The Scene Vault Podcast

In the second installment of our conversation, Kevin Lepage talks about winning the first Busch Series race of his career and a stint with Roush Racing that started out with a lot of promise, but wound up pretty rocky. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid dissect the November 7, 1996 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which featured a package of stories on the championship battle between Hendrick Motorsports teammates Terry Labonte and Jeff Gordon … and how much … or how little … their crew chiefs Gary DeHart and Ray Evernham worked together. Kevin Lepage won the standalone Busch Series race at Homestead, with the championship going to Randy LaJoie. And … finally … Rick had a column in this issue that ticked off an autograph seeker or two.

In the first of a three-part interview, Kevin Lepage talks about how he first got started in the sport, moving from his native Vermont to go Busch Series racing, sponsorship from the Vermont Teddy Bear Company – and we’ll later remember some of the OTHER unusual sponsors the sport has had over the years. Finally, Kevin tells the story of a very rocky relationship he faced when he first moved South. Then, in our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid thumb through the August 19, 1982 issue of Grand National Scene. Steve had a column in this issue in which he picked out the members of his own race team and a feature story on D.K. Ulrich prompts Rick to tell the story of a good racing friend, former driver Al Loquasto and Schaeffer beer.

In one of the most emotional episodes we've ever produced, Shawna Robinson and hosts Steve Waid and Rick Houston discuss the impact cancer has had on their lives.

This week, we share the second of what will be three installments of our interview with Shawna Robinson. In this episode, Shawna talks about the 1994 weekend in Atlanta in which she experienced the highest of highs in becoming the first woman to win a Busch Series pole position and the lowest of lows on the very first lap of the race. She also also talks about how motherhood impacted her career, her decision to start racing again and the ups and downs that she experienced after that. In our second segment, we go back to the March 17, 1994 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which featured coverage of Winston Cup rookie Jeff Burton's strong at Atlanta, before giving way to eventual winner Ernie Irvan; Shawna's pole win and a controversial first-lap incident with Mike Wallace and Joe Nemechek. Finally, Bobby Labonte experiences a scary landing of his plane on his way home from the Atlanta race weekend.

Shawna Robinson was the first woman to win a NASCAR touring series race when she won a Charlotte/Daytona Dash Series event at Asheville. She was the first woman to win a pole in the Busch Series and she is also the first woman we’ve featured as an interview guest here on the show. And what a story she has. We’re going to do three episodes with Shawna … the first two on her career, and then the third and final show will focus on her battle with breast cancer. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid dig into the October 10, 1991 issue of Winston Cup Scene, which featured coverage of the fall Charlotte weekend at Charlotte. Geoff Bodine and Junior Johnson stretched their fuel mileage to the very last vapor and won the Winston Cup event, after Mark Martin had dominated the event. Morgan Shepherd and Dave Marcis were involved in a pretty heated confrontation. There was also an announcement in Level Cross, North Carolina that stirred up a lot of emotions for a lot of people.

If the first hour of our conversation with Tony "Rambo" Liberati, Chris Hussey, Gere Kennon and Buddy Parrott was eventful, they were only getting warmed up for the second and final episode.

In this very special episode, Tony "Rambo" Liberati, Chris Hussey, Gere Kennon and Buddy Parrott sit down for a round-table conversation about their NASCAR careers.

We wrap up our time with Jeff Hammond with a short 15-minute installment in which Jeff talks about his time with Sabco Racing and Kenny Wallace, going back to work with Darrell Waltrip and then finally his move into the wide, wide world of NASCAR television with Fox. Hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid then dig into the April 9, 1998 Winston Cup Scene, which featured coverage of a quite memorable weekend at Texas Motor Speedway … and NOT for all the right reasons. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the first race of his Busch Series career that weekend, and there were also feature stories on Tim Flock’s passing, Wendell Scott and the longevity of various racing chassis that teams took to the track.

We’ve had some packed interviews before, but this one is CRAZY. This week, Jeff Hammond talks about the 1989 Daytona 500 and how it was basically the fulfillment of his career; Darrell Waltrip’s injury the following year at Daytona; DW’s decision to move to his own team, and his own reluctance to follow; and his beautiful, awesome, absolutely shining relationship with Darrell’s general manager a year or so later. Then in our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid take a peek at the April 25, 1991 Winston Cup Scene. That issue carried coverage of a wild and wooly day at North Wilkesboro. The race was won by Darrell Waltrip, in his first victory since leaving Hendrick Motorsports to form his own team. Everybody was mad at everybody else due to a HUGE number of accidents. Despite all that, teams WERE happy with the new pit road rules that went into effect, ending an early-season onslaught of changes. This issue also carried a feature story on Ray Fox Sr. and his role in winning the 1960 Daytona 500 and news of Ernie Irvan’s dinner at The White House.

We celebrate our 150th episode with the return of Jeff Hammond, for the conclusion of our epic conversation. This week, he talks about the influence of Warner Hodgdon on Junior Johnson & Associates and how the addition of a second team for Neil Bonnett wasn’t exactly the most harmonious of situations. Jeff also discusses Junior’s reaction to the infamous 1986 clash between Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt at Richmond and the breakup between Darrell and Junior. Finally, Jeff takes us through some of the turmoil that caused HIM to leave Junior to rejoin Darrell at Hendrick Motorsports. In our second segment, hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid tackle the May 17, 1984 issue of Grand National Scene, which featured coverage of one of the most chaotic finishes to any race anywhere … the 1984 Coors 420 at the fairgrounds race track in Nashville.