Beloved North Carolina NASCAR Museum Set To Reopen
For many years in sports, the greatest of trophies had names that were synonymous with their sports. For example, everyone knows The Lombardi Trophy is handed out to The Super Bowl winner. The Stanley Cup is awarded to the winner of hockey’s championship. And for decades, if you won the season long points series in NASCAR, you won The Winston Cup. Beginning in 1971 and ending in 2003, the RJ Reynold’s Tobacco Company was the title sponsor for the sport.
Since then, there have been many names and sponsors and to be honest, I’m not sure I could tell you who the latest is. That thirty plus year period was a golden era in auto racing in our country and specifically, the south. It has been immortalized with The Winston Cup Museum in downtown Winston-Salem. The museum opened in 2005 and houses many race cars as well as other cherished memorabilia and artifacts from that beloved Winston Cup era of NASCAR. However, lawyers got involved with fans’ joy.
The company that purchased the Winston brand, ITG Brands LLC, wants the assets of the museum saying they belong to them. Oh, boy. The Winston Cup Museum was forced to close on July 3 due to a temporary injunction that required the museum to close. The lawsuit continues, but the museum will now reopen on September 1, and resume operations during its normal business hours. Also, there will be NEW merch and features for fans to see and enjoy.
It’s become a legal case of “he said/she said” between the two parties. No common ground has been reached. Another mediation hearing between the Winston Cup Museum’s lawyers and ITG is slated for next month. Ugh. Can someone please tell lawyers to stay out of the joy fans get from their favorite sports. I think I speak for all sports fans when I say we’re not fans of lawyers.
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