Justin Cole is the restorer behind the Tucker Convertible, and CEO of Accelerate Auto Group and its dealership brand FAST (Rowlett, TX). In December 2008, Justin, then president of Benchmark Classics in the Madison, Wisconsin area, acquired the unfinished No. 57 chassis from longtime Wisconsin owner Al Reinert. Over the following year and a half, Justin and his team logged more than 5,000 hours turning the car into what it might have looked like had Tucker completed it: sourcing an authentic Tucker engine and correct Cord transmission, fabricating the missing body panels, and finishing the interior and convertible top. The car debuted publicly at the Keels & Wheels concours in Seabrook, Texas, in May 2009, and has been documented by outlets including Old Cars Weekly, the Wisconsin State Journal, and Beloit Daily News ever since. Justin sold the finished car in 2010; it has remained with the same private owner since, with Accelerate Auto Group/FAST periodically representing it for sale on the owner's behalf.

 

Justin has been immersed in classic cars since childhood, buying his first project car at 14 and founding Benchmark Classics while still in college. He later built a career in dealership operations and internet sales management at some of the largest auto groups in the country before returning full-time to classic and collector vehicles, growing Accelerate Auto Group from a single trailer in Princeton, TX in 2016 into today's 32,000-square-foot FAST facility in Rowlett. He holds a degree from the University of Wisconsin's Wisconsin School of Business.