Jensen Ackles’ Tracker Return Comes With a Sneaky Supernatural Reference
Jensen Ackles is best known for his role as Dean Winchester in the longtime CW fantasy series Supernatural. Since then, he joined several other projects, including the CBS hit drama Tracker, which just returned with Season 2.
Ackles plays Russell Shaw, Colter Shaw’s brother, who is the lead character, played by This Is Us star Justin Hartley. The actor made his debut on the CBS series in Season 1 and has a recurring guest star role in Season 2. Ackles just appeared in Episode 2, which premiered on the channel on Oct. 20, and his return featured a very sneaky Supernatural reference, as reported by People.
In the new episode, Jensen Ackles’ character Russell drives a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, one that he used in Season 1, as well. The gorgeous muscle car, which is a convertible on the show, is no coincidence, as it’s also a similar car to the one his character, Dean Winchester, drove throughout the 15 seasons of Supernatural. The one from The CW series was not a convertible, though.
Fans of the long-running fantasy series know the importance the Impala had for the series. Lovingly nicknamed “Baby,” the car was the unspoken fourth character alongside Dean, his brother Sam (Jared Padalecki), and Castiel (Misha Collins). Dean was heavily attached to the car, which has been through many adventures down the road with them. In Season 11, the Impala got its own episode, the tongue-in-cheek episode called “Baby,” which told the story from the car’s point of view.
Similar to Supernatural, when Colter asked his brother about driving his car one day, Russell replied, “That’s never going to happen.” Supernatural had a similar predicament, as Dean didn’t want Sam to drive his car. Russell further continued the gag, adding, “This baby doesn’t drive on gravel,” a sneaky reference to Supernatural’s car.
The set of Supernatural used multiple versions of the model for different purposes, but Jensen Ackles got to keep the main car after filming wrapped on the 15-season fantasy show. He clarified he asked for permission, though, and the car makes appearances on his social media from time to time. “As far as taking something on the final day, I will definitely be taking something that I’ve had my eye on since day one of Supernatural,” he revealed via Digital Spy in 2020, the year the series wrapped. “But it’s okay, I’m not stealing it. I got permission. I begged and begged and pleaded for years, but I finally got it this year. They’re going to let me drive home the Impala.”
What Has Jensen Ackles Been Doing Since Supernatural?
Although both Jensen Ackles and his co-star Jared Padalecki have repeatedly mentioned they are interested in doing a Supernatural reunion, both actors have found their own paths since the show ended in 2022. Padalecki had his The CW show called Walker, and later joined the CBS series Fire Country.
Ackles, meanwhile, appeared on the crime drama series Big Sky, and made his superhero debut as Soldier Boy in Prime Video’s The Boys. He is expected to reprise his role in the fifth and final season of the hit series, and his character also received his own spinoff, Vought Rising.
