In the second and final installment of our interview, legendary NASCAR independent Jimmy Means remembers his one-race deal with Hendrick Motorsports, the wrecks that finally convinced him to quit driving, working as a crew chief for Bud Moore and finally making it to victory lane with Ed Berrier. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid dig into the October 15, 1987 issue of Grand National Scene. The paper featured coverage of Bill Elliott's fall Charlotte win and a rash of accid...
Sep 09, 2020•1 hr 12 min
In the first of our two-part interview, Jimmy Means sits down with hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid to discuss his career as an independent driver and team owner. Before getting down to business, Rick discovers that Jimmy's mom worked at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, the same Army base on which he was born a LONG, LONG time ago. Jimmy then turns his attention to busting Steve's chops a little bit over a long-ago joke. In our second segment, Rick and Steve dig into the April 23, 1987 ...
Sep 02, 2020•57 min
In the conclusion to our conversation, former Winston Cup team owner Larry McClure remembers an acrimonious split with Ernie Irvan, two Daytona 500 wins with Sterling Marlin, his team's departure from the sport and an incredibly trying time in his own life. Our Issue of the Week takes a deep look into the September 9, 1993 Winston Cup Scene, which featured coverage of Mark Martin's Southern 500 victory, his fourth win in a row. The issue also covered Irvan's overnight move from Morgan-McClure Mo...
Aug 26, 2020•59 min
In the second installment of our interview, former Winston Cup team owner Larry McClure describes his team's short-lived association with driver Phil Parsons, before turning to Ernie Irvan very early in the 1990 season. It was with Irvan that Morgan-McClure Motorsports got its first taste of true success on the race track ... and vice versa. Irvan won his and his team's first race at Bristol in the fall of that same season, and then the Daytona 500 just a few months later. With that competitiven...
Aug 19, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Once upon a time, Morgan-McClure Motorsports was one of NASCAR's most prominent teams. This week, team owner Larry McClure recalls the team's rise from the most humble of beginnings in and around the Abingdon, Virginia area. Incredibly, current NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin was one of the team's very first drivers, with some wondering if he was tough enough to manhandle a full-sized NASCAR stock car. A subsequent driver pick came down to another future NASCAR Hall of Famer, Davey Allison, and...
Aug 12, 2020•1 hr 12 min
In this extraordinary conclusion to our interview, Larry McReynolds describes his tumultuous tenure with Richard Childress Racing and driver Dale Earnhardt. They did win the 1998 Daytona 500 together, but also endured one of the driest spells of Earnhardt's career. Ultimately, McReynolds would be moved over to helm Mike Skinner's RCR efforts before moving on to the Fox broadcast booth. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid dig into the June 11, 1998 issue of Winston Cup Scene,...
Aug 05, 2020•1 hr 41 min
In this powerfully emotional episode, Larry McReynolds remembers the devastating loss of his best friend, Davey Allison, and the life-threatening injuries sustained by Ernie Irvan the very next year. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid then remember the late, great Maurice Petty.
Jul 29, 2020•1 hr 19 min
In this installment of our second interview with Larry McReynolds, he talks about his run with Robert Yates Racing and the late, great Davey Allison. The discussion covered everything from McReynolds' decision to make the move from Kenny Bernstein’s team to Robert Yates Racing … to his decision NOT to make the move … then his final decision TO pack up and Bernstein for Yates. It was a move that paid immediate dividends. Allison won five races after Larry Mac came on board in 1991 … and then came...
Jul 22, 2020•1 hr 16 min
In the conclusion of our conversation, Ricky Craven comes back from what many would consider the wilderness years of his career to win at both Martinsville and Darlington. In the episode's second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid dig into the March 20, 2003 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which featured coverage of Craven's thrilling win over Kurt Busch at Darlington, an equally-as-thrilling conclusion to the track's Busch Series event between Todd Bodine and Jamie McMurray and a large pack...
Jul 15, 2020•1 hr 14 min
Mike Helton's career began at an AM radio station in his hometown of Bristol, Virginia. Twenty years later, he was the president of NASCAR. Helton describes that incredible journey for our very special 100th episode. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid chat with listeners Hallie Imrie, Joe Ruch, Jeff Marcosky, Jay Coker, Edwin Turner and Matt Miles about how the podcast reached the 100-episode milestone.
