“We’ve failed before”: Chase Elliott talks about the pressure of qualifying for NASCAR playoffs after a disappointing qualifying at Watkins Glen

Saturday's qualifying session ahead of the second last 2023 NASCAR regular season race at Watkins Glen International did not stem the best results for Chase Elliott. The Hendrick Motorsports driver, who currently finds himself in a must-win situation in order to qualify for the postseason playoffs this year, has not been able to ramp up his performances as much as the season has demanded of him.

Coming extremely close to making it into the 2023 playoffs last weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the #9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver managed a P15 spot after Saturday's session ahead of the main race. The 2020 Cup Series champion failed to make it into the top 10 after qualifying in P6 in Group A of the session, eliminating him from the final rounds of drivers challenging for the pole at Watkins Glen International.

Chase Elliott elaborated on how his performance on Saturday might affect his and his team's morale on Sunday, with the ever-mounting pressure of qualifying for the playoffs. He told frontstretch.com in an interview:

"We've been doing this for a long time so it is, we've ridden the roller coaster for a few years now so this is not uncharted territory being in a bad position and having to go and do well, and we've failed before. You learn lessons through all those situations and I think they make you better."

The 27-year-old shared his mindset going into the final couple races of the season, saying:

"I think what you guys look at as what you think is pressure is not the same as how I look at things. Just keep that in mind and I just want to go do the best job that I know I'm capable of doing."

It remains to be seen if Chase Elliott can move forward from his starting position on race day.

Chase Elliott's gameplan heading into the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen after qualifying P15

Dawsonville, Georgia native and driver of the #9 Chevy for Rick Hendrick, Chase Elliott has not been having the best time recently in the NASCAR Cup Series. Finding himself in a must-win position to even challenge for the 2023 championship, the 2022 regular season champion elaborated on how he aims to improve on his qualifying effort on Sunday.

Speaking to Bob Pockrass in an interview, he said:

"Just try to logically think through it and just try to piece it together, that's all you can do. Nowadays you have so much access to data, you can look at so much data it almost makes it worse somedays."

Go Bowling at The Glen goes live from Watkins Glen International on Sunday, August 20, 2023 at 3:00 pm ET.