This week's show begins with a simple challenge ... pay it forward. Do something nice for someone else, without any expectation of receiving anything in return. Will Lind got his start in the sport working with James Hylton, but he went on to have a LONG and successful career with Richard Childress Racing and was probably best known for changing rear tires on Dale Earnhardt’s Flying Aces/Junkyard Dogs pit crews of the late 1980s and early 90s. This week, Will talks about his hardcore early days ...
Jun 08, 2022•1 hr 26 min
NOTE: This episode contains vivid descriptions of the experience of combat. It may be too intense for some listeners. For this very special Memorial Day release, host Rick Houston had the honor of sitting down with Medal of Honor recipients Bob Patterson and Joe Marm to discuss their stories, their interest in NASCAR and why Bob is a big Kyle Busch fan. NOTE: This podcast is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Please consider supporting the p...
May 30, 2022•1 hr 12 min
In the epic third and final installment of our interview with longtime NASCAR crew chief Tim Brewer, Tim talks about his and Junior Johnson’s 1991 suspension after a big engine was found in their car at Charlotte. He also remembers Bill Elliott coming on board with the team in 1992 … the early success … and then the crushing disappointment of losing out on that year’s championship. And if you thought Tim didn’t hold anything back in the first two installments of our interview … THIS episode is t...
May 25, 2022•1 hr 27 min
This week in the second installment of our interview with longtime … and outspoken … NASCAR crew chief Tim Brewer, Tim talks about his move to M.C. Anderson and why he considers that to be the biggest mistake of his career. He also guides us through some tumultuous years financially with Blue Max Racing and Tim Richmond, during which it was left to HIM to cover checks to keep the team going. Then it was back to Junior Johnson & Associates, to work with drivers Neil Bonnett, Terry Labonte and...
May 18, 2022•1 hr 40 min
After some reactions to last week's release of CLIPS from our L.W. Wright interview, longime NASCAR crew chief Tim Brewer talks about his earliest days in racing at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, quitting school and hitting the road as a young teenager, the infamous Talladega boycott of 1969 and an encounter with NASCAR Founder Bill France Sr. Brewer got his big break when he went to work for an independent driver by the name of Richard Childress, before winding up with Junior Johnson &am...
May 11, 2022•1 hr 37 min
You know the legend of L.W. Wright. Now meet the man. The driver known as L.W. Wright made the first and only start of his Winston Cup career on May 2, 1982 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. He'd not been heard from in the FORTY YEARS since ... until now. May 2, 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of that iconic Talladega event, and for the first time ever, portions of an extensive interview with the man who went by the name L.W. Wright are being released ONLY on The Scene Vault Podcast. NOTE: ...
May 02, 2022•36 min
You know the legend of L.W. Wright. Now meet the man. The driver known as L.W. Wright made the first and only start of his Winston Cup career on May 2, 1982 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. He'd not been heard from in the FORTY YEARS since ... until now. Monday marks the 40th anniversary of that iconic Talladega event, and for the first time ever, portions of an extensive interview with the man who went by the name L.W. Wright will be released ONLY on The Scene Vault Podcast. Be sure to su...
Apr 29, 2022•4 min
After teasing next week's interview guest, we conclude our three-episode arc with Gil Martin’s cancer story. It’s powerful … because he went at his Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma (CTCL) diagnosis with the heart of a racer. If this doesn’t work, try that … over and over and over again. In honor of that cancer story … as we have in the past with others in the NASCAR community who have dealt with such serious issues … we let it stand on its own and forego our standard second segment. NOTE: This podcast ...
Apr 27, 2022•49 min
Big news in the world of NASCAR history this week ... the rebirth of North Wilkesboro Speedway, thanks to the efforts of a small group of Wilkes County diehards and Speedway Motorsports! In our first segment this week, we share the second installment of our interview with longtime NASCAR crew chief Gil Martin. Gil shares his memories of his first Winston Cup victory as a crew chief, which came in November 2001 at New Hampshire with Robby Gordon behind the wheel of the Richard Childress Racing Ch...
Apr 20, 2022•1 hr 13 min
This week ... host Rick Houston and his sons Jesse and Adam join listener Bill Stripling for a memorable weekend of decidedly Old School and frigid short-track racing at Martinsville Speedway. In the first of what will be three installments with longtime NASCAR Busch Series and Cup crew chief Gil Martin, he takes us through his very first days in the sport. A buddy of his needed help out at the old Nashville Fairgrounds Raceway … and Gil didn’t particularly want to go. But he went any way, a mov...
