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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 Colton 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 the 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.
Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
In the Sunday, Oct. 20 episode, Russell helps to get Colton, 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, Colton asks about driving the car one day, and Russell responds, “That’s never going to happen.”
Moments later, when Russell drops Colton off to go find his own vehicle, Colton seems miffed that Russell won’t keep driving off the paved road.
“This baby doesn’t drive on gravel,” Russell quips — an obvious nod that the car’s nickname.
Colin Bentley/The CW
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.”
Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
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.”
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Tracker airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on CBS.