WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. >> Martin Truex Jr. tried to stay optimistic about his slim chance at winning a NASCAR championship in his final season before he conceded, “no matter what we do, it is wrong.” Chase Briscoe is last among the 16 playoff drivers, but he says, count him out at your own risk. Austin Cindric feels “fairly neutral” about surviving the final two races until four drivers are cut from the field.

As for Denny Hamlin?

“I certainly don’t love where I’m at,” Hamlin said.

Joey Logano won the Cup Series playoff opener last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the automatic spot in the second round that came with the victory, making him about the only driver feeling great this weekend at Watkins Glen International.

As for the other 15 drivers in the playoff field, it’s a combination of nerves, the harsh reality that a championship bid can come closer to the end — and a little bit of hope that a checked flag can keep that bid alive.

“I still think if I just do the best I can tomorrow, do the best I can at Bristol, it still will work itself out,” Hamlin said Saturday at The Glen. “But if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”

Hamlin has 54 Cup wins without a championship in a career that dates to his 2005 debut, leaving the Joe Gibbs Racing driver arguably at the top of an ignominious list as NASCAR’s greatest driver without a Cup title.

His pursuit isn’t over yet and Watkins Glen isn’t a bad track to race back into contention. He won at The Glen in 2016 and was runner-up at last season’s race. Hamlin is 11th among the 16 drivers, just two points above the cutline.

Among the 15 drivers after Logano, 2023 Cup champion Ryan Blaney is second, Christopher Bell third, Tyler Reddick fourth and William Byron fifth. Alex Bowman, Cindric, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Hamlin and Ty Gibbs are above the cutline.

Brad Keselowski, Harrison Burton, Truex — who qualified second — and Chase Briscoe are the final four drivers.

The bottom four need incredibly strong points outings — or a win, of course — to remain in the field of 12 after next week’s cutoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“In 2022, everyone said we’d be one of the first teams out, and we were essentially seven laps away from the final four,” Briscoe said. “I don’t think we take any of it personally. When we do our jobs and execute all day long, we can beat anybody. We proved that a couple of weeks ago.”

Briscoe was a surprise winner in the regular-season finale at Darlington Raceway to crack the playoff field, and the Stewart-Haas Racing driver sits 21 points below the cutoff. He crashed in Atlanta and finished 38th, a blow to his playoff hopes.

“I was amazed that I was only 21 points out,” Briscoe said. “I texted our team group chat a screenshot of being 21 out and said this was pretty doable. I think 21 points is still a lot, right? In the big scheme of things, you have two good stages and you’re right back in the mix.”