Winston Cup Museum to shut down Dec. 16

The owners of Winston Cup Museum said Tuesday they are shutting down after nearly 20 years.

Will and Christy Spencer are closing the museum at 1355 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive on Dec. 16.

NASCAR championship series items have been stored and displayed there since 2005. The bulk of the memorabilia will be auctioned from Jan. 2-14 at Mecum Auto Auctions in Kissimmee, Fla.

In throwing the white flag on the museum — which signifies the final lap of a race — the Spencers said in a statement that “this is not a decision we have come to lightly, but it is the necessary end of 19 wonderful years.”

“After assessing the museum’s current financial condition and the significant expense required to completely rebrand the museum, we have decided to close the brick-and-mortar version of the museum permanently.

“History is hard to preserve and even harder to save. I am grateful I did my part for 19 years.”

The Spencers said the closing of the museum “does not mean an end to preserving great racing history and stories.”

“So, stay tuned to learn more about our future plans and how we will move forward into 2024.”

On Nov. 2, a N.C. Business Court judge approved the final settlement and mediated agreement on a branding dispute between the museum and ITG Brands LLC even though “a more formal agreement” could not be reached.

The multiyear legal standoff involved the Spencers, Winston Cup Museum LLC and JKS Motorsports Inc. versus the Greensboro tobacco manufacturer. ITG could not be reached for comment on approval of the final settlement.

Will Spencer said the agreement appears to require the venue to choose a new name.

“Over the past 7 weeks you all have provided us with some great renaming ideas, showed your support and given us quite a few chuckles along the way with your suggestions and creativity. We are forever grateful.”

The top name, according to the Spencers, was the Ralph Seagraves Memorial Museum.

Seagraves was R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.’s marketing chief in charge of its Winston Cup sponsorship from the early 1970s until his retirement in 1985. He was born in Forsyth County in 1929 and died in Winston-Salem in 1998.

Seagraves was a 2021 Landmark Award winner for outstanding contributions to NASCAR.

The Spencers said the rebranding “would be a great name and a way to honor a man who was absolutely integral to the relationship between R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and NASCAR.”

Background

The dispute between the museum and ITG hinges on which group owns the rights to the museum’s Winston-branded NASCAR collection — the Spencers or ITG.

An agreement reached Sept. 1 allowed for the reopening of the museum after a voluntary 60-day shutdown by the Spencers, but kept a mobile display owned by the Spencers parked.

Since June 2015, ITG has controlled the Winston traditional cigarette brand as part of U.K.-based parent company Imperial Brands Plc’s $7.1 billion purchase of the Winston, Salem, Kool and Maverick brands from Reynolds American Inc. and Lorillard Inc.

Spencer has said the Winston logo at the heart of the trademark issue was developed by him.

ITG has filed three lawsuits against the couple, two of which have been dismissed.

Spencer said ITG’s goal has been to make legal expenses so costly over time that the couple will agree to a settlement.

ITG wanted the N.C. Business Court to rule that its control over the Winston traditional cigarette brand also covers the Winston Cup items at the museum.

In July, the company said “we share Mr. Spencer’s enthusiasm for the heritage of the Winston Cup, which is why we have repeatedly attempted to reach an agreement that would allow him to continue operating his permanent museum.”

Will Spencer said that “we do believe there is a positive side to every situation, and one major positive for us is that the agreement makes clear that the overwhelming majority of the assets” of the museum belong to the Spencers.

Because of the animosity between the Spencers and ITG, Will Spencer said selling any of the memorabilia to ITG “was not an option, and I have respect and relationship with Mecum.”

“They believe that Kissimmee is the best place to showcase the collection to their international clientele.”

Mobile museum factor

Since 2005, the museum’s mobile display has appeared at NASCAR races in Darlington, Dover and North Wilkesboro. It also appeared twice at the then-Dixie Classic Fair, as well as at ITG’s corporate headquarters in 2017.

According to Spencer, operators at Charlotte, Daytona Beach, Martinsville, Rockingham and Talladega have requested the mobile museum for exhibitions this year.

It was the NASCAR All-Star events in May at North Wilkesboro Speedway that served as the latest catalyst in the legal dispute.

ITG claimed in the motion that “the situation got worse” that weekend with the appearance of the “Mobile Winston Cup Museum.” ITG claimed the traveling exhibit sold Winston-branded merchandise “using words, fonts, images and logos identical to the Winston marks.”

“The museum and defendants’ merchandise is specifically designed to exploit and trade on the goodwill and nostalgia of the Winston Cup Series era of NASCAR by falsely associating defendants with ITG’s Winston brand and Winston marks.”

ITG claimed that most of its customers at the speakeasy associated the museum’s exhibition with ITG, thereby “creating confusion” that could be damaging to its reputation.

“However, as the owner of the Winston trademark, ITG Brands has a responsibility to ensure that any use of this trademark complies with the law and is an appropriate marketing practice.”

Spencer said that when Imperial bought the Winston brand, “the only thing that transferred was what was on a pack of cigarettes because the (Reynolds) sports marketing was closed in 2003.”

“I know the direction of what they wanted” with the memorabilia,” Spencer said.

“I was never work-for-hire with Reynolds. I did what needed to be done to support the Winston Cup Series and Reynolds’ history in the golden era of NASCAR.

“I am proud of what we did.”