The Scene Vault Podcast

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 our interview, Norman also talks about the lengths to which independents would go to make ends meet, his relationship with Harry Hyde, and how that led to stints with Tim Richmond, Bobby Hillin, and ALMOST Rick Hendrick. We then take a deep dive into the July 24, 1986 issue of Grand National Scene. Tim Richmond and Harry Hyde celebrate on the cover of this issue after Tim overcomes Hendrick Motorsports teammate Geoff Bodine and Ricky Rudd in a thrilling last-lap battle at Pocono. Richard Petty isn’t happy with Tim after the race. Harry Gant takes the pole position during qualifying … but afterward … his crew chief Travis Carter is hammered with a thousand-dollar fine for a piece that was SPIRITUALLY illegal. There’s a feature on Norman Negre; Gene Granger has the inside look on rising salary demand; and two letters to the editor stand out ... one discusses Janet Guthrie's career stats, while the other mentions rumors(?!?) that Kyle Petty might join the 1960s supergroup The Monkees! NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

in racing as the son of one of NASCAR’s independent drivers and team owners, Ed Negre. Norman remembers how an impromptu chance behind the wheel of his dad’s car in practice settled once and for all the question of whether or not HE would ever drive himself. Norman gives us an inside look at the first Winston Cup start of Dale Earnhardt’s career. We then dig into the April 13, 1978 issue of Grand National Scene. Darrell Waltrip and Benny Parsons swap the first and second positions at Darlington and then Bristol … where Benny got an assist … as usual … from John Utsman. Lennie Pond looks forward to a new ride with team owner Harry Ranier and crew chief Herb Nab. Dave Marcis tries to soothe the savage beast that was Buddy Baker at Darlington and Gene Granger has features on young independent driver Bill Elliott and his boy … David Pearson. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week in the second and final installment of our interview, Tim Fedewa talks about changing up the game plan at Talladega and how the decision led to some painful injuries. Then … it’s on to his career as a spotter and his relationship with Kevin Harvick. We then tackle the massive April 25, 2002 issue of Winston Cup Scene. Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jason Keller win at Talladega, although the fields for both events were decimated by HUGE wrecks. There’s a ton of reaction over Kevin Harvick getting suspended for a race and Jack Roush’s near-fatal airplane crash, as well as features on team owner Travis Carter, Buck Baker, and Dale Inman. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mention his name today, and most will recognize Tim Fedewa as the longtime spotter for Kevin Harvick. But like so many other folks up in the spotter’s stand, Tim began his career as a driver in and around his home state of Michigan. He eventually moved south to go Busch Series racing with Ray and Diane DeWitt, who took him to his first win in 1995 at Nazareth. Tim wound up at BACE Motorsports, where he had a front-row seat to the chaos … and success … of teammates Randy LaJoie, crew chief Steve Bird, and team owner Bill Baumgardner. Tim then ran into his OWN contractual issues with the team, which prevented him from landing a ride that turned out to be one of the most successful in Busch Series history. We then tackle the May 25, 1995 issue of Winston Cup Scene. A bad storm gets things kicked off at Charlotte the weekend of The Winston Select all-star race. Jeff Gordon fires up his Hendrick Motorsports crew before going out and putting it to the rest of the field in the main event. Kenny Schrader races his way into the all-star race, just a week after losing part of his thumb in a freak accident. And then has a bit of a rough encounter with Mr. Excitement, Jimmy Spencer. Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip try to make a run on Gordon in the final ten-lap shootout but wind up running into each other and crashing. Plus, future high-ranking NASCAR official Elton Sawyer gets whacked with a penalty. Tim Fedewa wins the first race of his Busch Series career at Nazareth by stretching his fuel supply and staying out of the carnage in the first half of the event. Chad Little weighs racing against law school … and racing almost wins, before momma and daddy step in. Finally, Kyle Petty REALLY wants to get to Memphis on time during his annual cross-country motorcycle ride, so he can visit Graceland, home of his hero, Elvis Presley. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We don’t typically cover weekly short-track racing to any great extent … except when it comes to folks getting started out there. But with Gray Garrison’s LONG family history with Big Bill, Billy, Jim AND Annie France, it’s one of those interviews that we couldn’t NOT do, especially considering the recent announcement of NASCAR acquiring the racing lease at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This WASN’T one of those business associations where NASCAR sanctioned races at Bowman Gray for a LONG time. The France family LIVED with Gray’s maternal grandparents, Alvin and Heloise Hawkins, and Alvin sat just one other person removed from Bill France Sr. in the famous NASCAR organizational meeting at the Streamline Hotel on December 14, 1947. Gray’s grandmother changed Jim France’s diapers, so, yes, last year was NASCAR 75 … and Gray’s family was there from the VERY beginning. We then tackle the August 6, 1987 edition of Grand National Scene. NASCAR puts a strict limit on testing during the offseason and competitors from one end of the garage to the other celebrate. There are features on caterer Jane Hogan; another on the reaction of Cale Yarborough Motorsports to the loss of one of their own; and the luck … or lack thereof … of Blue Max Racing and driver Rusty Wallace. We have a photo bio on some guy named Tony Liberati, a column by the ticked-off Joe Whitlock ... and … finally … a press release in which Tim Richmond talks about looking forward to the upcoming Southern 500. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the third and final installment of our interview, Shawn Parker describes in heartbreaking detail the loss of his wife, trying to race again and eventually parting ways with Robert Yates Racing just two months or so after the accident. Then … he builds a new life with Deborah Renshaw, whose own racing story was impacted by tragedy. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Troy Selberg is most known to NASCAR fans as a crew chief for legends like Todd Bodine and Morgan Shephard, but he also moonlights as an accredited bourbon steward. What all does that entail, and how does it connect to the history of North Carolina's moonshine trade? Find out in this episode of the Moonshine and Motorsports Racing Podcast. 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/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

FIRST … we’re gonna dig into the January 30, 1997 issue of Winston Cup Scene. Shawn Parker appears on the cover … along with teammate Ken Sapper … as they work on the rear-end housing from Rusty Wallace’s Penske Racing South Ford. We get preseason stories on Rusty and Jimmy Spencer, as well as features on Ned Jarrett and a throwback to Darrell Waltrip's win in the 1989 Daytona 500. Andy Graves doesn't exactly go all out in his photo bio, and "Pappy" Tom Higgins gets a NASCAR-related fact wrong in writing about astronauts. THEN in the second installment of our interview, Shawn Parker talks about protecting his team’s turf on pit road, which led to maybe … just maybe … a scuffle or two with members of OTHER teams. He talks about the wholesale crew changes that were made at the end of every season in and around the Mooresville race shops. He then turns his attention to meeting Tara Howell, her critical health issues and the subsequent heart transplant she endured and … best of all … the adoption of their son, Jagger. FINALLY … we’ll be joined by Xfinity Series driver Joey Gase to talk about HIS passion for getting the word out about organ and tissue donation. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the course of the next three episodes, our listeners will get to know Shawn Parker, who was one of Jeff Gordon’s original Rainbow Warrior pit crew members. Shawn also worked for Penske Racing and Rusty Wallace; Roush Racing and Mark Martin; and Dale Jarrett. He then takes us on a journey that is one of the most emotional that we’ve ever featured here on The Scene Vault Podcast. This week, Shawn talks about getting into NASCAR with Jeff Gordon, where he’s very reluctantly introduced to Jeff’s pet python snake. He gives us his view on what it was like to work for Ray Evernham and go over the wall for the first time in NASCAR’s greatest race. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the second and final installment of our interview, Chuck Bown remembers winning the 1990 Busch Series championship, as well as the lengths to which NASCAR went to make sure the title was on the up and up. Chuck then moved to Winston Cup with Bobby Allison in 1994 but experienced a terrible accident at Pocono that left him with impaired vision for the next several months. He pulled himself from the car while recovering, and subsequently fought the perception that he was damaged goods. We'll then take a look at the August 16, 1990 issue of Winston Cup Scene. Ricky Rudd wins at Watkins Glen, just ahead of a battle for second place between the brothers Bodine … Geoff and Brett. Sterling Marlin and team owner Billy Hagan are mad at Tommy Kendall after the race. Mark Martin finishes fifth on a weekend that began with a VICIOUS accident during practice that also involved Dick Trickle and Troy Beebe. Crew members are injured for the second race in a row. There’s an ad for an international driver search that eventually became the Richard Petty Driving Experience. Kim Wood Hall and her husband Terry celebrate Christmas all year long. Also … Chuck Bown wins his sixth and final Busch Series race of 1990. Junior Johnson employees/lawyers file a protest in a garage-area cooking competition and … finally … a commentary foreshadows Rajah Carruth’s truck win this weekend at Las Vegas. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we welcome Daniel Pierce to the show. He's a UNC Asheville professor who's written a book on the history of moonshiners in professional racing, and he sits down with Rick to clear up some of the fascinating history behind these wheelmen in North Carolina. 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. For more info, visit: https://dailydownforce.com/moonshineandmotorsports/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week in the first of what will be two installments of our interview, Chuck Bown remembers going Cup racing as a YOUNGster, winning championships in Winston West and Busch North, and the momentous move to the Busch Series with team owners Hubert and Jeff Hensley. We then dig into the January 19, 1978 issue of Grand National Scene. Chuck Bown parts ways with his Winston West team owner just two years after winning the division championship together. Darrell Waltrip gets a couple of prestigious awards and the writer of a letter to the editor mentions Scene’s extraordinarily humble beginnings. Daytona announces its purse for the upcoming 1978 Daytona 500 … and it’s less than a half-million dollars. Writer Gene Granger turns in copy on the winner’s circle program, David Pearson … David Pearson AGAIN … and Bobby Allison. Plus, we get a look at NASCAR independent driver J.D. McDuffie. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week in the third and final installment of our interview, Troy Selberg tries to blow up his race car and then makes one of his teammates hide in the garage overnight to repair the damage. He then remembers the job offer that go away before turning his attention to how a very straightforward observation from his wife led to him getting out of the sport altogether. We then tackle the January 20, 1994 issue of Winston Cup Scene. Troy Selberg is featured on the cover of this issue along with several other crew chiefs, but he’s nowhere to be found IN the issue. The preseason issue also includes stories on the big-game hunting exploits of Richard Childress and Wally Dallenbach, as well as a piece on Elisa Allison, Clifford’s widow. We also get a column on Rick Mast as well as news that Winston Cup Scene would be sponsoring the Busch Series most popular driver award and on what David Pearson thought of the modern driver. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the second installment of our interview, Troy Selberg describes a life-changing conversation with a mentor who encouraged him to form his NASCAR exit strategy. He also remembers his Great Phoenix Carburetor Controversy … and how it resulted in the right sponsor … making the right race … at the right time. We then tackle the July 3, 1980 issue of the Grand National Scene. There’s a feature story on Troy Selberg’s dad … Erv … and his young, impressionable teammate and news that Ricky Rudd was replacing Dick Brooks behind the wheel of team owner Nelson Malloch’s cars. And just wait until you hear what Ricky had to say about those cars just a few short weeks later! NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the Moonshine & Motorsports podcast. This is a collaboration between Scene Vault and North Carolina's Department of Cultural and Natural Resources made to spotlight the history of moonshine, motorsports, and the state of North Carolina. In this first episode, Rick visits with Winston Kelley at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. For more info, visit: https://dailydownforce.com/moonshineandmotorsports/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week in the first of what will be three installments of our interview, Troy Selberg talks about his family’s move from its home in California to North Carolina, where both he AND his dad were going to pursue careers in motorsports. Troy remembers his ingenious method of sneaking into the garage, well before he became a teenager. He worked with D.K. Ulrich and Lake Speed before going to work for Hendrick Motorsports and driver Ricky Rudd. He also talks about how Mike Rich’s accident at Atlanta changed the course of his life and how, eventually, he returned to Lake Speed’s team and became crew chief. And … if you’re out there and have experience in the motorsports industry, Troy has some advice that you do NOT want to miss. We'll then take a deep dive into the April 4, 1991 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which featured coverage of Ken Schrader's early season victory at Atlanta. We wouldn’t have known anything about Schrader's victory from the broadcast of the race … because there WAS NO broadcast of the event once it resumed following a day’s postponement due to rain. This issue also carried features on Harry Gant, Alan Kulwicki, and Darlington Raceway legend Elton Odom. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The somber beginning to 2024 continues this week with the passing of legendary NASCAR scoundrel L.W. Wright. This week's episode is in memory of both Ryan Pemberton and Wright. NOTE: This podcast is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's episode is all about perspective ... the disappointment of losing out on a prestigious award just doesn't compare to the devastating loss experienced recently by the Pemberton family. Rest in peace, Ryan. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our three-part conversation with longtime NASCAR crew member and crew chief Ryan Pemberton was already scheduled to begin this week when word came of his unexpected death on Sunday, January 14. It is in his honor and memory that we present his interview. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this very special episode, Buddy Arrington talks with crew member and fan-club president Bob Laird about how he got into racing, how he came across his famed number 67, racing against the big boys and his loyalty to Dodge and Chrysler. Then in our second segment, we’ll discuss Buddy’s arrest for hauling illegal whisky and throw it back to some stories we’ve shared in the past about him … the rumored loss of "Little Buddy," the controversial shenanigans he and Richard Petty pulled off at Dover back in 1975 and … again … Dodge and Chrysler. Then in our second segment, we’ll discuss Buddy’s arrest for hauling illegal whisky and throw it back to some stories we’ve shared in the past about him … the rumored loss of Little Buddy, the controversial shenanigans he and Richard Petty pulled off at Dover back in 1975 and … again … Dodge and Chrysler. NOTE: This show is not associated in any way with American City Business Journals, owner of the Scene brand. Be sure to check out the latest and greatest stories from the world of NASCAR at dailydownforce.com! Interested in The Scene Vault Podcast T-shirts? Check out thescenevault.com and click on SHOP to see what we have available! Please consider supporting this show via: patreon.com/thescenevaultpodcast paypal.me/thescenevaultpodcast venmo.com/thescenevaultpodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices