The Backstretch

There is a bunch to talk about this week. We hear from Kyle Larson as the weather puts his attempt at the Indy 500/Coke 600 double in jeopardy. Heather and Chris dive into the fight at the All-Star race and the fallout, Ford's recent surge, and preview the Coke 600. And Heather's final thought is on Larson's attempt at the double.

This week on "The Backstretch" with Chris running North Wilkesboro, Heather is solo. She has some sound from drivers previewing the All-Star Race and Kyle Larson as he prepares for the Indy 500/Coke 600 double. Austin Dillon is the guest he previews the All-Star Open and talks about his season so far at the halfway point of the regular season.  Heather's final thought is about the return of North Wilkesboro and its place in the sport.

This week Heather and Chris talk about the finish at Kansas, Darlington throwbacks, and Michael McDowell's move to Spire. Noah Gragson is the guest and he talks about his season so far. Heather's final thought is ont he loss of another NASCAR information source.

There's no place like home as NASCAR heads to Heather's home track, the Kansas Speedway. Heather and Chris talk about the domination by two teams this year as well at the All-Star race changes. Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick talk about their seasons so far. Heather's final thought is about the evolution of how the sport treats driver injuries.

Talladega was a wild one. Heather and Chris talk about fuel saving, NextGen Safety, and how Corey Heim will do in the car substituting for Erik Jones. Kyle Busch is the guest, he talks about why he didn't like the racing last week at Talladega, his season so far, and watching his kids grow into racers. Heather's final thought is on the NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees.  

Chase Elliott wins, but is he back? Heather and Chris talk about that plus the troubles that continue for Ford, what's behind all the uniform safety penalties, and a preview of Talladega. Ryan Preece stops by for a visit. Heather's final thought is on the number of superspeedways on the schedule

William Byron leads Hendrick Motorsports domination at Martinsville. Heather and Chris talk about his emergence as a star, the trouble with short tracks right now and they preview Texas. Erik Jones stops by for a second time this season to talk about short tracks and his performance so far this year. Heather's final thought is on how to fix short tracks.

It was an eventful week for driver Denny Hamlin. He is a guest this weekend and talks about his season, the season for his team 23XI and the controversial restart at Richmond. Heather and Chris talk restarts, Easter racing and preview Martinsville. Josh Williams talks about short-track racing and his opportunity at Kaulig. Heather's final thought is on the Hamlin/Marcus Smith X war.

Heather and Chris talk about the competitive balance in NASCAR, tack limits at COTA, and preview Richmond. Josh Berry is the guest he talks about his rookie season and building on the momentum of Bristol. Heather's final thought is on the importance of drivers being on the Netflix series

Bristol brought all the heat for a March short track race in Tennessee. Heather and Chris talk about the tire wear that led to a record number of passes, what Goodyear should do going forward, and preview COTA this week. Micahel McDowell also reviews Bristol and looks forward to COTA. Heather's final thought is about if NASCAR fans will ever be happy.