The Scene Vault Podcast Rick Houston

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!
 
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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