NASCAR Schedule 2015: Looking Ahead to Sprint Cup Slate After Daytona 500

Joey Logano won the battle, but the Sprint Cup war remains far from over.

Logano will undoubtedly bask in the glory of his 2015 Daytona 500 triumph, and he certainly deserves to do so. Sooner or later, though, he'll need to shift his focus back to the work at hand. Twenty-five races may seem like a lot, but the Challenger Round will be here before you know it.

Race	Track	Date	Time
Daytona 500	Daytona International Speedway	Sun., Feb. 22	1 p.m. ET
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Sun., March 1	1 p.m. ET
Kobalt 400	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	Sun., March 8	3:30 p.m. ET
CampingWorld.com 500	Phoenix International Raceway	Sun., March 15	3:30 p.m. ET
Auto Club 400	Auto Club Speedway	Sun., March 22	3:30 p.m.ET
STP 500	Martinsville Speedway	Sun., March 29	1 p.m. ET
Duck Commander 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Sat., April 11	7:30 p.m. ET
Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	Sunday, April 19	1 p.m. ET
Toyota Owners 400	Richmond International Speedway	Saturday, April 25	7 p.m. ET
GEICO 500	Talladega Superspeedway	Sunday, May 3	1 p.m. ET
NASCAR Sprint Cup May Kansas Race	Kansas Speedway	Saturday, May 9	7:30 p.m. ET
Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Sunday, May 24	6 p.m. ET
NASCAR Sprint Cup May Dover Race	Dover International Speedway	Sunday, May 31	1 p.m. ET
Axalta 'We Paint Winners' 400	Pocono Raceway	Sunday, June 7	1 p.m. ET
Quicken Loans 400	Michigan International Speedway	Sunday, June 14	1 p.m. ET
Toyota-Save Mart 350	Sonoma Raceway	Sunday, June 28	3 p.m. ET
Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola	Daytona International Speedway	Sunday, July 5	7:45 p.m. ET
Quaker State 400 Presented by Advance Auto Parts	Kentucky Speedway	Saturday, July 11	7:30 p.m. ET
NASCAR Sprint Cup July New Hampshire Race	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	Sunday, July 19	1:30 p.m. ET
Crown Royal Presents the 'Your Hero's Name Here' 400 at the Brickyard	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Sunday, July 26	3:30 p.m. ET
Pennsylvania 400	Pocono Raceway	Sunday, Aug. 2	1:30 p.m. ET
Cheez-It 355	Watkins Glen International	Sunday, Aug. 9	2 p.m. ET
Pure Michigan 400	Michigan International Speedway	Sunday, Aug. 16	2:30 p.m. ET
IRWIN Tools Night Race	Bristol Motor Speedway	Saturday, Aug. 22	7:30 p.m. ET
Bojangles' Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	Sunday, Sept. 6	7 p.m. ET
Federated Auto Parts 400	Richmond International Raceway	Saturday, Sept. 12	7:30 p.m.
Challenger Round
MyAFibStory.com 400	Chicagoland Speedway	Sunday, Sept. 20	3 p.m. ET
Sylvania 300	New Hampshire Motor Speedway	Sunday, Sept. 27	2 p.m. ET
AAA 400	Dover International Speedway	Sunday, Oct. 4	2:30 p.m. ET
Contender Round
Bank of America 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Saturday, Oct. 10	7 p.m. ET
Hollywood Casino 400	Kansas Speedway	Sunday, Oct. 18	2:15 p.m. ET
Alabama 500	Talladega Superspeedway	Sunday, Oct. 25	2:30 p.m. ET
Eliminator Round
Goody's FAST PAIN RELIEF 500	Martinsville Speedway	Sunday, Nov. 1	1:15 p.m.
AAA Texas 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Sunday, Nov. 8	2 p.m. ET
Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500	Phoenix International Raceway	Sunday, Nov. 15	2:30 p.m. ET
Championship Round
Ford EcoBoost 400	Homestead-Miami Speedway	Sunday, Nov. 22	3 p.m. ET

Winning the Daytona 500 has all but secured Logano a place in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. NASCAR decided not to tweak the structure it introduced last year, which puts an emphasis on winning races. In that sense, his future is pretty much assured:

Historically, though, the odds are against the 24-year-old winning the points title. According to NASCAR.com, only five different drivers have won the Daytona 500 and a Sprint Cup championship in the same season. Jimmie Johnson (2006 and 2013) is the only person to do it since the turn of the century.

It feels like only a matter of time before Logano is the Sprint Cup champion; his year-end position has steadily improved in each of the last four years, and he's still so young.

That kind of success just might not come in 2015, though.

Perhaps the biggest storyline this year will be about Jeff Gordon. He's already announced the 2015 season will be his last on the Sprint Cup circuit, in addition to shooting down the idea that he'd return for the occasional major race here and there.

Gordon owned the pole for the Daytona 500 but finished an underwhelming 33rd. Still, he remained in good spirits after the race, per USA Today's Jeff Gluck:

"

It's disappointing because things were going so well, especially in that first half. That was amazing. I was enjoying that moment very, very much, being out front and being in control of the race. I felt like we were doing everything perfectly. The car was amazing.

I knew it was going to be crucial to maintain that track position. That one restart, I chose the outside and that line just didn't go. From that point on, we were playing catch-up.

"

Even Gordon's harshest critics have to acknowledge his place in the history of NASCAR. He was so dominant in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

It would be great to see the 43-year-old win—or at the very least compete for—the Sprint Cup title in his NASCAR swansong. He's finished in the top 10 in all but one—2005—of the last 21 years on the Sprint Cup circuit. There's a good chance he'll at least get to the Challenger Round.

Of course, the usual suspects—Johnson, 2014 champion Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski—are bound to be hovering near the top of the standings throughout the year.

The nature of the Sprint Cup title format means that it's almost impossible to start talking about true title contenders until the Chase begins. Keselowski and Gordon were the top two drivers once the Challenger Round began last year, but neither made it to the Championship Round. Harvick, meanwhile, started sixth before winning the title.

Logano has the early edge on the competition, but it's a long season. The standings will look very different come September.