Sprint Cup Chase 2015: NASCAR Standings and Schedule After Kobalt 400

Kevin Harvick picked up the win in Sunday's Kobalt 400, and as a result, he vaulted to the top of the points standings, with his place in the Chase for the Sprint Cup all but assured.

Few can argue with the outcome, as the 39-year-old was by far the best driver on the track at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He led 142 of the 267 laps Sunday. The next-closest driver was Joey Logano with 47 laps led.

USA Today's Jeff Gluck thinks Harvick can be so scary when he's in this kind of form:

Harvick certainly has to be considered the hottest driver on the Sprint Cup circuit at the moment. He's finished either first or second in his last six races, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Of course, the Sprint Cup season is a marathon, not a sprint. It's all well and good for Harvick to be on a great run now, but nobody will remember that if he gets knocked out of the Chase in one of the earlier rounds.

Here's a look at how the rest of the schedule looks after Sunday:

Race	Track	Date	Time
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
Spongebob Squarepants 400	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

It would be way too premature for any drivers to begin panicking about their position relative to the Chase. All it essentially takes is one win to get in, and more than 20 races remain between now and the Challenger Round. Plus, Ryan Newman and Greg Biffle made last year's Chase without even getting a checkered flag. That route isn't outside the realm of possibility.

Of course, Harvick joins Logano and Jimmie Johnson in having one foot in the Challenger Round. The Chase structure places wins ahead of total points, which means one victory will generally be the minimum standard.

Here's a look at the top 16 drivers right now:

Pos.	Driver	Wins	Points
1	Kevin Harvick	1	134
2	Joey Logano	1	123
3	Jimmie Johnson	1	91
4	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	0	125
5	Martin Truex Jr.	0	118
6	AJ Allmendinger	0	100
7	Kasey Kahne	0	92
8	Denny Hamlin	0	87
9	Casey Mears	0	87
10	Matt Kenseth	0	85
11	Greg Biffle	0	84
12	Ryan Newman	0	82
13	Paul Menard	0	82
14	Clint Bowyer	0	81
15	Aric Almirola	0	80
16	Brad Keselowski	0	77

There are a few early surprises.

Neither Casey Mears nor Martin Truex Jr. has finished a Sprint Cup season in the top 10. Mears is ninth, and Truex sits fifth. If you had to bet right now, you'd guess that both will at the very least drop down in the standings as the year unfolds, and they'll have a rough road ahead to qualify for the Chase. Combined, they have three career Sprint Cup wins.

Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

At the other end of the spectrum, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards are among the stars who have underwhelmed so far. They sit 29th, 32nd and 23rd, respectively, in the standings. Similarly to Mears and Truex, it's likely that things will even out in the end, and the three will slowly but surely creep upward in the coming weeks and months.

It would be especially unfortunate if Gordon fails to make the Chase in his Sprint Cup swansong. Even his most ardent naysayers have to admit that it would be a lot more fun if he's at least competing for a title.

The next Sprint Cup race is the CampingWorld.com 500, which is scheduled for next Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET, with coverage on Fox.

Harvick goes in as the defending champion, winning The Profit on CNBC 500 at Phoenix last year. He's dominated the track of late, taking the checkered flag in four of his last five races there. Harvick will be among the top drivers to watch.