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The Art of Racing 9-16
Attention turns to the Chase
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Special to the Standard
Updated: Sep 15, 2016, 9:39 PM
Published: Sep 15, 2016, 10:39 PM

The final race for the regular season was last week in Richmond, Va. It was very interesting to watch the “must win” drivers maneuver their way through the field, but when it was all over, Denny Hamlin was the victor. 
It was Hamlin’s third win this season. Eight of the top 10 positions were filled by regular season winners, with Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray finishing sixth and seventh. Kahne failed to make the Chase grid but McMurray managed to get one of the three spots available by points.
All Chase teams had their points adjusted with each team getting 2,000 points plus 3 bonus points for each win this year.
The 16 teams making the Chase are: Kyle Busch (2,012), Keselowski (2,012), Hamlin, Harvick, Edwards, Truex Jr., Kenseth and Johnson, all receiving 2,006 points. Logano, Larson, Stewart, Kurt Busch, and Buescher received 3 bonus points. The three drivers getting in on points are Elliott, Dillon and McMurray, each receiving 2,000 points.
The Chase is basically the same as last year with only one change. Instead of using names such as Challanger Round, NASCAR made it a lot easier to follow the Chase by designating each round with the number of Chase teams competing in each race. 
Round of 16 involves races in Chicagoland, New Hampshire and Dover. After those three races, the field will be reduced to 12 teams. Any win by a Chase driver will automatically put them into the round of 12.
Round of 12 involves races in Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega. Once again, any team with a win goes to the next round, and the lowest four teams will be cut.
Round of 8 involves races in Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix. After Phoenix, NASCAR will cut the lowest four teams leaving four teams left.
The final race of the season will be at the Homestead, Miami Speedway. The final four teams will battle it out for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. All it will take is for one of the four teams to finish ahead of the other three. They don’t have to win the race, just finish ahead of the other three.
Joe Gibbs Racing has four teams plus Truex in the Chase. Stewart/Haas has three teams. Penske Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, and Chip Ganassi have qualified two teams each, and Richard Childress and Front Row Motorsports each have one team in the Chase.
Two rookie drivers are in the Chase – Buescher and Dillon.
The Chase could get interesting to see if teamwork among the teams takes place. It has in the past so it gives the Joe Gibb drivers the edge.
Where Did that Come From? - No earthly idea
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Stan St. Clair
Published: Mar 29, 2025, 5:04 PM

My good friend, Delores Green asked me about this one a few weeks ago. There are several ways “No earthly” is used in speech (idea, means, purpose or reason).

This simply means ‘no conceivable…’ as it is derived from relating to earthly means of thinking.

It is impos-

sible to tell exactly who first used this expression.

The earliest known citation to a form of this is in the Dissertation in The Lusiad; Or, The Discovery of India: An Epic Poem by Luís de Camões, translated into English by William Julius Mickle, published in London, 1778:

“In the first book, Jove summons a council of the Gods, which is described at great length, for no earthly purpose but to shew that he favoured the Portuguese.”

Here it could be said that ‘no earthly purpose’ was used because the council was said to have taken place in the heavens, thus it may be a literal application. But in 1832, a clearly figurative example showed up in Trials of the Persons Concerned in the Late Riots, Before Chief Justice of Great Britain, page 10:

“…where he (the Mayor) could have no earthly idea whether the military assistance was required at that precise time or not…”