Ryan Blaney sure did turn heads with a gutsy performance at Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 in Dover! Starting the race in a tough 31st spot after a rainout scrapped practice and qualifying, Blaney found himself buried deep in the pack. But this driver didn’t flinch. He powered into the top 20 within the first 60 laps, blending raw car speed with some slick pit strategy.

By the end of Stage 1, he’d clawed his way to 16th, and by Stage 2’s close, he was sitting pretty in 9th, proving he’s got a knack for racking up solid stage points even from the back. Those points boosted his tally, landing him 8th in the standings post-race.

With rain throwing a red flag and sparking multiple restarts, Blaney kept his cool, pitting smartly for right-side tires after a wave-around under caution. Through the final overtime scrambles, he dodged trouble and muscled up to an 8th-place finish, leading all Ford drivers with a smooth, steady drive.

That Dover run has Blaney stepping into the ring on a hot topic that’s been lighting up social media this week: the championship format debate. He’s not holding back, firing shots at fans who claim current titleholders don’t stack up to the legends of past eras.

In-season and Mickey Mouse allegations

The 2023 Cup Series champ spilled his thoughts on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Wednesday morning, arguing that drivers and teams who’ve won under today’s playoff system stepped up when it counted most. “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.’ 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.” Blaney said.

As a driver who claimed the Cup title in the elimination format, Blaney knows the grind firsthand. He didn’t roll through the year like Kyle Larson did in 2021, but he and the No. 12 team seized key moments. They ran strong during the regular season, locking a playoff spot with a Coca-Cola 600 win, survived the first round on points, and punched through the Round of 12 with a Talladega triumph.

A Martinsville win in the Round of 8 landed him in the Championship 4, and he sealed the deal with a second-place finish at Phoenix, outpacing everyone except Ross Chastain, who wasn’t in the championship hunt. “I look at our championship as like, we had a good year and we even had a better playoffs than everybody else,” Blaney added. “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.”

That said, Blaney isn’t blindly cheering the current setup. He’s not a fan of the winner-takes-all finale at Phoenix, hinting he’d love to see tweaks or even a nod to an older format. “Do I have my ideal like championship format? Yeah. Like my opinion on it, I was a huge fan of the initial Chase. Last 10 weeks of the year, you kind of have somewhat of a reset in points and then you go 10 races and whoever had the best 10 races was going to win the championship.” Blaney said.

Pushing back against the “Mickey Mouse” jabs, he added, “So yeah, I don’t know. I mean, everyone can have their opinion. It gets under my skin a little bit when they’re like, ‘You guys didn’t deserve that championship.’ It’s like, what are you talking about, man? Like we went through the grinder, everyone digs in. And we were resilient when it mattered.”

Blaney lauds NASCAR for sticking with Bowman Gray for the clash in 2026

Naturally, this championship chatter flows right into some exciting news for the sport’s future, and Blaney’s got plenty to say about it. On July 9, 2025, NASCAR confirmed The Clash will roll back to Bowman Gray Stadium for the 2026 season, set for February 1 with live coverage on FOX Sports. After a three-year stint at the LA Coliseum, the Cup Series returned to its roots this year, staging the preseason showdown on the legendary quarter-mile oval in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. That event sold out, and Blaney couldn’t be happier with the decision. With fans and drivers buzzing about where the Clash might land next, NASCAR’s choice to stick with Bowman Gray feels like a win, building on this year’s triumphant comeback.

Blaney, who snagged second place in this year’s Clash, shared his enthusiasm with a warm nod to his roots. “I’m excited. It’s going back to Winston-Salem. Growing up around that area meant a lot to me. High Point, Winston, Greensboro, like I spent a lot of time in those areas, and saw a lot of people that I grew up with that came out to that race,” he said. Calling the race “good for the community,” Blaney admitted he wouldn’t tweak a thing about the track or format.

“I thought it put on a great show. I like that we were there with the mods. So, that was nice… So yeah, I don’t really think I would change much about it. I thought it put on a really good race, honestly.” Looking ahead, he’s eager to see how long Bowman Gray holds the Clash. “I’m happy that Bowman Gray got another shot at it ’cause I thought it put on a great event earlier this year,” he added.

The 2025 Clash not only sold out but also marked the first Cup Series event at Bowman Gray since 1971, with 2020 champ Chase Elliott taking the checkered flag. That race earned rave reviews for blending NASCAR’s rich heritage with its modern flair. The stadium’s tight, 440-yard layout delivered more character than many sprawling superspeedways can muster across 2.66 miles. Dubbed “The Madhouse” since opening in 1937, Bowman Gray hosted NASCAR’s first weekly-sanctioned races in 1949.

NASCAR took long-term control of operations there in 2024, signaling a commitment to its historic charm. One of the sport’s coziest venues, it puts fans right in the thick of the action, as close as a football field sidelines, with the 2025 Clash serving up door-to-door racing and plenty of contact, a throwback style that thrilled die-hard fans.