The Scene Vault Podcast

Following the recent news that NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip is stepping further away from public life, we wanted to do something different this week. This isn’t a rundown of wins, championships, and statistics. It’s a chance to spend some time with one of the biggest personalities NASCAR has ever known. In this special episode of The Scene Vault Podcast, we look back on Darrell Waltrip’s r...

This episode is special for a couple of reasons. First, Eddie Nau was a weekend warrior for several years with Junior Johnson and Associates and then for Kranefuss-Haas. But then also … his full-time weekday job was as an officer with the New York City Police Department … which put him in the city … on September 11, 2001 … and he DID respond to the attacks that day. You’re not going to forget this...

This week in the first of what will be two installments, host Rick Houston sat down with Eddie Nau (pronounced NOW) last week to talk about his time working with Junior Johnson & Associates as a weekend warrior and his full-time job as a New York City police officer. That’s this week. NEXT week … Eddie was THERE on 9/11. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You probably don't know the name Dick Conway, but he was one of the greatest motorsports photographers ever AND one of the most influential marketing/public relations representatives in the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s Busch Series garage. More importantly to our story, Dick was also an incredibly important figure in host Rick Houston's own journey in the sport. Enjoy this candid conversation betwee...

To honor the 25th anniversary of 9/11, we share one of the most powerfully poignant interviews in The Scene Vault Podcast archives featuring former Hendrick Motorsports crew member and FDNY hero Scottie Maxwell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After going through the Mark Martin interview in our last three episodes, we’ll return to Mark Melling this week and finish up with him. In this episode, Mark Melling talks about his determination to continue racing in the wake of his dad Harry’s untimely death ... Jerry Nadeau’s move to Hendrick Motorsports ... Melling Racing’s move to Dodge ... Chad Knaus and … ultimately … how the attacks of 9/...

Episode 411 -- NASCAR Hall of Famer on Losing 1990 Championship, Relationship with Dale Earnhardt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week in our conversation with NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin … if there’s anything you need to know about what makes Mark tick, or how he became the man that he is today, you HAVE to listen to this segment without a doubt. When Mark talks about hitting rock bottom in this special episode, he doesn’t hold anything back. It’s not sugar coated during this interview … and it’s not whitewashed i...

This week in the first of what will be installments of our epic interview, NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin remembers his extraordinary ... yet ultimately dysfunctional ... upbringing with a larger-than-life father and "bad ass" mother. Mark also takes us through his meteoric rise through the ASA ranks and successful first season at the Winston Cup level ... right up to the point of reaching the a...

This week, Mark Melling talks about the 1988 Winston Cup championship … Bill Elliott’s decision to leave Melling Racing to join Junior Johnson and Associates … and what it all meant in the aftermath … and how Lake Speed added a much-needed shot of stability to the organization. Hosts Rick Houston and Tony Liberati then dive into the August 8, 1996 issue of Winston Cup Scene. Dale Jarrett outlasts...

This week in the first of what will be three installments, Mark Melling remembers a day at the race track with his dad … HARRY Melling … and how that day sparked Harry’s interest in maybe getting into the sport a little … or A LOT deeper. He talks about a water-balloon war with David Ifft and the rest of MC Anderson’s crew; his dad’s decision to back the Elliott clan from down in Dawsonville way;...

Steve Waid's celebration of life was held Wednesday, July 15 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. Be our guest at the service on this very special episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rick Houston is joined this week by guest co-host Graig Hoffman, executive director at North Wilkesboro Speedway. This week in the third and final installment of our interview, Jimmy Makar remembers saying goodbye to Dale Jarrett as the driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, saying hello to DJ’s replacement, Bobby Labonte and what it was like to sit at the head table at the Winston Cup awards banquet. Rick...

Jimmy Makar takes listeners through the turbulent Blue Max Racing era with Rusty Wallace, which means financial trouble, the disappointment of losing the Winston Cup championship, MORE financial trouble, WINNING the Winston Cup championship and … you guessed it … financial trouble that would bring the team to its knees. He stays with Rusty and new owner Roger Penske, but only long enough to face a...

This week … Jimmy Makar, Part One. And IN Jimmy Makar, Part One, Jimmy talks about being a fan from the second his was born and how his dad Jim’s tenure as a Winston Cup team owner was short-lived but somehow also managed to sow the seeds for a lifetime in the sport. Jimmy takes us along for the ride on the road trip from hell to beat ALL road trips from hell. He tells us about working for Robert...

NOTE: This episode and all to follow are dedicated to the memory of the late, great Steve Waid. Newly slenderized Michael McSwain joins host Rick Houston to discuss a whopper of an unfiltered Tim Brewer interview. This week, Brewer drops not one … not two … but three MAJOR bombshells about qualifying for the 1992 Daytona 500 and the iconic NASCAR’s Greatest Race … the 1992 Hooters 500. Rick and Mi...

Steve Waid, this one's for you.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's not the 400th episode celebration we had planned ... but it's a celebration of life, nonetheless. Hosts Rick Houston and Jeffrey Baker remember the late, great champion driver, iconic broadcaster, NASCAR Hall of Fame, and even better human being ... Ned Jarrett. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NOTE: Co-host Steve Waid is under the weather and won't be on the podcast this week. At this point, we're not quite sure when he might be able to return. Prayers would be sincerely appreciated. This week, in the third and final installment of our interview, Jeffrey Baker tells us about a fuel incident at Talladega, a penalty the very next week at California, an ACRIMONIOUS split with Jeremy Mayfie...

Former Las Vegas Motor Speedway President and General Manager Chris Powell and Toyota Racing Development's Joe Dan Bailey join hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid to remember the man, the myth, the enigma ... Kyle Busch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week in the second installment of our interview, Jeffrey Baker gives us an insider’s view of the Tabasco Fiasco, rooting AGAINST Dale Earnhardt in the closing laps of the 1998 Daytona 500 and the best advice he’s EVER received in NASCAR. We then dig into the May 14, 1998 issue of Winston Cup Scene. Teammates Rusty Wallace and Jeremy Mayfield are featured as the cover story in this issue, in a...

This week in our first segment … I sat down with Jeffrey Baker in our studio at the Universal Technical Institute in Mooresville … actually … back a few months ago. If you’ve been wondering WHY we asked Jeffrey to join our little family as one of our co-hosts, our conversation during that interview IS WHY. You’re going to hear stories you’ve NEVER heard before … told in a way that you’ve never hea...

This week in the third and final installment of our epic conversation with Ben Leslie, we discuss: Superstar drivers with ego … and DRIVERS with ego Mark Martin’s massive influence at Roush Racing And MORE good ol’ fashioned cheating stories. In our second segment, we'll dive into the September 29, 1983 issue of Grand National Scene. Ricky Rudd and Richard Childress WHUP the field at Martinsville,...

For 25 years, not a single driver in NASCAR's top three national touring divisions has been fatally injured during a race. That isn't luck. That's a legacy written in tragedy. This is the Firestorm finale — the story of the most radical safety transformation in motorsports history, the truth behind the most persistent conspiracy theory in NASCAR, and the enduring question every fan carries: did th...

Blaise Alexander. Adam Petty. Kenny Irwin. Tony Roper. Dale Earnhardt. Five drivers lost in the darkest two seasons in NASCAR history — and only one of them gets the headlines. After 10 episodes and two and a half months, Firestorm is complete. This is where we land. In this series finale, Steve Waid and Rick Houston close the books on the most emotionally demanding project The Scene Vault Podcast...