Ryan Blaney isn’t fully behind NASCAR’s winner-take-all finale despite loving playoff pressure

NASCAR: Cup Practice and Qualifying - Source: Imagn
Ryan Blaney at Pocono Raceway on Jun 21, 2025. Image: Imagn

Ryan Blaney has made his thoughts clear on NASCAR's current playoff system. While the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion is fond of the high-pressure situations, he is 'not a massive fan' of the championship being decided by a single winner-take-all finale.

Ad

During an appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Blaney said he likes the playoff format but not the final race deciding it all. The current system eliminates 16 drivers through eight rounds.

"Would I like to see the playoffs change a little bit? Yes, I would. I'm not 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. Like, you do have to be consistent through the three races of the rounds," Ryan Blaney said.
Ad

Blaney also talked about the pressure he faced in the Round of 8 last year, when he crashed at Las Vegas and lost points and then made a mistake at Homestead that cost him the win. That left him in a tough spot where he had to win the next race to move on. He said such instances make the sport exciting.

Joey Logano's championship run last season saw major criticism, where critics argued that his inconsistent overall performance was not worthy of the Cup title. Blaney defended his Team Penske teammate, saying:

Ad
"I mean, there's exciting moments. But would I like to see it tweaked a little bit? Yeah, probably. But to say that a team isn't deserving of a championship in a certain format that everyone else is playing for, I think is a little bit, a little bit too much."
Ad

Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney sits seventh in the NASCAR Cup points standings with five races left in the regular season.

Ryan Blaney earns first top-10 in four NASCAR Cup races

Ryan Blaney has collected seven top-five finishes so far this season. The No. 12 Ford driver won the Cracker Barrel 400 after leading a race-high of 139 laps at Nashville Superspeedway in June.

However, he has had his fair share of bad luck and scored 28th or worse in eight races, due to engine failures, a flat tire, and crashes. In recent weeks, he added a third place finish at Pocono and finished in eighth place last weekend in Dover, which moved him to seventh in the points standings.

Blaney started the race in 31st after rain washed out qualifying but climbed to 16th in Stage 1 and 9th in Stage 2. He earned his ninth top‑10 of the year at the 'Monster Mile'.

Get the latest NASCAR All-Star race news, Xfinity Series updates, breaking news, rumors, and today’s top stories with the latest news on NASCAR.

Quick Links

Edited by Tushar Bahl
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
down arrow icon
More
Manage notifications