The Scene Vault Podcast

In the third and final installment of our interview, Joe Dan Bailey wins the 1990 Daytona 500 … and then goes to work for Richard Childress Racing, where he proudly shows off his ring for that infamous event.   With RCR, Joe Dan helps Dale Earnhardt win his sixth AND seventh Winston Cup championships. Still, in the topsy-turvy world of NASCAR, Joe Dan isn’t able to find career stability until goin...

This week, Joe Dan Bailey tries his hand at driving, but it doesn’t exactly work out the way he probably hoped. Still … he makes a name for himself as a top-notch crew member and finds himself in the midst of one of the most iconic   We then take a deep look into the July 5, 1990 issue of Winston Cup Scene.   Rob Moroso and Jack Pennington go after the 1990 Winston Cup rookie of the year title in...

We start off this week with our reaction to the BIG news that the 2025 Busch Clash will be run at the Madhouse, Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.   Then, in the first of what will be three installments, Joe Dan Bailey joins the show to remember his dad … the legendary NASCAR independent driver and successful Houston, Texas businessman H.B. Bailey.    We then dig into the June 1...

An incredible act of generosity has resulted in us landing complete sets of Winston Cup Scene and Winston Cup Illustrated AND approximately 1,200 cassette tapes containing hundreds of NASCAR radio broadcasts.   Enjoy this first listen to an extraordinary archive, almost certainly one of the largest held in a private collection.   NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Busi...

On the latest stop on the Moonshine & Motorsports trail, Rick visits with Marcus Neubacher of the North Carolina Transportation Museum. The museum is responsible for preserving some of the earliest history of cars and vehicles, and if it's North Carolina, you know that means motorsports! This is a collaboration between The Scene Vault Podcast and North Carolina’s Department of Cultural and Natural...

IMPORTANT NOTE: The audio quality of the David Smith interview in this episode is not up to our usual standards. We feel the importance of preserving David’s story outweighs those imperfections.  Faith was a part of who legendary Richard Childress Racing jackman David Smith was, and that fact comes through in this 1996 interview. Give it a listen ... and be taken straight to church! We then tackle...

This week in the final part of our interview, Dan Elliott talks about winning the 1988 Winston Cup championship despite tensions in the shop, the impact Mike Rich’s tragic passing had on his over-the-wall career and what amounted to the Taylor family packing up and moving out of Mayberry.   We then tackle the February 28, 1991 issue of Winston Cup Scene.   Dale Earnhardt and Ricky Rudd race for th...

In this episode, Rick stops by the Ashe County Museum to chat with historians Andrew Cole and Jerry Brown to find out the origins of the moonshiners going all the way back to their immigrant roots, plus a look at some of the other fabulous exhibits on offer at the museum. This is a collaboration between The Scene Vault Podcast and North Carolina’s Department of Cultural and Natural Resources made...

In the second installment of our interview, Dan Elliott talks about the polar opposite reactions he had to Melling Racing’s skyrocketing fame and success in the mid-1980s. Let’s just say it was the best of times and it was the worst of times.   He also discusses Darrell Waltrip’s mind games and a disastrous pit stop at Riverside.    We then dive into the November 12, 1987 issue of Grand National S...

This week in the first of what are three lengthy installments, Dan Elliott talks about the monumental impact of his father George on the family racing business, the desperate early struggles of that operation, Harry Melling coming on board to help stabilize the team, that first win at Riverside and laying the foundation for what took place in 1985.   We then tackle the April 28, 1983 issue of the...

In this episode, Rick sits down with Katie Sanford, a park ranger at North Carolina's beautiful Dismal Swamp State Park. One of the most recent additions to the Moonshine & Motorsports Trail, Dismal Swamp is not only smack dab in a neighborhood full of racing, it also hides a secret history of moonshiners who utilized the swamp as a haven for running shine decades ago.  This is a collaboration bet...

Ricky Rudd doesn’t talk about an infamous run-in with Jeff Gordon at Charlotte in this week’s installment of our interview, but WE do. Ricky wins the Brickyard 400, which brings up host Rick Houston's favorite story about him.   Ricky also puts on one of the most memorable exhibitions of bravery … if not outright stubbornness … in winning at Martinsville. We conclude by talking about the difficult...

Here’s what our listeners need to know about this week’s installment of our interview with Ricky Rudd.   We talk about his Busch CRASH and that astounding win two weeks later at Richmond, as well as his on-again, off-again relationship with Dale Earnhardt that was DEFINITELY off again in the late 80s at North Wilkesboro.   Ricky also discusses one of the most controversial finishes in NASCAR histo...

