Winston Cup Museum

A few years ago, Will Spencer had a vision. Having worked within the NASCAR family for decades, Spencer had a deep knowledge of how NASCAR had grown over the years; he had been an integral part of it. Spencer's company, JKS Motorsports, was responsible for a great deal of the signage seen at NASCAR races including everything from pre-race stages to the victory-lane backdrops seen on television when the winning driver climbs out of his car after the race. JKS also managed show car programs for sponsors, painted racecars and team trucks and managed show cars for NASCAR's championship celebration in New York.

For decades, Spencer directed these responsibilities for his longtime client, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Having seen firsthand the tremendous contributions RJR had made to the sport, Spencer hoped to someday create a museum that chronicled NASCAR's formative years. When RJR began its NASCAR sponsorship, the sanctioning body was struggling to stay in business. The sponsorship dollars from RJR began flowing in 1971 and immediately upgraded the sport. Those dollars built grandstands and media centers, painted the track buildings and walls red and white, the colors of the Winston cigarette brand and made the sport more professional. NASCAR didn't have marketing or media personnel at that time, so RJR managed those responsibilities until NASCAR took over in those areas in the mid 1990s. The infusion of RJR dollars and marketing savvy eventually propelled NASCAR into the American sports mainstream where today, it is the country's No. 1 spectator sport and No. 2 sport on television.

Spencer's vision for a museum quickly turned into a plan when RJR decided to end its 33-year NASCAR sponsorship following the 2003 season. The city of Winston-Salem, N.C., home to both RJR and JKS Motorsports, was undergoing a downtown revitalization effort. Spencer's Winston Cup Museum would become a part of that effort. He purchased an old car dealership building from the city and began the renovation. Construction began in November of 2004 and was completed in April. A VIP Ribbon Cutting ceremony, held on May 10, 2005, commemorated the opening of the museum.

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