Ryan Blaney recently weighed in on criticism from NASCAR fans regarding the playoff format and how some refer to the champions who have won championships under the current system as “Mickey Mouse” champions. The driver of the #12 pushed back at the negativity and made it clear that a playoff format is necessary to determine a rightful champion.

The comments made by the 2023 Cup champion came on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio earlier this week. This year’s Nashville winner shot down the idea that champions under the current playoff format are “Mickey Mouse,” or otherwise illegitimate. The North Carolina native believes that because everyone had the same shot to win the championship at the start of the season, no one should be complaining about who holds the trophy at the end of the year.

Ryan Blaney also shut down fan comments about the old full-season points format and how they make claims that a different driver would’ve won the championship if that format were used today. While Blaney said that’s great to look at, the system is irrelevant as it hasn’t been used since 2003. Here’s Blaney’s full comments from SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“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 Micky Mouse championship and it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t count.’ 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 captured his maiden NASCAR Cup Series title in 2023 under the current playoff format. The Team Penske star won three races that season (Charlotte, Talladega, Martinsville) and finished runner-up at Phoenix to earn the championship. He is the only driver under the current format to have won the championship without winning the season-finale race.

Ryan Blaney reflected on “fun day” following NASCAR Dover Cup race

Ryan Blaney took to social media on Monday to reflect on a solid eighth-place run in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover. While the Team Penske driver thought he had a top-five run going, he made it known that it was a fun afternoon at the racetrack.

Blaney showed gratitude for his #12 team and his partners for helping contribute to the top-10 showing. Here’s what he wrote via X:

“Man, it was a fun day. Thankful for the 12-Team and all of our partners. We had a good shot at Top 5, but overall I felt it was a good race for us.”

Ryan Blaney is currently seventh in the Cup Series points standings after 21 races. He has one victory this season (Nashville) and has totalled seven top-five finishes.