After a decade since its last printed publication, Darlington Raceway is partnering with The Scene Vault Podcast hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid to issue a special throwback commemorative edition of the legendary Grand National Scene.
The special issue will be distributed around the Darlington Raceway property during its Bojangles’ Southern 500 race weekend on August 30-September 1. A limited quantity of 5,000 copies will be distributed. Waid is the former executive editor and publisher of Grand National/Winston Cup/NASCAR Scene, the industry’s leading weekly publication from 1977 to 2009. Houston served as staff writer and Busch Series editor for the newspaper from 1994 to 2003.
The Scene Vault Podcast, is a weekly show dedicated to NASCAR history and features interviews with notables such as Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Pearson, Junior Johnson, Bud Moore, Ned Jarrett, Bobby Allison, Terry Labonte, Dale Inman, Ray Evernham and others. The Scene Vault Podcast is available on iTunes and most podcast platforms.
“To see the Grand National Scene back as a printed publication for Darlington Raceway’s throwback weekend is really special to me,” said Waid, who was with the publication from 1981-2010. “It only made sense to bring this idea to Darlington Raceway and revive Grand National Scene for a special printed edition to complement their race weekend. It will be exciting to see it in the hands of fans and industry professionals on Labor Day weekend.”
The legendary publication began its run in 1977 as Grand National Scene, transitioned to Winston Cup Scene in 1989 and continued as NASCAR Scene from 2004 until its final edition in December 2009. The special edition for Darlington Raceway will honor David Pearson and the 1990-94 era of the sport, which ties into the track’s throwback weekend celebration.
A total of seven Darlington race leads, one sidebar and one column will be featured in the 24-page commemorative issue just as they appeared in the pages of Grand National Scene and Winston Cup Scene in 1979 and 1990 through 1994. The new issue will also feature brand-new commentaries by former Scene writers Houston, Waid, Deb Williams, Jeff Owens and Kenny Bruce.
The commemorative issue will also include Scene’s popular “Your Opinion” letters to the editor section. Fans may submit notes of no more than 50 words by e-mailing [email protected], and those selected to run in the paper will receive a Darlington Raceway prize pack. Notes must include full names and shipping addresses in order to be considered for publication.
“This was a great opportunity for Darlington Raceway, one of the most iconic tracks on the NASCAR circuit, to work with Steve Waid and Rick Houston on this historic special edition of Grand National Scene,” track president Kerry Tharp said. “It’s a testament to the track’s popularity, and its throwback weekend, that these great ideas come to the forefront and become reality. We want to publicly thank Steve, Rick and the American City Business Journals, for allowing us to put this special edition together for our fans.”
“To say that I’m looking forward to having a fresh, hot-off-the-presses issue of Grand National Scene in my hands again is an understatement,” Houston added. “Thousands of NASCAR fans across the country, and in several foreign countries, looked forward to finding their new Scene in their mailbox each week. The feeling of expectation for the very best in NASCAR news, commentary and feature-writing was almost palpable. I’m very thankful to Darlington that we’ll be able to experience that kind of excitement again.”
Darlington Raceway’s award-winning throwback campaign is The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR featuring the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500® on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019 at 6 p.m. on NBCSN. The NASCAR XFINITY Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 will race on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2019 at 4 p.m. on NBC. Tickets are on sale now by calling 866-459-7223 or visiting DarlingtonRaceway.com.
Darlington Raceway PR