Apr 13, 2022•1 hr 29 min
This week in the third and final installment of our interview with Mike Beam, Mike talks about the struggles he continued to face in the wake of the loss of Mike Rich and a fiery accident involving Sterling Marlin. Despite those reservations, Mike eventually moved over to Bill Elliott’s Junior Johnson & Associates team, where he and Bill combined to give Junior the final Winston Cup victory of his career. Mike also takes listeners through the controversy the team endured during the leadup to...
Apr 06, 2022•1 hr 19 min
In this very emotional episode, longtime crew chief and team executive Mike Beam discusses what was THE most controversial moment of Richard Petty’s career … the 1983 fall race at Charlotte, after which a REALLY big engine was discovered under the hood of the Petty Enterprises Pontiac. He also talks about taking some time off to be Mr. Mom and refocus his priorities on his family. Mike then discusses the absolute devastation of losing teammate Mike Rich in a terrible accident during the 1990 Win...
Mar 30, 2022•1 hr 29 min
This week in the first of three installments of our interview with veteran crew chief and team executive Mike Beam, he talks about trying to break into the sport with Mike Laughlin, Butch Lindley, Harry Gant and Morgan Shepherd, before finally landing with Petty Enterprises. And … yes … he gives us HIS side of the story in the Great Lone Star Beer Escapade with Kyle Petty. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid take a peek at the June 11, 1981 issue of Grand National Scene. Ben...
Mar 23, 2022•1 hr 15 min
The Houston family makes it back from an epic trip to Las Vegas, a meeting with a Medal of Honor recipient and a treacherous jaunt on a skywalk overlooking the Grand Canyon! In the third and final installment of our interview with Johnny Benson, he talks … again … about his run in the truck series with Bill Davis Racing, his 2008 championship battle with Ron Hornaday, deciding to leave Bill’s team, an effort with Red Horse Racing that didn’t quite pan out and a really bad week he experienced in ...
Mar 16, 2022•1 hr 17 min
Snow in Las Vegas? Carrot Top? Oh, yeah. We've got it all in this week's episode! In the second installment of our interview with Johnny Benson, Johnny talks about his earliest days on the Winston Cup circuit with Bahari Racing, his rather difficult turn with Roush Racing, what might have been in the 2000 Daytona 500, his Mr. Nice Guy image, winning at Rockingham and parting ways with MB2 Motorsports. In our second segment, Johnny Benson wins the first Winston Cup race of his career at Rockingha...
Mar 09, 2022•1 hr 21 min
In the first of what will be three installments of our interview with Johnny Benson, he talks about the influence his father had on his life and career, rising up through the ranks despite the fact he was happy where he was at, his inauspicious Busch Series debut, beating Harry Gant for his first win in that division, his consistency winning out over Chad Little’s flashes of brilliance in the 1995 Busch Series title fight and agreeing to move to Winston Cup with Bahari Racing. Hosts Rick Houston...
Mar 02, 2022•1 hr 32 min
Middle Tennessee racing legend Mike Alexander takes us through the early years of his career, as well as a couple of attempts at establishing himself as a Winston Cup competitor. When those didn’t work out, Mike decided to take himself and his talents to the Busch Series, where he felt he had a better shot at running competitively with a team HE owned. Mike ran well at the level, got himself a couple of wins … and very nearly another, until a protest by his buddy Larry Pearson took it away. Mike...
Feb 23, 2022•1 hr 43 min
NOTE: Some parts of this episode may be too intense for some listeners. We’re sharing the third and final installment of our interview with John Dodson this week, and the conversation swings from hysterically funny to devastatingly emotional. John talks about the brawl between Rusty Wallace’s Blue Max Racing team and Darrell Waltrip’s Hendrick Motorsports crew that followed the 1989 edition of The Winston all-star race and his work at the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville. But then … Joh...
Feb 16, 2022•1 hr 12 min
In the second installment of our interview with John Dodson, he remembers the controversy surrounding three key employees of Junior Johnson & Associates making the move to M.C. Anderson’s team. Once there, team members were reportedly subject to being followed by detectives, in order to keep them on the straight and narrow. John also lets us in on another mass exodus, this time from Ranier to Blue Max Racing. Then, we have Tim Richmond stories and insider info on the trickery and financial s...
