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Ryan Blaney Brutally Criticizes 'Micky Mouse Championship' Narrative
Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

The NASCAR Playoff format divides opinions. Traditionalists have never been a fan of the Playoffs since its introduction in 2004. Though, over the years, the sport has made several chances with the last being done in 2017. Yet, the qualification system is still criticized by many. Now, Ryan Blaney has defended the championship system.

The current Playoff system leads to a 10 race shootout between 16 drivers. Drivers in the Cup Series qualify automatically for the business end of the season if they win a race. If there are less than 16 race winners, the remaining are decided by the championship standings.

This format came under scrutiny yet again after Shane van Gisbergen secured a spot in the Playoffs for winning the inaugural Mexico City race. Critics claimed that a driver who does not perform well at speedways shouldn’t be in the Playoffs. Though, Gisbergen was quick to give a stern response.

Ryan Blaney was not happy with the way some fans continue to criticize the system. He recalled that there are times when he has heard people label the Playoff format as a ‘Mickey Mouse championship.’ The Team Penkse driver made it clear that the current system does allow for every driver to get the same opportunity.

What kind of bugs me a little bit is the people that are so diehard on, like, ‘If you won a championship in this format that we have now, oh, it’s a Mickey Mouse championship and it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t count.’

Ryan Blaney told SiriusXM.

Moreover, he addressed the way people always point out who would’ve won the championship if it was declared on full points. Blaney made it clear that such a debate is redundant since NASCAR has not used the full-points method for two decades.

It’s like, man, everyone has the same opportunity as the guy who won it. This isn’t the full season points. Like everyone always talks about like, ‘Oh, this guy, he would have won the full season points.’ Like, well, that’s great. But we haven’t used that format in 20 years.

Ryan Blaney added.

Ryan Blaney defends Cup Series title

The Team Penske driver won the Cup Series title in 2023. However, his championship victory was also criticised as he had only won a single race all year. Nevertheless, Ryan Blaney had managed to triumph the Playoffs with the most consistent results, making him deserving of the title.

Blaney claimed that whenever he takes a look back at his title campaign, he is happy with his performance. The 31-year-old had a solid regular season before an even better run in the Playoff races. The Team Penske driver highlighted that he and his crew managed to capitalize on every opportunity in the business end of the tournament, allowing them to emerge victorious.

I look at our championship as like, we had a good year, and we even had a better playoffs than everybody else. And we rose to the occasion when we needed to, and we dug in, and we were the best car during the playoffs and had some big wins and I was able to get the championship.

Ryan Blaney added.

Ryan Blaney does make a valid point. At the end of the day, the champion is decided by the rules, no matter if it upsets traditionalists. Even the current Playoff format is brutal, as drivers cannot afford to make a single mistake in those 10 races. Thus, it might be time for critics to get used to the format.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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