The Backstretch

Ryan Blaney wins at the Tricky Triangle, are the Fords now a force in the playoff race? Goodyear holds a tire test at Bristol and NASCAR returns to the oval at Indy. William Byron talks mid-season slumps, Indy, and Legos. Heather's final thought is on which track is the 4th crown jewel.

NASCAR heads to Chicago for a second season on the streets of the second city. Plus Chris stops by to talk about Nashville, Carson Hocevar's punishment, Josh Berry's new gig, and to preview the street race. Heather's final thought is on street racing's place in NASCAR.

Christopher Bell picks up his third win of the season. Changes at SHR and RCR. Carson Hocevar stops by and Heather's final thought is on the Bubba Wallace vs Aric Almirola dust-up.

Fords are now red hot, while Toyotas are ice cold at the halfway point in the season. Heather and Chris also preview the race at New Hampshire this weekend. Daniel Hemric stops by to talk about his season. Heather's final thought is on Christopher Bell's gaffe on Friday.

Martin Truex, Jr announces his retirement from full-time racing, is Kyle Larson the best driver in the world, and the Cup Series heads to Iowa for the first time. The Champ Ryan Blaney is our guest and Heather's final stop is about racing in the heartland.

Was Austin Cindric's win a fluke or is the third-year driver finally figuring it out? Was NASCAR right to give Kyle Larson a waiver? Daniel Suarez talks about his bumpy season, how he can turn it around for the playoffs, and how he can become a United States citizen. Heather's final thought is about road course ringers.

Heather and Chris recap a wild week in the NASCAR garage. Kyle Larson is still waiting to see if he will get a waiver after missing the Coca-Cola 600, Christopher Bell's rain-shortened win gets the side eye, Stewart Haas Racing is closing and Front Row Motorsports is expanding. Alex Bowman drops by to talk about his season, and his teammate's double attempt, and has a preview of St. Louis. New Hal...

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...

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.

It's Bristol, Baby! Heather and Chris look back at Phoenix and preview the race at Bristol. Harrison Burton drops by to preview this week's race and talk about his season. Heather's final thought is on attendance for the Bristol Spring Race

NASCAR heads to the desert in Phoenix this weekend. Our crew chief Chris Carrier talks about the domination by Chevy so far this season, the historic win by Rajah Caruth in the truck series, if it's time for RFK Racing to panic and previews the race at Phoenix Raceway. Our guest Daniel Hemric talks about his return to the Cup Series this season and Heather's final thought is on short-track racing...

Heather and Chris talk about the headlines from the week in NASCAR, including a wild finish at Atlanta, penalties for Joey Logano and two SHR cars. Carson Hocevar stops by to talk about his rookie season and accidentally adding his car number to his driver's license.

William Byron wins the Daytona 500, but not without controversy. Heather and Chris break it all down. Todd Gilliland stops by to talk about the expectations for Front Row Motorsports this season. Heather's Final Thought is on the Truck Series and driver mentorship.

Heather and Chris talk about the Daytona 500, the struggles big teams had at the Clash, and what Stewart Haas needs to do to get better in 2024. NASCAR on FOX's Jamie Little stops by to preview the sport's biggest race. Heather's final thought is on the upsets that make the Daytona 500 so special.

On this episode, Heather and Chris talk about the return of cars on the track, NASCAR: Full Speed on Netflix, and what to expect at the Clash this weekend. Corey LaJoie is the guest and he talks about the upcoming season for him and his team at Spire Motorsports. Heather's final thought is on the importance of NASCAR: Full Speed.

The Backstretch is back for season three. Heather and Chris talk about all the big news that broke this week and look ahead to the start of the season. Erik Jones is the guest and talks with Heather about the big changes at Legacy Motor Club and his Detroit Lions. Heather's final thought is on the length of the off-season