“You could have three races, and then another round of three races. From that, you could whittle down to whatever number the driver count is,” Jordan Bianchi shared this idea earlier in September on the Door Bumper Clear podcast. This ignited a new round of talks about the current setup. The suggestion came amid heated debates in the garage, splitting opinions on whether to stick with the existing system or go back to the full-season points chase.

Bianchi’s 3-3-4 format aimed to balance excitement and fairness, but it drew fire from the NASCAR Hall of Famer, Mark Martin, who questioned why Bianchi pushed ideas fans might not want. Martin, a 40-time Cup winner, took to X to call it out, hinting at hidden agendas. Still, Bianchi’s recent comments show he’s standing firm on his views.

On The Teardown, he opened up about how playoff talks have dominated the 2025 NASCAR season, saying, “this been a season of literally a week-by-week discussion about this. And it’s almost like it sucked the oxygen out of the room a little bit where it’s like playoff, playoff, playoff, playoff instead of maybe, you know, we talk about how this season maybe hasn’t had the story lines or everything else.”

This frustration stems from ongoing committee meetings, starting in February 2025, where ideas like his 3-3-4 format were floated but met resistance. Bianchi noted the constant buzz, from driver interviews to social media, has made it exhausting, especially after just three meetings led to endless spin-offs, like the misrepresentation of Mark Martin’s comments on a potential four-race finale.

As Bianchi is holding his ground on the playoff format debate, fans are also not holding back on one X post, saying, “Bianchi is so upset on the Teardown about the possibility of the playoffs changing.”

Bianchi is so upset on the Teardown about the possibility of the playoffs changing

— BrakeHard (@BrakeHardBlog) September 29, 2025

Pushing back against Jeff Gluck‘s view that playoffs always get attention, Bianchi insisted, “not to this level where it’s constant continual, what are we going to do? What should the format be? What should be this? What’s your format? Oh no, we’re going to do this format.” He argued this year’s intensity, amplified by events like the Bristol Night Race on September 13, 2025, has overshadowed races themselves.

Bianchi refuses to back down, emphasizing how such debates, while healthy, risk harming the sport by drowning out other narratives, as seen in past format shifts from the 2004 Chase onward. His stance keeps the focus sharp, even as NASCAR eyes changes post-Phoenix on November 2, 2025. And fans are chiming in with their own takes, showing the divide runs deep.

Fan backlash builds on Bianchi’s take

Digging into the frustration, another fan pointed out, “Interesting that Jordan thinks camping and showering at a racetrack would be a punishment 🤦‍♂ Hundreds of thousands of fans pay money to do that at tracks every year!” This jab ties back to Bianchi’s podcast quip during the Kansas discussion on September 29, 2025, where he suggested roughing it as a downside, contrasting with fan traditions at venues like Bristol, where over 100,000 attendees camp annually for the thrill.

Shifting to lighter digs, fans recalled old-school moments. “Give him Jimmy Spencer’s crying towel lol,” one said, referencing Spencer‘s 2003 emotional post-race interview after a feud with Kurt Busch, now a meme for overreactions. It pokes at Bianchi’s heated defense, much like Spencer vented frustrations during his 15 career wins.

“It is a simple storyline that creates simple stories, but back in the day writers like Monty Dutton, David Poole, Steve Waid, etc., seemed to always find interesting stuff to write about every week.” This highlights a longing for deeper coverage beyond playoffs. The nostalgia runs deep in these responses.

Back when NASCAR relied on full-season points until 2003, the media found endless angles without the playoffs dominating. One fan noted how scribes like the late Monty Dutton, who covered the sport for decades until 2013, always uncovered fresh tales from garage life, unlike today’s format-driven focus that Bianchi keeps fueling.

“Same guy that doesn’t want drivers having a life outside of NASCAR (example: Chase Elliott snowboarding) but will b—h about drivers not having personalities.” This stems from Bianchi’s 2024 critique of Elliott‘s off-track hobbies risking injury, yet he laments bland personas, echoing debates after Elliott’s 2023 snowboarding mishap that sidelined him for six races.

Wrapping up the reactions, one listener shared, “Yea this was the first podcast I actually wanted to just stop listening to. He’s so big-headed that he just touts sh-t to get interactions out of. Loved how Jeff just shut it down.” This captures the September 29, 2025, Teardown episode tension, where Gluck countered Bianchi’s intensity, similar to how insiders like Dale Earnhardt Jr. have dialed back hype on his podcasts to keep discussions grounded.