Ryan Blaney calls out ‘Mickey Mouse’ NASCAR – Sports News
2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney is the most recent driver to weigh in on the continued debate surrounding the playoff format. The present construction has come underneath the highlight of late, after Hall of Famer Mark Martin known as for the elimination-style system to be dropped, prompting the likes of legendary crew chief Larry Reynolds to present his unfiltered ideas.
The present system, which sees drivers qualify for the playoffs till the ultimate 10 races during which they’re whittled down to the ultimate winner, has been in place since 2004, earlier than which the season’s champion was determined by which driver amassed essentially the most factors by the yr.
“What kind of bugs me a little bit is the people that are so diehard on like if you’ve won a championship in this format, that we have now, like, ‘Oh, it’s a Mickey Mouse championship, and it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t count,’” Team Penske’s Blaney mentioned on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, following his eighth-place end at Dover within the Autotrader EchoPark 400.
“It’s like, man, everyone has the same opportunity as the guy who won it. This isn’t the full season points. Everyone always talks about, ‘Oh, you know this guy’s, you would have won the full season points.’ Well, that’s great, but we haven’t used that format in 20 years.”
Looking back at his title-winning season, Blaney famous how after “a good year,” his No. 12 crew, “had a better playoffs than everyone else,” including that he believes his crew “rose to the occasion when we needed to and we dug in and we were the best car during the playoffs.”
“I mean, everyone can have their opinion. It gets under my skin a little bit when they’re like, ‘You guys don’t didn’t deserve that championship.’ It’s like, what are you talking about, man? Like we went through the grinder, everyone digs in, and you know, we were resilient when it mattered.”
Blaney received the 2023 title, having reached the playoffs with only one race win underneath his belt, whereas Martin Truex Jr. was topped the common season champion. However, postseason wins at Talladega and Martinsville helped Blaney best Kyle Larson by a single level and William Byron by two, come the checkered flag at Phoenix.
Despite having benefited from the present format, Blaney additionally admitted he wouldn’t be opposed to 1 main change, noting how he isn’t “a massive fan of like the one race take all type deal.”
“I think you have to have at least a handful of races in there to the end where it’s a little bit of consistency, which consistency in this playoff format does matter.”
The 2025 playoffs are set to kick off at Darlington Raceway on August 31 with the Cook Out Southern 500 the primary of three Round of 16 races. Come September 21, the three-race Round of 12 will start with a journey to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the USA Today 301.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway will welcome the Round of 8 with the South Point 400 on October 12 earlier than Phoenix Raceway hosts the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 races later on November 2.
Stay forward of the sport with the most recent developments within the sports activities world! Our web site is your final vacation spot for sports activities information, delivering complete updates, in-depth analyses, and skilled insights into the fast-evolving realm of athletics. We convey you day by day protection on every part from breakthrough coaching techniques and rising crew methods to main bulletins which might be setting the tempo within the sports activities industry.
Discover how these trends are redefining the aggressive panorama! Visit us often for partaking and informative content material by clicking right here. Our meticulously curated articles cowl game-changing techniques, investment alternatives in sports activities, and key milestones in at this time’s dynamic athletic enviornment.
