Since 1949, the champion of NASCAR’s racing series was determined by a points system in which each driver earned a certain number of points based on how they finished in each race. Over the decades the series and its championship trophy have gone by several names, but today it is remembered by the name it carried during NASCAR’s most popular era – The Winston Cup. Cigarette maker R.J. Reynolds began sponsoring the races in 1970 and the award presented to the circuit’s top driver every year became known as the “Winston Cup.”

This towering trophy represents the second of Jeff Gordon’s four Winston Cup wins. Measuring 10” x 23” x 34,” the trophy has “1997 NASCAR Winston Cup Champion, Jeff Gordon” engraved on a plaque attached to the base with a second plate featuring Gordon’s portrait and “Hendrick Motorsports” engraved. A “NASCAR Winston Cup Series” logo plate is affixed above the portrait and the whole piece is topped off with a trio of gold-colored urns surmounted with the Winston “W” logo on a shield. The Winston Cup would change its title sponsor a few years later when tobacco endorsements fell out of favor and NASCAR did not renew R.J. Reynolds’ sponsorship. A visually impactful piece that represents the greatest achievement in NASCAR and won by one of the sport’s most accomplished drivers.