The Scene Vault Podcast

In the second installment of our interview, Bobby Hamilton Jr. takes us through his grand master plan to get fired, joining team owner Ed Rensi, partnering up with crew chief Harold Holly, to use traction control or NOT to use traction control, the OTHER tricks of the trade and his plans for winning the 2003 Busch Series championship. Instead of an issue-of-the-week segment this week, I sat down w...

We’ve had interviews here on The Scene Vault Podcast … and then we’ve had INTERVIEWS … and this is the one you didn’t know you needed. In the first of three installments, Bobby Hamilton Jr. takes us through living life as the son of a Nashville racing legend, both on the track and away from it. We learn about him getting bit by the racing bug … and although his parents supported his racing habit …...

In the conclusion to our interview, Jeff Green talks us through making the very most … and then some … out of the opportunity of a lifetime with team owner Greg Pollex and crew chief Harold Holly. Jeff also discusses his rocky relationship with Kevin Harvick and his departure from Richard Childress Racing, his efforts with Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, his tenure with Richard Petty at Petty Enterpr...

In the first of what will be a two-part interview, Jeff Green talks about his high-school days with Michael Waltrip, his roller-coaster years with Dale Earnhardt Incorporated’s new full-time Busch Series program and finally reaching victory lane with Diamond Ridge Motorsports. We then dig into the March 20, 1997 issue of Winston Cup Scene.  Bruton Smith sits down with newly elected National Motors...

In the second and final installment of our interview with Larry Pearson, he talks about the theft of his trophy by the dastardly Mike Alexander, making a statement with his 1987 Busch Series championship, his Winston Cup woes that were followed by redemption at Darlington, teaching teenagers how to drive and his devastating wreck during an old-timer’s race at Bristol. We then dig into the March 30...

This week in the first of what will be two installments of our interview, Larry Pearson talks about growing up as the son of NASCAR icon DAVID Pearson, racing with his brothers Ricky and Eddie, his move up the ladder from Baby Grand to Busch Series competition, his belief that he would’ve won the 1986 Busch Series championship even if Jack Ingram HADN’T been suspended and his ultra-superstitious w...

Let’s sum up this week’s interview with Gere Kennon this way … a life-threatening illness, fathers, sons and the Daytona 500. In our second segment, we dive into the June 8, 1988 issue of Grand National Scene.  Bill Elliott wins the Winston Cup race at Dover, with Morgan Shepherd winding up second while substituting for the injured Harry Gant. Bobby Hillin wins Dover’s Busch Series event in what C...

Episode 250! We made it! To celebrate our milestone, we put together one of our famous (infamous, maybe?) roundtable discussions. This time around, we've got former crew chiefs Larry McReynolds and Tim Brewer, along with former drivers Robert Pressley and Johnny Benson! NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Interested in The Sc...

In the first of what will be two installments of our interview, Gere Kennon remembers the King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley and the late, great NASCAR 75 driver Sam Ard. Gere was the crew chief for both of Sam’s championships and can testify first hand to his talent behind the wheel of a race car, his strength and his ALMOST ALWAYS gentle demeanor and the terrible accident that ended Sam’s drivi...

In the second and final installment of our interview, NASCAR Hall of Famer Matt Kenseth talks about winning the 2003 Winston Cup championship and the seismic changes to the title format that might or might not have come about as a result. He also gives us an inside look at his difficult decision to leave Roush Racing, run-ins with Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano, the disap...

This week in the first of what will be two installments of our interview, we talk to NASCAR Hall of Famer and NASCAR 75 driver Matt Kenseth. Matt discusses going up against rival Robbie Reiser in and around their homes in Wisconsin, and then just a few short years later joining forces in the Busch Series. That deal led to Matt and the team’s first Busch Series win at Rockingham, a victory that Mat...

After this past weekend's celebration of the Cup all-star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, we share the third and final installment of our interview with Danny Culler. Danny talks about helping Ricky Rudd and Richard Childress Racing win their first race, capturing the 1984 Winston Cup championship with Terry Labonte, getting some flatulent payback on Sterling Marlin and some of the most iconic...

To fully understand and appreciate the return of North Wilkesboro Speedway for this weekend's Cup all-star race, it's important to remember what took place there in the past.  Rescued from the very depths of oblivion, the trace is brimming with memories. We've captured many of them on the show, and to celebrate its return, please enjoy this very special highlight episode!  NOTE: This show is not a...

This week in the second installment of our interview with Danny Culler, he talks about coming in contact with NASCAR icons like Bill France Sr, Joe Weatherly, Curtis Turner and Fireball Roberts as a youth; his time in Vietnam and how he was working to get into the sport even then; flying for Piedmont Aviation; and the role he played in getting the company into the sport as a sponsor and helping st...

We did something this week we sometimes do with our interviews … when there’s a particularly powerful portion that comes later in the interview, we’ll go with that part first if the situation warrants. There's no other way to put this, but Danny Culler was spotting for Dale Earnhardt during the 2001 Daytona 500. That’s powerful enough, but Danny quit that gig just two days before and was only lure...

In the third and final installment of our interview with Slugger Labbe, he remembers his turbulent time with team owner Bobby Ginn, his 2011 Brickyard 400 victory with Paul Menard and Richard Childress Racing, the pressures of working on the RCR 3 car and taking on an entirely new challenge of going drag racing. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid then dig into the March 29, 2007 issue of NASCAR Sce...

This week in the second installment our interview, Slugger Labbe remembers trying to get Kenny Irwin up to speed, rumors over Kenny’s commitment to the sport, moving over the Dale Earnhardt Incorporated to work with Michael Waltrip, running a pitch-black chassis at a Daytona night race (wink, wink) and his bout with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve...

In the first of what will be three installments with Slugger Labbe, he talks about not loving racing as a child, getting kidnapped by a bunch of Houstons and being dragged down south, his crew chief mentors and doing double duty at Robert Yates Racing as a tire changer for Dale Jarrett and crew chief for Kenny Irwin. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid then dig into the March 12, 1998 issue of Winst...

Host Rick Houston gives a report on his big debut over the weekend in the Lonesome Pine Motorsports Park pace truck. Then, in the third and final installment of our interview with Butch Hylton, Butch talks about the end of his Winston Cup career, rebirth in the truck series and how he views his legacy in the sport today. Speaking of pace vehicles, we have a BIG announcement for our second segment...

Big news this week ... The Scene Vault Podcast host Rick Houston will make his debut behind the wheel of the Lonesome Pine Motorsports Park pace truck Saturday! Plans call for every car in every division to carry a Mighty Mouse decal ... as well as a backward pace lap prior to the first race of the day ... in memory of Alan Kulwicki, who lost his life in a tragic plane crash thirty years ago to th...

Butch Hylton was a longtime crew member and crew chief for drivers like Stanley Smith, Ward Burton, Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett, Ron Hornaday and Kevin Harvick.  This week in the first of what will be three GREAT installments of our interview with Butch, he talks about moving from here to there to back again and finally to North Carolina as he tries to make h...

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT THIS WEEK! We're now part of The Daily Downforce NASCAR content hub! Be sure to check it out via The Daily Downforce! This week in the third and final installment of our interview, Robin Pemberton talks about how Alan Kulwicki and his business model impacted his tenure at Sabco Racing, his years with Rusty Wallace and Penske Racing, how some of the decisions he made while working...

Due to the chaos of the mother of all road trips, we’re going with a little bit of an abbreviated episode and eliminating the Scene Issue of the Week segment this week. In the second installment of our interview with Robin Pemberton, he talks us through the hectic early days of Roush Racing and the killer hours he had to keep in the wake of an unexpected announcement of a full schedule in 1988. We...

In the first of what will be three installments of our interview with Robin Pemberton, he talks about getting into the sport in upstate New York, and more importantly, getting to know the people who would help guide him down south and into a career in the Winston Cup garage. Once he was there, he found himself at Ground Zero of two of the biggest controversies in NASCAR history. He was Richard Pet...

In this special episode in conjunction with Eric Estepp and his Out of the Groove YouTube channel, The Scene Vault Podcast hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid discuss their two-part breaking news story on the legend of L.W. Wright and his recent arrest.  NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast...