The Scene Vault Podcast

“I didn’t cheat all the time. I just cheated when I needed to.”

That’s Tony Furr, and if you know anything about his career as a NASCAR Winston Cup crew chief, you know he means it. Furr helped John Andretti and Jerry Nadeau earn their first Cup Series victories, but he also developed quite a reputation for finding ways around NASCAR’s rulebook. Over the years, he estimates that his adventures cost him roughly $400,000 in fines.

This week on The Scene Vault Podcast, we continue our conversation with Furr, and the subject is one NASCAR...

Long before Dale Earnhardt became The Intimidator, he was a hungry young racer trying to make a name for himself on North Carolina's short tracks. Tony Furr knew him back then, and even put him behind the wheel of one of his race cars.

For Furr, racing was a family business. His father, Henry Furr, was a driver and race promoter at Concord Speedway, and Tony grew up surrounded by the people and personalities who helped build stock car racing in the Carolinas.

This week on The Scene Vault Podcast, Furr takes host Rick Houston...

When Dale Earnhardt won his first NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at Bristol in 1979, Dennis Roinick wasn't watching from the grandstands. He was going over the wall to service Earnhardt's car. A year later, he was there when the young driver claimed his first Winston Cup championship.

This week, in the second and final installment of his conversation with host Rick Houston, Roinick takes us back to the early days of Dale Earnhardt's career with Rod Osterlund Racing. Long before Earnhardt became The Intimidator and a seven-time NASCAR champion, Roinick was working alongside him, helping build the...

We've heard some pretty wild stories about Henry Benfield over the years on The Scene Vault Podcast. This week, Dennis Roinick joins us with a few more of his own.

Dennis looks back on his exploits with DiGard Racing, the personalities he encountered along the way, and his adventures racing Henry Benfield. It's another trip into the side of NASCAR history that rarely made the headlines, but left the people who were there with stories they'll never forget.

Join host Rick Houston for a conversation about life in the garage, old friendships, and the kind...

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 remarkable life and career through the stories that made DW … DW. From the brash young driver who wasn’t afraid to tell the established stars exactly wh...

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 episode for that reason and that reason alone … but also …host Rick Houston's son Adam joins the show as co-host.

What we’re going to do … or...

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

L...

Episode 411 -- NASCAR Hall of Famer on Losing 1990 Championship, Relationship with Dale Earnhardt

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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.

L...

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.<...

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...

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’r...

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.

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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 p...

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 Wall...

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...

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 W...

Steve Waid, this one's for you. 

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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.

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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...

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.

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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.

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 soo...

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...

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 the sport die with Dale Earnhardt?

In this episode:

⚙️ The SAFER barrier in action — Ryan Blaney's 2023 Daytona crash mirrored Dale Earnhardt's fatal im...

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 has ever produced — a full examination of the 2000–2001 NASCAR safety crisis that claimed five lives and permanently altered stock-car racing. We're talking about the drivers who don't make t...

The morning after Blaise Alexander died, I walked into the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Center and watched a member of the NASCAR press corps hold court for anyone who'd listen. Then he bellowed it: "Old Billy France has killed another one."

I had never spoken a single word to that man in my life. What happened next was the most unprofessional moment of my career — and I have never regretted it for a single second.

In October 2001, a young driver named Blaise Alexander died chasing a win at Charlotte Mo...

When Blaise Alexander crashed at Lowe's Motor Speedway on October 4, 2001, Jimmy Spencer was watching on the mega-screens from under the Winston hauler. He went to his knees. He knew.

In this episode of The Scene Vault Podcast, "Mr. Excitement" Jimmy Spencer sits down with Steve Wade and Rick Houston to share what's never been told — his decades-long personal relationship with the Alexander family, his role as Blaise's mentor, and the moment everything changed. Spencer also reveals a stunning footnote in NASCAR history: he was the first driver to ever test the SAFER barrier — before most...

Dale Earnhardt's crash at the 2001 Daytona 500 shook NASCAR. What came next nearly destroyed it.

Five days after the worst day in NASCAR history, a single announcement lit the sport on fire: the lap belt in Dale Earnhardt's car had failed. In an instant, grief turned to fury — and NASCAR entered the darkest period of controversy the sport had ever known.

A safety equipment manufacturer accused of killing a legend. An EMT who claimed the belt wasn't broken — it was cut. A widow forced into court to protect her husband's dignity. A rival driv...

Dale Earnhardt walked away. Rick never got a single word on the record — and he never forgot the feeling.

Two of the most decorated journalists in NASCAR history sit down with Tony Liberati for a raw, unscored account of what it really cost to cover the sport from the inside — the access, the pressure, the stories that never ran and the ones they wish they'd told differently.

What you'll hear in this episode:

The Dale Earnhardt interview that wasn't — the post-race moment Rick has never...

When Dale Earnhardt died on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR didn't just lose a driver. It lost its Superman. And in the grief that followed, the sport nearly tore itself apart.

A broken seat belt. A driver who liked it loose. A manufacturer forced to defend his product. A rival driver who needed protection from his own fans. And a conspiracy theory machine that rivaled the JFK assassination in its intensity — because when the unthinkable happens, someone has to be blamed.

In this episode, we go deep in...

When the #3 went silent on the final lap at Daytona, only one window net came down. From the broadcast booth, Darrell Waltrip was still celebrating his brother Michael's historic win. But on pit road, a thick sense of dread had already begun to spread across the Daytona landscape.

Ken Schrader reached the car first. One glance told him everything. Seven-time champion spotter Danny Culler radioed Earnhardt three or four times: "Dale, you okay? Talk to me." The radio never answered.

At 5:16 PM, Dale Earnhardt was pronounced dead.

<...

Before the HANS device. Before the safer barriers. Before NASCAR changed forever — there was someone standing at the fence with a camera, watching drivers die. Bambi Mattila was the staff photographer for Winston Cup Scene and between 2000 and 2001, she was on-site for some of the darkest moments in the sport's history: the deaths of Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, Blaise Alexander and Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500.

This isn't the story the cameras showed you. This is what it felt like to be standing there.

In this episode:

Dale Earnhardt. 2001 Daytona 500. The final hours of The Intimidator — reconstructed lap by lap, conversation by conversation, from the people who were there.

On February 18, 2001, Earnhardt arrived at Daytona International Speedway on a perfect, Chamber of Commerce morning — and left in silence. This is the story of everything that happened before the crash that changed NASCAR history forever.

What did Earnhardt say to his spotter two days before the race — and why did that spotter almost not show up on race day?

What scripture did Stevie...

The 2001 Daytona 500 was supposed to be a celebration. Michael Waltrip's first win. Dale Earnhardt Jr. running second. A dynasty moment for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. Instead, it became one of the darkest days in NASCAR history — and a small group of journalists had hours to tell the world why.

This is Firestorm Reaction, Episode 6.

In this episode, former Winston Cup Scene staffers go back inside the rooms, the press box, and the all-night newsroom to relive February 18, 2001 — the night everything changed. From Bambi Matilda's chilling radio call ("things didn't look good") to Ken Schrader's reaction a...

Dale Earnhardt was The Intimidator on the track — but behind closed doors, he was a father concerned about losing his son, a friend who couldn't find the words to comfort a grieving parent and a man quietly pushing NASCAR to make cars safer just weeks before his death at the 2001 Daytona 500.

In this episode, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Steve Waid and Gary Nelson share deeply personal, never-before-heard stories that reveal the real Dale Earnhardt — the side the cameras never captured.

Stories you'll hear in this episode:

In this episode of The Scene Vault Podcast, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid sit down with Danny Culler, who served as Dale Earnhardt's spotter and close friend, to share incredible behind-the-scenes stories about the real Dale Earnhardt.

🔹 What you'll hear in this episode:

How Dale secretly gave away engines, vehicles, and helmets — always with one rule: "Don't tell anyone where you got it"

Danny Culler's hilarious first day spotting for Earnhardt at Darlington

The time Dale pushed a rental car through a tunnel at Watkins Glen

Dal...