsville, N.C., with his wife, Peggy, his daughters, Debbie and Donna, and his grandchildren.
"You really, really miss things when you're racing," he said. "I've had daughters getting married, and they have had to set their marriage date to the day I can be off. And you have birthdays a week early.
"It's tough being away from home so long. I've been staying in motels for 200 nights a year."
Gant said he was "looking forward to having a real good farewell tour," but team members said the details had not been worked out. They said it will not be on the scale of Richard Petty's Fan Appreciation Tour last year.
Gant's successor, Pressley, has won 10 Grand National races, including a memorable last-lap victory over Gant last year at Darlington.
Pressley, 32, said his plans for 1994 are uncertain, but if nothing else materializes, he will run five Winston Cup races for Jackson.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB