Tucker In NASCAR?

This post on the Hemmings blog just goes to illustrate the collectible car theory of relativity.  An automobile may be rare and expensive now, but who knew back then, when it was just a used car, good only for utilitarian transportation, parts or in this case NASCAR?  Nevertheless, I am still surprised that anyone treated a Tucker as anything other than rare, since the company made less than 50 in its entire one-production-run existence.  With safety glass, seat belts, and an air-cooled, rear mounted engine, it was ahead of its time in the late 1940's.  It was also quite a capable performer, so the use of a Tucker for racing is logical, but with only 40-something other cars in existence, parts could become a problem after a few encounters on the track.