I think it is presented as a running car, modified for a particular type of racing. I suspect a type of racing where contact and crashes are par for the course. Low budget base vehicle and low budget hack job modifications - not a great loss of investment if destroyed. I think $1500 is a bit much for such a car.
My local county fair hosts demolition derbies. Very similar modifications/butchering. The roll bar and bumper reinforcements are not allowed for the demo derby. The battery is relocated to the passenger compartment, a metal fuel cell and lines also and the factory tank emptied or removed. They have gone back and forth on the windshield, removed, must keep, or ? These cars are usually just a few hundred dollars certainly less than a grand, even if they have already been derby prepped and/or gone through a previous derby. Many cars are lucky to make it through a single derby heat or beyond a single derby - disposable - scrap value only when done.