Down the stretch: Victory Lane Collectibles works to sell its parts
Published 12:00 am Sunday, July 2, 2023
Debbie Yancey still remembers her husband Ed selling items from his store, "He was trying to do things that, 'What would help sell this?' 'What would help sell that?' He always liked Elvis Presley." Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
One of the most sought after items available is the front end to one of Dale Earnhardt's racecars. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
Victory Lane Collectibles has a unique variety of NASCAR items available for an online auction. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
People can bid on autographed helmets. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
This commemorative magazine is a tribute to the late NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
All of the items need to be categorized and assigned a number for people to bid on them. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
Classic Goodyear tires are available. Brad Dountz/Salisbury Post.
SALISBURY — In 2021, the owner of the NASCAR memorabilia store Victory Lane Collectibles, Ed Yancey, passed away. “He was always a NASCAR fan. We went to races. Went to Wilkesboro close by, we went all the way around. He loved to go to Florida and Daytona. Bobby Allison probably was his favorite driver…We just went from there,” Ed’s wife Debbie said.
The Yanceys operated Victory Lane Collectibles on East Innes Street for 25 years. Soon after Ed started his own NASCAR collection, he realized how many people wanted to trade and do business with him.
“I had two bedrooms full of merchandise and I said, ‘Don’t you think this is getting a little bit out of hand?'” Debbie said.
Victory Lane Collectibles would turn into a hub for local NASCAR fans to visit, but ever since Ed passed, Debbie has been working on selling all of the leftover merchandise. The shop is still full of model cars, helmets, posters, signs, hats, tires and even soda bottles.
Debbie has hired Swicegood Group, Inc., a real estate and asset marketing firm that specializes in offering property for sale. They are working together to hold an online auction for all of the unsold items sitting at Victory Lane.
Swicegood has had groups of people come to the store to categorize anything that will bring in the most money. The company mostly handles personal property in people’s homes, so they don’t work in these kind of stores too often.
“Coming into a store like this, it was an undertaking, but it was very neat because I’m a big NASCAR fan myself. Getting to see the history of a store like this was really cool,” Richard Bowles, an employee at Swicegood said. “It was an overwhelming store with the amount of merchandise. When we got into the back, there was as much back there as there was in the front.”
Bowles and his team have been working for three-and-a-half weeks and have cataloged nearly 1,400 items and expect to have 1,500 once they are done. Bowles says the goal is to have each lot include different items depending on what they are. “It makes it easier for us and it makes it easier for our bidders because our bidders do not want to look through a catalog of 5,000 items,” Bowles said.
Once the store is fully sectioned off, categorized and cataloged, it will go online for three weeks so people from all over the country can bid. In the past year, Victory Lane has had around three NASCAR-related auctions, allowing them to sell to most states and to test the market. “Our customers are actually anticipating this store, they’re kind of waiting. We’ve had numerous calls about, ‘When’s it going on?’ When’s it going on?'” Bowles said.
The auction has already begun and is expected to end in mid-July with the hopes that it will bring in around $40,000-$50,000. Bowles believes it will take two days for all of the sold items to be picked up and shipped.
“I’m hoping to at least make even, I’m hoping I don’t take a loss. Hey, that’s what it is,” Debbie said.
“When we’re done, we’re hoping that she’s happy. That’s kind of our goal,” Bowles said.