Jul 08, 2020•1 hr 45 min
In this incredible installment of our interview, Ricky Craven remembers the aftermath of two accidents -- the first at Talladega in 1996 and the second at Texas in 1997. And while Talladega was the more spectacular of the two mishaps, Craven's crash at Texas altered his career trajectory in a major way and left him doubting himself and his abilities for the first time in his career. In our second segment, co-hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid dissect the May 2, 1996 issue of Winston Cup Scene, wh...
Jul 01, 2020•1 hr 10 min
This week, Ricky Craven talks about his Busch North days, when he rolled like a tank through the 1991 season. He built on that success by moving South and running the Busch Series in 1992 through 1994, We discussed his friendship with Jeff Gordon and their shared sponsorship from DuPont, the exhaustion of running his own team and finally, his move to Winston Cup with team owner Larry Hedrick. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid then take a peek at the July 11, 1991 issue of Grand National Scene, w...
Jun 24, 2020•1 hr 14 min
In the third and final installment of our interview, DiGard Racing team owner Bill Gardner discusses the team's controversial win in the 1985 Firecracker 400 at Daytona with driver Greg Sacks, the end of the team's run in the sport and, ultimately, its place in NASCAR history. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid also take a quick look at the new inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame before digging into the April 9, 1987 issue of Grand National Scene, which features coverage of Dale Earnhardt's do...
Jun 17, 2020•1 hr 14 min
In the second installment of our interview with DiGard Racing owner Bill Gardner, we discuss the crushing disappointment of losing out on the 1979 Winston Cup championship; the on-again, off-again relationship with Buddy Parrott; Darrell Waltrip's departure from the team; the 1982 "Bumper-gate" controversy; Bobby Allison's 1983 Winston Cup championship; and a sugar residue that was discovered in Allison's fuel cell at Riverside in that year's season finale. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid also...
Jun 10, 2020•1 hr 14 min
DiGard Racing was one of the most successful ... and controversial ... NASCAR teams of the 1970s and 80s, and team owner Bill Gardner addressed it all in his interview with The Scene Vault Podcast hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid. In this week's installment, Gardner remembers how it all began over a game of pinochle, his parting of the ways with Donnie Allison and the beginnings of what would turn out to be a tumultuous relationship with Darrell Waltrip. In our second segment, Rick and Steve di...
Jun 03, 2020•1 hr 12 min
In the third and final installment of our interview, Darrell Waltrip talks about everything from his rough start with the Dream Team at Hendrick Motorsports, his 1989 Daytona 500 win and The 1989 The Winston controversy with Rusty Wallace to his really bad broken leg at Daytona the following year, when he was also planning his OWN team, his 1991 flip at Daytona and, eventually, the end of his driving career. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid dig into the crammed-pack Febru...
May 27, 2020•1 hr 30 min
After a very expensive buyout of his contract with DiGard Racing, Darrell Waltrip joined the famed Junior Johnson & Association for the 1981 Winston Cup season. Because of his often-heated rivalry with Cale Yarborough, the team's former driver, Waltrip wasn't accepted with open arms at first. Winning, however, has a way of warming up even the coolest of relationships ... and Waltrip did plenty of winning at Junior Johnson & Associates. Still, it wasn't enough to keep him from being booed...
May 20, 2020•1 hr 27 min
Darrell Waltrip was one of the centerpieces of the NASCAR universe for nearly 20 years. In the first of our three-part Zoom interview, DW discusses everything from the early days of his career through the crushing disappointment of losing out on the 1979 Winston Cup championship ... and a good many things in between. In our second segment, we go back in time to the July 21, 1977 Grand National Scene, which featured coverage of DW's crazy victory at Nashville and a scathing column by publisher an...
May 13, 2020•1 hr 8 min
In this week's episode of The Scene Vault Podcast, Lake Speed wins at Darlington Raceway in 1988. He subs for Davey Allison at Robert Yates Racing, then goes full time with Bud Moore and Melling Racing … and gets punched by Michael Waltrip at Michigan. His reaction to that is one of the funniest lines we’ve heard here on The Scene Vault Podcast. Finally, Lake remembers the injuries that led to the end of his Winston Cup career. Also, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid take a look at the March 31,...
May 06, 2020•1 hr 23 min
Lake Speed gets his start at the Winston Cup level, where he finds mentors in Darel Dieringer and Shelton "Runt" Pittman. He has a life-changing experience en route to a third-place finish at Talladega in 1983, then makes the decision to move to a team owned by Butch Mock and Bob Rahilly for 1985. Lake ends up with a second-place showing in the 1985 Daytona 500, one of the most emotional experiences of his long and storied career in NASCAR. After parting ways with Rahmoc early the following seas...
