The Scene Vault Podcast

Lake Speed grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, the son of a popular businessman and one-term mayor of the city. Introduced to Go-Karts at a young age, Lake took his first steps in a lifetime of racing, a career that first saw him chase the dream of a World Karting Association world championship. Once he reached that impossible goal, Lake began seeking out a new challenge. He found it in NASCAR, but not before facing one of the most bizarre finishes in motorsports history at the end of the 1980 ARCA race at Daytona. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid dissect the June 1, 1989 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which featured coverage of Darrell Waltrip's revenge win at Charlotte.

After his tenure with Roush Racing came to a disappointing end, Steve Hmiel's next stop was Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, where he experienced Earnhardt's at time rough-and-gruff leadership style first-hand. Sadly, he was also a part of the DEI family at the time of the 2001 Daytona 500, a moment in time that changed the course of NASCAR history. Steve also discusses the heart-breaking injury sustained by his son Shane, and his reaction to it. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid dissect the upcoming vote for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Roush Fenway Racing eventually became one of NASCAR's most influential teams, but the going wasn't always smooth in the earliest days of the organization. In this episode, Steve Hmiel remembers the tug-of-war that sometimes took part between Michigan and North Carolina, the team's controversial penalty at Richmond early in the 1990 season and the disappointment of losing that year's Winston Cup championship. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid then dive into the October 26, 1989 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which featured coverage of the first Winston Cup win for both driver Mark Martin and Roush Racing.

NOTE: Due to the coronavirus quarantine, this commentary for this episode was recorded remotely. There are some rough spots in the quality of the recording, but steps have been taken to correct this in future episodes.

Steve Hmiel started work for Petty Enterprises the day after a controversial race at Dover in which Richard Petty made up six laps ... with the help of Buddy Arrington ... before capturing the victory. It's been a wild ride ever since for Hmiel, who in this episode describes his early days with the team, a move to Hagan Racing, the 1984 Winston Cup championship and silencing the skeptics by taking a show car to victory lane at Rockingham. In our second segment, the March 6, 1986 issue of Grand National Scene covers Labonte's Rockingham victory, as well as HUGE reaction to the late-race run-in between Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip the week before at Richmond. Finally, there's news of Robert Yates' departure from DiGard Racing.

In the third and final installment of our interview, Jeff Burton remembers parting ways with Roush Racing and joining Richard Childress Racing, his return to victory lane and an eventual move to the broadcast booth. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid also crack open the September 4, 1997 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which covered Jeff Gordon's iconic Winston Million win. That victory, however, came after a hard-fought, late-race battle with Burton. The race also featured a post-race conspiracy theory.

Jeff Burton talks a contract conundrum with Bill and Mickey Stavola, his move to Roush Racing, the glory years with that operation and his controversial role in the intense safety debates of the years 2000 and 2001. In the second segment of this packed episode, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid dig into the September 21, 2000 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which features coverage of those safety issues and Burton's flag-to-flag win at New Hampshire.

Long before he ever stepped foot in a television broadcast booth, Jeff Burton was just another up-and-coming hotshoe hoping to make his mark in big-time automobile racing. In this week's installment of our conversation with Jeff, he takes us back to his humble beginnings in the sport … and a time in his career where he had worked himself very near the precipice of utter exhaustion. In our second segment, hosts Steve Waid and Rick Houston leaf through the June 17, 1993 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which features coverage of Kyle Petty's win at Pocono … Ken Schrader's pole and second-place finish … and Jeff Burton's Busch Series victory over brother Ward at Myrtle Beach. Kyle, Kenny and Jeff … incredibly enough … have been our last three interview guests here on The Scene Vault Podcast!

There's really only one word that can full describe Ken Schrader and his career -- and that's racer. A competitor who has driven one kind of race car or another for a full 50 years now, Schrader began his Winston Cup career with Elmo Langley and Junie Donlavey. After that, he moved to Hendrick Motorsports, where his career took off in earnest. In this in-depth interview, Schrader remembers the highs ... and lows ... of a career spent behind the wheel. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid dive into the August 4, 1988 issue of Grand National Scene, which featured coverage of Schrader's very first Winston Cup victory at Talladega.

In the last of our three-part interview, Kyle Petty discusses his 1991 broken leg, the memorable last-lap of the 1992 The Winston all-star race, parting ways with Sabco Racing and a late-night conversation with Dale Earnhardt. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid then pick through the August 21, 1994 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which features coverage of Geoff Bodine's dominant win at Pocono and a story written by Rick and photographed by his longtime friend and former NASCAR crewman Jamie Reynolds.

After Ryan Newman’s vicious crash in Monday's Daytona 500, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid just didn't feel right about releasing an episode in which they'd be laughing and cutting up ... as usual. Although they’d already recorded once this week, they got back together to discuss Newman, safety and their memories of some really bad weekends. Afterward came the very best news of all ... Newman had been released from the hospital, a walking and talking miracle if ever there was one!