The Scene Vault Podcast

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 between two long-time friends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 9/11 impacted his race team’s future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 in his new book Never Lift, either. Call it Mark Martin … raw and unfiltered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 abyss that would completely derail his career. We're then joined by guest co-host Matt Martin, to discuss his dad and their recently-released autobiography Never Lift. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 rival/Robert Yates Racing teammate Ernie Irvan for the win in the Brickyard 400. Earlier in the weekend, Ernie has a bit of a THING with Sterling Marlin. And … Scottie Maxwell shows Rick around an honest-to-goodness firehouse in Queens, New York. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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; and how THAT decision turned into the Winston Million. Then … in our second segment … we’re just going to talk about … life … and plans … in the wake of host Rick Houston's recent cancer diagnosis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 and Graig then tackle the October 5, 1978 issue of Grand National Scene. Darrell Waltrip THRASHES the field at North Wilkesboro for the first 380 laps … pits … then pits again after being black flagged for a missing lug nut … which hands the victory to Cale Yarborough. D.K. Ulrich loses his appeal over a nitrous oxide system that was discovered on his car following a bad accident at Darlington, despite his insistence AT THE TIME that it was inoperable. And … Junior Johnson comes to the rescue for reporter Mike Mulhern. Please consider supporting the podcast via Patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 difficult decision that summer. Hosts Rick Houston and Tony Liberati then tackle the July 21, 1991 issue of Winston Cup Scene. Rusty Wallace gets a little help from a friend to win at Pocono, in Jimmy Makar’s last race with the team, while Ernie Irvan may … or may NOT have triggered an earlier multicar crash that DID lead to his infamous apology at Talladega the very next week. Darrell Waltrip gets TESTY just before going on the air with MRN to talk about getting caught up in the mishap. Benny Parsons makes an emotional return to the track after the loss of his wife Connie. Deb Williams pens a couple of great stories about Stevie Waltrip and Kyle Petty’s goal to return from his broken leg sooner than expected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Gee, Harry Hyde, Junior Johnson and Raymond Beadle and the transition from Tim Richmond as driver to Rusty Wallace. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and longtime Winston Cup Scene photographer Bryan Hallman leaf through the September 29, 1977 edition of Grand National Scene. This early issue of Scene featured coverage of two Winston Cup races … Benny Parsons won at Dover by holding off a wink-wink challenge from David Pearson, while the UNGRATEFUL Cale Yarborough dominated … and won … at Martinsville. Kenny Brightbill destroys Jim Makar’s Mercury at Dover, while Gene Granger produces a lengthy story on Richard Petty’s record-setting 1967 NASCAR season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Michael then break down the February 13, 1992 issue of Winston Cup Scene. Gary Nelson is in his first year with NASCAR as its Winston Cup director in training … and let’s just say that Gary is loaded for bear and swinging from the heels when it came to policing the inspection process. Tim Brewer does NOT get sent to NASCAR’s electric chair after Junior Johnson & Associates teammates Sterling Marlin and Bill Elliott sweep the first two starting spots for the next weekend’s Daytona 500, while Geoff Bodine overcomes ... cough, cough ... handling problems to win the Busch Clash. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Mayfield, and being man enough to apologize to Mike Wallace. Hosts Rick Houston and Tony Liberati then dig into the November 1, 2001, issue of Winston Cup Scene. Mike Wallace has a career day at Phoenix … and in the process … makes a STRONG case to keep his Roger Penske-owned team open for business. But then Jeff Burton INSISTS on ruining the Cinderella story by getting by Mike in the closing laps to win … and give Roush Racing a 1-2-3 sweep of the weekend’s Cup, Busch, and Truck series events. There are actually FOUR big races that weekend. Cup, Busch, Truck … and trying to get from the track to Game One of the World Series. Martinsville Speedway’s Mike Smith shares a FANTASTIC memory of Dale Earnhardt, and … finally … this issue raises an age-old question: Team Dave or Team Sammy? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 piece in which everybody involved said the right things about how well they were working together. Buckshot Jones wins at New Hampshire in an event that’s notorious to all who listen to and love The Scene Vault Podcast. Bill France Sr takes on Curtis Turner, Tim Flock and the Teamsters, while Randy LaJoie talks to somebody at Winston Cup Scene OTHER than Rick Houston about his seating company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 heard before. From getting an ultimatum about his involvement in the sport from a soon-to-be FORMER girlfriend to a Bobby Hamilton caper that you’ve got to hear to believe … Jeffrey brings the heat. Then in our second segment, we'll dig into the November 19, 1987 issue of Grand National Scene. The cover story in this issue is about the private planes that were coming into vogue at the time, so we did into the recorded archive to share stories about competitors and their planes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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, while Bobby Allison holds off Darrell Waltrip for second place. DW and Junior Johnson aren’t exactly pleased with the day’s effort. Steve Waid’s column discusses the high-school educational pursuits of several folks in the Winston Cup garage. Popular David Ifft recovers from a bad accident on the way home from Dover. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices