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SHINING STAR: Doug Kalitta entered the playoffs in sixth place and winless for almost three years but caught fire immediately with wins in Reading (the 50th of his career) and Charlotte, all despite having to switch back to last year’s car after blowing a tire and damaging the chassis during qualifying in Reading. Kalitta’s win in Charlotte carried him into his first points lead since the fall of 2020, and a second-round finish in St. Louis has him leading the pack by 47 points.

“We’ll take what we did in the first half of the Countdown, for sure," said Kalitta. "These guys are doing a hell of a job, and I couldn’t be happier to be in the position I’m in. Whatever it is, hot tracks or cool tracks, these guys can figure it out.”

GAINING TRACTION: Leah Pruett has jumped up two spots to No. 2 behind Kalitta thanks to semifinals in Reading and Charlotte and a runner-up in St. Louis for an impressive 7-3 playoff win-loss record.

“We’ve had the most reactive car to our tune-up changes we’ve had all season, and it shows," said Pruett. "The crew's work ethic has maintained throughout this whole season, and that shows the attention to detail of the car and what it wants has been elevated. I’m going to spend the next week and a half focusing on our performance and gaining those little points, as well as a driver getting in my groove a little earlier in the weekend.”

Clay Millican started the Countdown with back-to-back first-round losses in Reading and Charlotte, but his St. Louis win may have kept his championship hopes somewhat intact. He’s still back in eighth place, 152 points behind Kalitta, but another early exit would have killed any hopes.

HOLDING STEADY: Steve Torrence started the Countdown in second, was runner-up behind Kalitta in Reading, stumbled in round one in Charlotte, then rebounded with a semi in St. Louis. He’s in third, just 51 points behind Kalitta.

Mike Salinas’ runner-up in Charlotte and first 300-to-the-eighth run have been his highlights, sandwiched around a first-round loss in Reading and second-round exit in St. Louis; he picked up one spot from seventh to sixth.

Tony Schumacher has been a surprise in the Countdown. After earning just five win lights in the first 15 races, he’s got four already in the playoffs and moved up three spots, second most in the class behind Kalitta.

LOSING TRACTION: Pretty much everyone else has lost at least one spot, beginning with top seed Justin Ashley, whose 2-3 win-loss record has plummeted him from first to fourth. Despite an even 3-3 record, Antron Brown fell one spot to fourth, and reigning champ Brittany Force, with just two round wins, slid from seventh to fifth. 

With so many points still on the table, no one is truly out of it, and the top five are all within 100 points of one another.