Feb 09, 2022•1 hr 37 min
You may know John Dodson as the younger brother of longtime NASCAR crew chief Barry Dodson, but he forged an incredible resume in the sport all his own. In the first of what will be three installments of an absolutely extraordinary conversation, John talks about growing up in a racing family with seven rambunctious siblings; breaking into NASCAR while still in high school; a wreck that left his hero Richard Petty battered and bruised; Maurice Petty; RCR BD (Richard Childress Racing Before Dale);...
Feb 02, 2022•1 hr 35 min
This week, we're honored to be joined by the one ... the only ... the iconic ... Mario Andretti to discuss his life and times in and around the world of NASCAR.
Jan 26, 2022•1 hr 32 min
This week in the third and final installment of our interview, Kenny Wallace talks about the success of 1994, leaving Filmar to drive for Andy Petree, his second-place finish to Dale Earnhardt at Talladega in October 2000, driving for DEI a year later and finally, his dirt racing career. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid then dig into the February 2, 1995 issue of Winston Cup Scene. The cover story on this preseason issue featured none other than Kenny Wallace … and I was faster than an Air Forc...
Jan 19, 2022•1 hr 14 min
In the second installment of our interview with Kenny Wallace, he talks us through his breakthough – and heartbreaking – 1991 Busch Series season. After battling Bobby Labonte for the championship, Kenny endured a devastating crash at New Hampshire late in the season. Then, during the offseason, a deal to move to Winston Cup falls through at the very last second. He lands on his feet and eventually moves to Cup with team owner Felix Sabates, but his rookie season doesn’t exactly pan out as expec...
Jan 12, 2022•1 hr 19 min
In our first episode of 2022, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid discuss Rick's bout with boredom during his COVID quarantine and an incredible Christmas gift given to him by a listener. Kenny Wallace is ... well ... Kenny Wallace. And that's basically all the summary anybody needs! In our second segment, Rick and Steve thumb through the May 3, 1990 episode of Winston Cup Scene, which featured coverage of Geoff Bodine’s win at Martinsville, his first for Junior Johnson. The victory came just two ...
Jan 05, 2022•1 hr 28 min
2022 is already shaping up to be one heck of a year for The Scene Vault Podcast ... and in this week's season finale, we share previews of conversations already in the can with Kenny Wallace, John Dodson and Mike Beam.
Dec 15, 2021•37 min
Our listeners sent in several questions for this special episode, and let’s just say that between Kyle Petty’s bootlegging and bull riding adventures and Steve Waid, Tom Higgins and the Knights of the Mystic Sea, this segment isn't going to be forgotten any time soon. We also did something a little different this week in our second segment. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid asked each other the questions they'd always wanted to know. The results were, at times, absolutely hysterical and at other...
Dec 08, 2021•1 hr 58 min
This week, we share the third and final installment of our interview with Rick Wilson. In this episode, he talks about the decision he made to leave Morgan-McClure Motorsports and how that might not have worked out in his favor; being on the outside of the sport looking in; and his run with Petty Enterprises. We do something a little different this week in our second segment, and it’s something for our REALLY old-school listeners. It’s a short interview conducted by iconic early NASCAR journalis...
Dec 01, 2021•1 hr 18 min
In this week's installment of our interview, Rick Wilson talks about his years with Morgan-McClure Motorsports and crew chief Tony Glover; his VERY close second-place finish to Bill Elliott in the 1988 Firecracker 400 at Daytona; what he coulda, shoulda, woulda done differently in that event if he had it to do all over again; and a bad crash at Richmond that left him with two broken feet and an all-time attempt to race the next week. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid then dig into the April 13, ...
Nov 24, 2021•1 hr 31 min
We share the first of what will be a three-part interview with Rick Wilson in this week's episode. Rick talks about his start in the sport; his relationship with Dick Hutcherson and A.J. Foyt; how a tragic accident during qualifying for the Indianapolis changed the trajectory of his career; the impact his win in the 1984 ARCA race at Daytona had on him; and finally, how a ride with Morgan-McClure Motorsports came down to Rick and a youngster by the name of Davey Allison. The February 16, 1984 Gr...
Nov 17, 2021•1 hr 7 min
In the wake of Kyle Larson's Cup title-clinching race at Phoenix, host Rick Houston re-introduces his revolutionary championship format. Trust us. It's something to behold. Our interview with former Bud Moore Engineering crew members Phil Thomas, Donnie Wingo and Harold Stott concludes this week, and they remember several different drivers who competed for the team and one in particular who butted heads with Bud. They also talk about the end of that incredible organization, and how difficult it ...
Nov 10, 2021•1 hr 8 min
