Episode 392 -- Tony Liberati FINALLY Shows Steve Waid and Rick Houston How to Do the Perfect Interview

About this episode

Tony Liberati joins Rick Houston and Steve Waid to discuss the challenges and untold stories of NASCAR journalism.

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 stopped thinking about How Steve built his career not on stars, but on the drivers nobody else was talking to — including the closest friend Wendell Scott ever had The "oh sh*t" moment that almost ended Steve's career after the 1976 Daytona 500 crash between David Pearson and Richard Petty The garage crew member claiming to be a Vietnam POW — Rick investigated, had the documentation and the story still never ran Why Darrell Waltrip was the most entertaining interview in NASCAR and the hardest to actually get A Harry Gant quote that caused a firestorm — and what happened the very next day when he took the checkered flag Favorite tracks that defined careers: Nashville Speedway, Bristol Motor…

People in this episode

Host: Rick Houston

Guest: Tony Liberati

Topics covered

• NASCAR journalism
• interviews
• behind the scenes
• sports history
• media access
• driver stories

Keywords

• NASCAR
• interview techniques
• Dale Earnhardt
• journalism
• sports media
• driver interviews
• NASCAR history

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Nashville Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Darlington Raceway

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