Jensen Ackles is best known for his role as Dean Winchester on the CW’s long-running fantasy series Supernatural. Since then, he’s starred in a number of other projects, including the hit CBS drama Tracker, which just returned for Season 2. Ackles plays Russell Shaw, the brother of Colter Shaw, the main character played by This Is Us star Justin Hartley. The actor debuted on the CBS series in Season 1 and had a recurring guest role in Season 2. Ackles just appeared in Episode 2, which premiered on the channel on October 20, and his return includes a very sneaky Supernatural reference, People reports.
Former Supernatural star Jensen Ackles returns to Tracker for Season 2 of the Justin Hartley-led CBS hit In the new episode, Jensen Ackles’ character Russell drives a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, the same car he also drove in Season 1. The gorgeous muscle car, which is a convertible on the show, is no coincidence, as it’s the same car his character Dean Winchester drove throughout all 15 seasons of Supernatural. However, the car on The CW series is not a convertible.
Fans of the long-running fantasy series know how important the Impala is to the show. Affectionately nicknamed “Baby,” the car is the fourth uncredited character alongside Dean, his brother Sam (Jared Padalecki), and Castiel (Misha Collins). Dean is very attached to the car, which has seen them through many adventures on the road. In Season 11, the Impala got its own episode, a comedy called “Baby,” which told the story from the car’s perspective.
Similar to Supernatural, when Colter asked his brother about driving his car one day, Russell replied, “That’s never going to happen.” Supernatural faced a similar situation, as Dean didn’t want Sam driving his car. Russell continued the joke, adding, “This baby can’t drive on gravel,” referring to Supernatural’s car.
The Supernatural set used several versions of the model for various purposes, but Jensen Ackles got to keep the main car after filming for the fictional show, which ran for 15 seasons, was completed. However, he has made it clear that he asked permission, and the car occasionally appears on his social media. “In terms of bringing something to the final day, I’m definitely bringing something I’ve had my eye on since day one of Supernatural,” he revealed to Digital Spy in 2020, the year the series ended. “But it’s okay, I’m not stealing it. I’ve been allowed to. I’ve been begging and pleading for years, but I’ve finally been allowed to this year. They’ll let me drive the Impala home.” What has Jensen Ackles been up to since Supernatural? While both Jensen Ackles and co-star Jared Padalecki have mentioned multiple times that they’d like to reunite on Supernatural, both actors have found their own paths since the show ended in 2022. Padalecki got his own The CW show, Walker, and then starred in the CBS series Fire Country. The Fire Country season 3 trailer also hinted that there’s still hope for Bode and Gabriela’s doomed romance Big Sky, and he made his superhero debut as Soldier Boy on Prime Video’s The Boys. He’s expected to reprise his role in the hit series’ fifth and final season, and his character is also getting his own spinoff, Vought Rising.