Newly elected NASCAR Hall of Famer Ricky Rudd joins us for an in-depth look at the earliest days of his career, when he went STRAIGHT from motocross to the Winston Cup circuit, with NO in between to get him prepped and ready.   He talks about the struggles he faced with his family owned team; leaving Nelson Malloch for SAFETY reasons; his take-it-or-leave-it salary at DiGard AND going to drive for...

In this episode, Rick chats with Todd Johnson of the Johnston County Museum about the secret history of moonshining in Johnston County and what you can discover for yourself at the County Museum. This is a collaboration between The Scene Vault Podcast and North Carolina’s Department of Cultural and Natural Resources made to spotlight the history of moonshine, motorsports, and the state of North Ca...

We went BIG with our 300th episode! Joined by legendary pit-road reporter, radio, and TV host Matt Yocum as a guest host, we also sit down with Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt's Flying Aces/Junkyard Dogs pit crew ... crew chief and NASCAR Hall of Famer Kirk Shelmerdine, Chocolate Myers, Will Lind, and Danny Lawrence. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Busin...

In this episode, Rick chats with Gray Garrison about the history - and now future - of racing at Bowman Gray Stadium. One of the most historically significant tracks in North Carolina, Bowman Gray was recently revealed to be coming back to the NASCAR racing schedule in the very near future. Rick talks to Gray about that and of course, what it's like to race at what has affectionately become known...

In a perfect world, Jocko Maggiacomo would be best remembered for having one of the greatest names in NASCAR history.   But that all changed in a split second … in the time that it took for Jocko to be involved in the crash that ended the driving career of the legendary Bobby Allison.  Today … we know Bobby’s story … we know that he was hurt very badly in a crash at Pocono … and that he never race...

This week … fresh out of host Rick Houston's mini-cassette stash … Ron Bouchard. In this nearly half-hour conversation, Ron talks about his first exposure to the sport, hooking up with car owner Jack Beebe, and that magical 1981 day at Talladega.   He also discusses a couple of opportunities that got away … and a couple that didn’t pan out quite the way he’d hoped. Finally, he takes us through his...

This is a collaboration between The Scene Vault Podcast and North Carolina’s Department of Cultural and Natural Resources made to spotlight the history of moonshine, motorsports, and the state of North Carolina. You can also listen to every episode of the Moonshine and Motorsports Racing Podcast on all your favorite podcast apps. For more, visit https://dailydownforce.com/moonshine-motorsports/ Le...

In the third and final installment of our interview with Sandy Jones, he discusses the meaning of REAL friendship and remembers an all-out Dukes of Hazzard-style car chase that our listeners will just have to hear to believe.   We then dig into the April 28, 1988 issue of Grand National Scene.   Dale Earnhardt wins at Martinsville after Lady Luck … once again … frowns upon Harry Gant. Sterling Mar...

We get things started off this week with a stunning find ... Rick's old mini-cassette tapes featuring interviews with a number of long-lost members of the NASCAR community.   Sandy Jones then remembers a team divided at Junior Johnson and Associates, Tim Brewer’s jaunt through Ingle Hollow, and parting ways with the team. He remembers his time with Darrell Waltrip and the Tide Ride, their 1989 Day...

This week in the first of what will be three installments, Sandy Jones remembers Jimmy "Smut" Means, the LONG road home from Pocono, his stint with D.K. Ulrich, and going to school at Junior Johnson University, where he was the new kid in Ingle Hollow … and treated like it.   We then tackle the April 3, 1980 edition of Grand National Scene.   Dale Earnhardt wins his second race in a row, early in...

This week in the third and final installment of our interview, Norman Negre remembers the mother of all road trips … and flights … with Bobby Allison … who, by the way … has 85 Grand National/Cup wins, not 84.   After that, we’ve got false teeth flying all over the place, while race cars AREN’T taking flight quite as much, thanks in part to Norman. We then dig into the June 15, 1995 issue of Winst...

Norman Negre didn't want to talk about whether or not nitrous played a part in Dale Earnhardt making the first start of his Winston Cup career … and I respected that … but we’ve since discussed it a little bit more … and he did admit that there were some things that he wanted to get straight. So … we met AGAIN … and we got the story straight from Norman.   This week in the second installment of ou...