A look at the famed NASCAR Tucker as it sits out front of Joe Nagel Jr. Motor Sales in Pittsburgh, PA. The car was piloted at Canfield Motor Speedway in Canfield, Ohio by Joe Merola. Photo courtesy Tom Merola
Just over two years ago, we posted a story at Georgia Racing History.com about various interesting and odd cars that have competed in NASCAR over the years.
Far and away the portion of the story that got the most attention was the section on the only 1948 Tucker Torpedo to compete in NASCAR. The rare vehicle made its appearance in a 200-lap event on May 30, 1950.
Joe Merola of Wilkinsburg, PA, piloted the Tucker, one of only 50 ever manufactured, in the race. Well, sort of. A broken axle sidelined the vehicle on the opening lap.
For those who may not be familiar with the story of the car, the Tucker automobile is arguably the most sought after and coveted American automobile by collectors. Preston Tucker, the cars’ designer and builder, decided to take on the big Detroit auto makers in the late 40s by designing a car that was light years ahead of its time, including safety innovations that have only hit modern cars in the last 10 years or so.
In the end, the powers that be had the Tucker plant closed down. Truth be told, they were afraid of his cars because, to be blunt, they were just too darned good.
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So the idea of one of those rare cars being on a half-mile dirt track is amazing, to say the least.
For years, the racing Tucker is believed to have been later lost in a warehouse fire in Florida years later. It’s one of the few Tuckers that do not still survive.
But in an article in the March 2012 edition of Hemmings Classic Car Magazine, Mike Schutta tells the entire story of the so called NASCAR Tucker, and reveals that, after extensive research, the famed car not only still exists (it is Tucker #1004), but had two other brushes with NASCAR many years later.
For more of this story, visit our sister site, Georgia Racing History.com.
