Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott was among those that did not advance past first round qualifying on Saturday. He was sixth fastest in Group A with only the top five moving to the final round session and his speed will place him 15th on the grid for Sundays Go Bowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, USA, MRN).

Elliott was understandably frustrated Saturday about his qualifying showing considering he’s ranked 19th in the standings with the top 16 advancing to the Playoffs. With two regular-season races remaining the former series champion will need to win a race to advance to his ninth-consecutive Playoffs.

“Unfortunate,’’ Elliott said of his qualifying run Saturday, noting he was very disappointed after having shown good pace in practice. Our prep coming in was really good. [Teammate] William [Byron] had a lot of pace there so that’s good, hopefully I can figure out how to drive the vehicle faster.

“It’s no one’s fault but mine that we’re in the spot we’re in. Hate it, but it is what it is and we’ll fight tomorrow to the last lap and hopefully something will fall our way.’’

Watkins Glen has been a productive venue for the 2021 champion. He won back-to-back races here in 2018-19; the 2018 victory his first ever at the NASCAR Cup Series level. His worst finish over the last four years is fourth. Unfortunately for him, fourth though won’t do it on Sunday either.

To add to the frustration, 11 of the last 12 winners have started in the top 3 Rows including the last 5 from the top 2 Rows. 16 of the last 18 have started in the top 10.

“Daytona, to show up there [next week] and it be a must-win situation is like going to Vegas and having to hit the nearest slot machine for the jackpot,’’ Elliott continued. “That’s just silly. To me, this is opportunity we have the most control over and didn’t have a very good start to the weekend so it puts you in a tough spot.”