Ryan Blaney Delivers Surprising 5-Word Verdict on NASCAR Fulfilling His Childhood Dream

When the original Chase format existed in NASCAR, a lot of the modern-day drivers were rookies who had either just entered or were dreaming of entering the world of motorsports. A 11-year-old Ryan Blaney was also among those. For a teen like him, the idea of NASCAR glory was the Chase itself. Which is why, though he’s somebody who’s thrived in the playoffs, to even win a title in it, his recent comments on the current championship situation sounded like NASCAR’s payback to him.

Ryan Blaney loves the new changes to the NASCAR championship

For Ryan Blaney, the new Chase format is something that severely affects his racing performance. Blaney has relied on the wild card entry system to qualify himself for the playoffs since his debut in the series. In fact, during the 2023 season, which crowned him a NASCAR champion for the first time, Blaney only won one race in the regular season. In spite of the visible disadvantages, Ryan Blaney is more than happy to work with NASCAR’s new format.

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“I like where they landed. I think it was time to make a change in the Playoffs format. Hey, I won a championship in that format. It was the main part of my career, all my career, I ran the Playoffs. But I think NASCAR is listening to the fans. I think they were getting pretty antsy. And I think drivers and teams were kind of pushing to want to do things differently. I’m happy with where they settled.”

Blaney also acknowledges the fans’ demand for a full, 36-race format. However, he explained the reason behind NASCAR’s choice for the new championship format.

“I think it was going to be really tough to get a 36-race regular points format. I just think that was going to be hard for NASCAR to pull that off with TV and stuff like that. So I think where they settled with the Chase is fantastic.”

Instead of considering the challenges due to the removal of the wild-card system, Blaney is rather happy that NASCAR removed it. He says that it makes the sport better and gives the drivers an incentive to stay consistently competitive throughout the season.

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He adds that NASCAR has actually made the Chase format better now. The previous system wasn’t as satisfactory, even though Blaney is a fan of it, having watched it since childhood.

“Hey, I grew up watching the Chase. Like, that was my main childhood, the Chase format, watching it on TV, and I loved it. I loved seeing it, and I think we’ve even made it better than the original Chase because the points you get for winning the races and how they seed everything at the start, I think there are big gaps and stuff like that. And so it’s really going to benefit you running well on those first 26 races and then just take 10 straight to the end. So yeah, I’m a big fan of it.”

While Blaney is excited about the new championship format, his teammate is equally careful about the changes going forward.

Joey Logano discusses his new approach towards racing in 2026

Joey Logano was among the drivers who utilized the NASCAR Playoffs to their full advantage before 2026. Logano used to claim one or two wins during the regular season and safely cruised to the championship races with his stage wins. In the new format, it will be nearly impossible to repeat the same.

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While talking to the media about how the new format affects him, Logano says, “It’s gonna change our approach. It’s gonna change our strategy, how we build our cars for the races. All that stuff is going to be kind of different. Because it used to be so difficult, really all or nothing. You used to get into such positions where your back is up against the wall, you had to win or your season was over.

“And you do desperate things. Now it’s about consistency. You really limit the bad days. You try to keep the average finish and gain stage points throughout the whole year. Even when the Chase starts, you’ve got to be in the top-5s at the furthest back I think.”

NASCAR’s championship format change has managed to bring the effect they were aiming for. It is changing the mentality of the drivers and forcing them to rethink and race accordingly. Only when the season finally starts can the fans realize the true impact and worth of the new Chase format for the NASCAR Cup Series.

What are your thoughts about the Chase format? Is it going to make the drivers more competitive, or will it fade away within a few races?

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