Alright, let me get a show of hands for all of my fellow Supernatural fans out there! This one goes out to y’all. After what felt like an eternal off-season, Tracker finally came back for its second season on Sunday. Jensen Ackles has a recurring role on the series as Colter Shaw’s brother, Russell. If you haven’t watched it, Tracker follows a format where Colton solves a new case a week while also trying to figure out the mystery behind his father’s death. His brother is central to this storyline and was introduced towards the end of season one.
Jensen appeared on the season two premiere and during the episode, the Powers That Be threw Supernatural fans a little Easter egg. His character, Dean Winchester, drove a 1967 Chevy Impala all 15 seasons. It was his true love and there’s a series-long running gag that Dean would never let his brother, Sam, drive his “Baby.” The car was basically a lead character on the show. So, on Tracker, not only does Russell drive a ‘67 Impala, but there’s also a scene in which Russell won’t let Colton drive it.
Jensen Ackles’ first Tracker episode of the season is sure to get Supernatural fans pretty revved up. When Ackles first appeared as Russell, the brother of Colter Shaw (Justin Hartley) in season 1 of the hit CBS series, he was spotted patting a 1967 Chevrolet Impala before getting into Colton’s truck. And in the new season, Ackles, 46, drives a similar car throughout the second episode.
As Supernatural fans well know, that handsome muscle car wasn’t used by accident. Ackles’ character, Dean Winchester, drove the Impala, nicknamed Baby, throughout all 15 seasons of the fantasy series.
In the Sunday, Oct. 20 episode, Russell helps to get Colter, who was looking for a man who went missing while seeking answers about aliens, out of a strange government black site. Towards the end of the episode, Colter asks about driving the car one day, and Russell responds, “That’s never going to happen.”
Moments later, when Russell drops Colter off to go find his own vehicle, Colter seems miffed that Russell won’t keep driving off the paved road.
“This baby doesn’t drive on gravel,” Russell quips — an obvious nod to the Supernatural car’s nickname. When Supernatural ended in 2020, Ackles famously kept the iconic car. In fact, he has said it was written into his contract for season 15 of the show.
“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 told Digital Spy of the car in 2020. “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.”
Hartley has always been excited about working with Ackles on the show.
“We got him, he’s coming back,” Hartley, 47, said San Diego Comic-Con this summer. “We’re having fun with that. It’s a great story.”
Earlier this month, Hartley told PEOPLE, “Jensen and I have known each other for a long time, we just never had a chance to work together. Jensen is the perfect guy to play Russell. It’s such a well fleshed-out character in the book and even more so with what we’ve done on the show. And then Jensen just brings it to the next level.”
I had completely forgotten that Jensen was able to take the Impala with him. That’s so awesome. I can’t ever hear the song “Carry On My Wayward Son” without thinking of that show. I rewatch the first five seasons every couple of years because I think the culmination of that storyline is perfect. Anyway, I love love love this callout! At this point, it’s going to feel weird to see Jensen drive any other type of car on screen, ha. I’m really excited for this season of Tracker, too. It was my (and a whole lot of other people’s) favorite new network show last year, and I looked forward to watching new episodes each week. I can’t wait to see where this season goes and hope we get to see more of Russell and his Impala.