WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — This will be the last few weeks to go see the Winston Cup Museum where it will be under one roof and intact.
Christy Cox Spencer and Will Spencer are the owners of the museum.
Christy said her husband Will began collecting the memorabilia, before turning it into a museum.
"When Reynolds got out of the sport in 2003, I think Will just felt like he had this ability to create a space where we could memorialize this wonderful part of NASCAR history," said Christy Cox Spencer.
After renovating an old building, Christy said they opened the doors to the new museum.
"We opened the doors to the museum in May 2005, Will had a big press conference and he said, 'This is a gift to the city of Winston-Salem and a way to say thank you to RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company,' because they were the mainstay of our business for many, many years and created an opportunity for us to have a thriving business," said Christy.
Christy said the museum was a way to bring people together and not forget an important part of the glory days of racing.
"One of Will's favorite things is flipping through that book and seeing the comments from visitors," she said. "We've had people from Germany, from Switzerland, from China and it really has impacted a global standpoint."
The owners Will and Christy Spencer said after assessing the museum's current financial condition and the expenses required to rebrand the museum, they have decided to close the brick-and-mortar version of the museum permanently. It will close on December 16th, 2023.
"This is very personal and it's almost like a death," said Christy. "Will is very sad that this has this it's come to this, so for him to sell anything, it's hard."
“History is hard to preserve and even harder to save and I am grateful I did my part for 19 years," Will Spencer, Winston Cup Museum Founder said.
This comes after the business had to shut down because of a lawsuit. ITG Brands claimed it owns all the copyrights to Winston Cup images. The lawsuit claimed the museum filed for trademark rights and wanted to profit off the logo.
Since then, the museum reopened and was working to change its name to 'The Ralph Seagraves Memorial Museum.
"After the past couple of years, we just can't afford to keep it open and we've got to reinvent ourselves," said Christy. "We've spent the past couple of years dealing with this litigation and so now the time has come to move forward. It's just not feasible for us to continue to operate the museum. The museum has never been a money generator. It was never designed to be a revenue generator was really a way to fuel Will's passion for the motorsports industry and give hardcore race fans a place to come and see some unique pieces of history."
"This is not a decision we have come to lightly, but it is the necessary end of 19 wonderful years preserving racing history," said owner Will Spencer.
The owners said the end of the brick-and-mortar museum does not mean an end to preserving racing history and stories and staying tuned into 2024 for their next steps.
Currently, there is an outpour of support from the many people who went to the museum. They said it's sad to see.
"I am going to miss it because it showcases NASCAR history from 1971 up to 2003 and it's a great place to go," said Brad Byerly, who has gone to the museum. "There is lots of history showing the 70s, 80s, 90s, through 2000s, and it meant a lot for our sport having everything right there in one place. It's a great place to take your family and show them around, really going to miss seeing all of that history in one museum, very thankful they've been open since 2005 and it is sad to see them go."
"It's like the loss of a family member because we've come to love the people and the purpose that the Winston Cup Museum exists for, to preserve the history of the Winston Cup Racing Period," said Vicki Lucas. "It's a very personal museum and the collection is some of the most beautiful, personal, memorable things we've seen, we appreciate it and we're going to miss this place a lot."
Her son Alex Lucas agreed and said he had a lot of good memories there.
"I like the cars, they let me sit in one the last time we were there," said Alex Lucas.
Robert Drum is from Jacksonville and said it's a shame to see it disappear.
"It's going to be a shame that the Winston Cup Museum is going to have to shut down because there is so much history in that building of where the sport started and how it progressed over the years," Drum said.
There is a chance to own part of the racing history. The owners will be auctioning off the majority of the collection with Mecum Auto Auctions in Florida from January 2nd through January 14th.
"We believe we probably have the largest personal collection of racing memorabilia that's ever been housed under one roof that's going to go up for auction," said Christy. "One of the best things about race fans is that they are loyal and are really passionate about this and so the real hardcore race fans are going to have an opportunity to purchase assets out of the museum with Mecum Auctions."
The Winston Cup Museum opened in 2005, two years after Winston and R.J. Reynolds stopped sponsoring the NASCAR Cup Series.