Apr 29, 2020•1 hr 21 min
Lake Speed grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, the son of a popular businessman and one-term mayor of the city. Introduced to Go-Karts at a young age, Lake took his first steps in a lifetime of racing, a career that first saw him chase the dream of a World Karting Association world championship. Once he reached that impossible goal, Lake began seeking out a new challenge. He found it in NASCAR, but not before facing one of the most bizarre finishes in motorsports history at the end of the 1980 ARCA...
Apr 22, 2020•1 hr 21 min
After his tenure with Roush Racing came to a disappointing end, Steve Hmiel's next stop was Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, where he experienced Earnhardt's at time rough-and-gruff leadership style first-hand. Sadly, he was also a part of the DEI family at the time of the 2001 Daytona 500, a moment in time that changed the course of NASCAR history. Steve also discusses the heart-breaking injury sustained by his son Shane, and his reaction to it. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve W...
Apr 15, 2020•1 hr 9 min
Roush Fenway Racing eventually became one of NASCAR's most influential teams, but the going wasn't always smooth in the earliest days of the organization. In this episode, Steve Hmiel remembers the tug-of-war that sometimes took part between Michigan and North Carolina, the team's controversial penalty at Richmond early in the 1990 season and the disappointment of losing that year's Winston Cup championship. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid then dive into the October 26, 1989 issue of Winston C...
Apr 08, 2020•1 hr 12 min
Steve Hmiel started work for Petty Enterprises the day after a controversial race at Dover in which Richard Petty made up six laps ... with the help of Buddy Arrington ... before capturing the victory. It's been a wild ride ever since for Hmiel, who in this episode describes his early days with the team, a move to Hagan Racing, the 1984 Winston Cup championship and silencing the skeptics by taking a show car to victory lane at Rockingham. In our second segment, the March 6, 1986 issue of Grand N...
Apr 01, 2020•1 hr 10 min
In the third and final installment of our interview, Jeff Burton remembers parting ways with Roush Racing and joining Richard Childress Racing, his return to victory lane and an eventual move to the broadcast booth. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid also crack open the September 4, 1997 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which covered Jeff Gordon's iconic Winston Million win. That victory, however, came after a hard-fought, late-race battle with Burton. The race also featured a post-race conspiracy the...
Mar 25, 2020•1 hr 12 min
Jeff Burton talks a contract conundrum with Bill and Mickey Stavola, his move to Roush Racing, the glory years with that operation and his controversial role in the intense safety debates of the years 2000 and 2001. In the second segment of this packed episode, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid dig into the September 21, 2000 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which features coverage of those safety issues and Burton's flag-to-flag win at New Hampshire.
Mar 19, 2020•1 hr 15 min
Long before he ever stepped foot in a television broadcast booth, Jeff Burton was just another up-and-coming hotshoe hoping to make his mark in big-time automobile racing. In this week's installment of our conversation with Jeff, he takes us back to his humble beginnings in the sport … and a time in his career where he had worked himself very near the precipice of utter exhaustion. In our second segment, hosts Steve Waid and Rick Houston leaf through the June 17, 1993 issue of Winston Cup Scene,...
Mar 12, 2020•1 hr
There's really only one word that can full describe Ken Schrader and his career -- and that's racer. A competitor who has driven one kind of race car or another for a full 50 years now, Schrader began his Winston Cup career with Elmo Langley and Junie Donlavey. After that, he moved to Hendrick Motorsports, where his career took off in earnest. In this in-depth interview, Schrader remembers the highs ... and lows ... of a career spent behind the wheel. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston an...
Mar 05, 2020•1 hr 21 min
In the last of our three-part interview, Kyle Petty discusses his 1991 broken leg, the memorable last-lap of the 1992 The Winston all-star race, parting ways with Sabco Racing and a late-night conversation with Dale Earnhardt. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid then pick through the August 21, 1994 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which features coverage of Geoff Bodine's dominant win at Pocono and a story written by Rick and photographed by his longtime friend and former NASCAR crewman Jamie Reynolds...
Feb 27, 2020•1 hr 5 min
After Ryan Newman’s vicious crash in Monday's Daytona 500, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid just didn't feel right about releasing an episode in which they'd be laughing and cutting up ... as usual. Although they’d already recorded once this week, they got back together to discuss Newman, safety and their memories of some really bad weekends. Afterward came the very best news of all ... Newman had been released from the hospital, a walking and talking miracle if ever there was one!
Feb 20, 2020•22 min
