For Will Spencer, racing has never been just a sport. It has been a part of his life for as long as he can remember.
Long before he was building a career in the motorsports industry, Will was a kid on a Honda Mini-Trail Z50 discovering the thrill of going fast. That early fascination would eventually grow into a lifelong connection to racing, from dirt bikes to NASCAR and everything in between.
Will’s first NASCAR race came in 1971 at the North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina. In between turns one and two, Will watched Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough go at it for the win, and the experience left an impression that never really went away.
“That was the first NASCAR ‘WinCup’ race of the 33-year sponsorship,” said Will. “Watching them race was exhilarating and I fell in love with the sport.”
A Career Built Around Racing
Will eventually turned that passion into a career, founding JKS Motorsports Inc. (now JKS Incorporated), a company that has spent decades working behind the scenes in the racing world. From custom graphics and track painting to displays and authentic race cars, JKS Inc. has helped brands show up at the track in a way that feels genuine to racing fans.
His work also gave him a front-row seat to an important era in NASCAR history, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s 33-year sponsorship of the NASCAR Cup Series.
That history eventually inspired another project: The Win Cup Museum, which showcased Will’s personal collection of authentic race cars and memorabilia from what many fans consider to be the “Golden Era” of the NASCAR Cup Series. The museum welcomed visitors for more than a decade before closing in 2023.
But closing the museum didn’t mean putting the brakes on Will’s passion for racing. It simply opened the door to the next lap.
From Race Cars to Infused Beverages
Rather than creating a beverage brand and looking for a connection to motorsports afterward, WinCup was built with that connection in mind from the start. The result is a line of cannabis-infused beverages designed to fit naturally into the world Will has known for decades.
“The idea to use my experience came from realizing that I had spent a great deal of time and effort helping other brands build their brand awareness,” said Will. “I saw an opportunity to take all the experience from people I had met along the way, like Kathryn Garner and Jim Frank (TW Garner), Doug Agee with Goody’s Headache Powders, Bobby Merritt and Mike Goodman with Southeastern Foods, all of whom helped support my Busch Grand National cars in the late 1980s and early 1990s.”
Will also says that his corporate experience in sports marketing, which came from working alongside R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and their 33-year sponsorship with the NASCAR Cup Series, lent inspiration to the WinCup brand.
“The bridge between cannabis and marketing a product came when I realized there was a gap in the market where THC products are not being marketed and branded to appeal to race fans, and that demographic is already a huge supporter of the THC community,” said Will. “It seemed like a natural fit and I reached out to my good friends at Celestial Wellness, Tyler White and Lisa McMullen, who helped me bring the idea to life.”
For Will, the connection isn’t difficult to see. Motorsports has always been about experiences, community, and personality. Race fans have their drivers, teams, traditions, and rituals. They show up for the competition, but they also show up for the atmosphere and the people around them.
WinCup is intended to be a part of that culture.
Made for People Who Love Racing as Much as We Do
WinCup brings together Will’s decades of motorsports experience with a new category of beverage, creating something that feels right at races, events, and other places where people come together around their shared passion for motorsports.
“Race fans are loyal and recognize authenticity,” said Will. “Many people make the assumption that race fans aren’t savvy, but the numbers tell a different story. Support the sport they love, and they will support you.”
Will is also a big believer in the idea that race fans are eager for reminders of the glory days of racing, or, as the saying goes, “when racing was racing.”
“It’s really interesting how so many race fans are wearing vintage shirts and hats from the 1990s and 2000s,” said Will. “WinCup harkens back to that era and combines it with a modern day product that has become mainstream in our lives with Boomers, GenX, Millennials, and GenZ.”
From the first time Will watched Petty and Yarborough battle it out at “The Rock” to decades spent working within the racing industry, the road to the WinCupZone has been a long one. And if there is one thing we know about Will, it’s that he’s not finished yet.
The green flag has dropped on a new venture, and we’re excited to see where this one takes us. Learn more about our lineup of beverages, and how you can get your hands on them, by clicking here.