HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- NASCAR will issue the requisite warning to drivers Sunday morning: Let the race play out naturally.In this scenario, naturally could mean crazily.Before this third version of the elimination-style Chase for the Sprint Cup, look at how the first two versions were decided at Homestead-Miami Speedway -- the site of the seasons final race -- with a race within the race, as the top finisher among the four finalists earns the title.* More crazy: In 2014, a Blake Koch-J.J. Yeley wreck with 12 laps remaining set up a dash for the finish, ruining the hopes of leader Denny Hamlin, who opted to stay out and became a sitting duck on the ensuing restart. Kevin Harvick went from 12th to the win, thanks to fresh tires and a strong car.* More natural: In 2015, a caution for debris with nine laps remaining bunched the field up, but Kyle Busch, the leader of the Chase drivers at the time, remained in front of his competitors on pit road. Busch was side-by-side with nemesis Brad Keselowski on the final restart, and Keselowski gave Busch -- and then Harvick behind him -- plenty of room to duke it out for the title. Busch was the eventual champion.The four 2016 finalists -- Kyle Busch (starting ninth), Carl Edwards (10th), Joey Logano (13th) and Jimmie Johnson (14th) -- have played nice with each other so far.Will the gloves come off? Or will it be one ecstatic driver with three disappointed but understanding drivers after the race? Will Michael McDowell (or someone else) have a tire issue in the waning laps -- as he has done in two of the past nine races -- and affect the outcome?Oh, and theres that matter of Johnson attempting to tie Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with seven Cup titles.Im not running from it, Johnson said. Im not hiding from it. Its just truthfully right now for me to do my job and the preparation and all the stuff that goes into racing and being competitive. Its just not top of mind.?What to watch for:Team spirit: For the first time in the elimination format, two drivers from the same organization are among the four finalists.Busch and Edwards have joked around with each other this week, but they obviously cant forget what happened at Richmond earlier this year, when Edwards moved Busch for the win.Both drivers have made aggressive moves in the past, some that have worked and others that have ended up as futile. Team owner Joe Gibbs might not want them to wreck each other, but they both are so competitive that it would be hard to see them race without a little bit of aggression and nastiness with a championship on the line. Busch would love to prove people wrong and win back-to-back championships in a format that doesnt favor such a feat; Edwards wants to win a Cup title after three near misses in his career.Im not nervous or anything, Gibbs said Friday. I just walked into the womens restroom. Other than that, no harm, no foul.Rebounds from qualifying: None of the finalists seemed all that thrilled with their qualifying.We all sucked, Logano said.To be honest, qualifying in the top 15 isnt wonderful.But it wasnt horrible.We shoot for No.?1, Logano said. Thats what we shoot for. We all want to be faster than that, Im sure. Im sure not just [my] team, everyone wants to be quicker than that when you come here.But the good side is that were all around each other, so the penalty of starting back there isnt too severe, because everyone is in the same boat.None of the four drivers have problematic pit stalls from qualifying, and Edwards and Busch have openings on their way in, so they know they will have clear entry into their stalls all day. All but one of the drivers pitting next to the Chase drivers are starting among the last 10 on the grid.Pit road: Speaking of pit road, Johnson said he has moved on from the one-lap penalty he received last week for passing the pace car while running the apron to enter pit road.Johnson and his team were flabbergasted NASCAR made the call on them, feeling that they had entered the pit road the way they normally do. While he exchanged texts and voice mails with NASCAR officials during the week, Johnson said Friday he didnt plan on sitting down with NASCAR officials to discuss it.Its off my radar, Johnson said. Youre damned sure [and can] bet I wont pass that pace car, though. Im not playing that game again.Ive moved on. I just pray and hope that they officiate it the same way they did with me every stop, everybody whos up front.The drivers certainly are aware NASCAR likely will be watching. Busch said he saw video earlier this week of someone questioning whether he violated the rule last year at Homestead, where it appeared he might have been past the pace car.I guess maybe I was given the benefit of the doubt in that situation, but I never throttled up, like Jimmie did, even to keep those guys behind me, Busch said. If you look at the film, I got everybody bottled up and theyre all nose?to?tail beating the bumpers off of each other coming to pit road. It wasnt like I gassed it up.I guess its just all in how its perceived and how it looks, so dont make it look bad.The end of Smoke: Its the last Sprint Cup race for Tony Stewart, who will roll off 11th in his 618th career start.He hasnt been all that stout in practice, and few consider him to be a factor for the win. After 18 years of Cup racing, hes ready for his final event as a NASCAR driver.In the racing world, its a big change, but for me, its not going to be that big of a change, said Stewart, who plans to race sprint cars and still play a pivotal role as co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. I just look at it like its halftime of the ball game, in all honesty.This is the end of the first half, and next season, we start the second half; and its going to be just as much fun if not more fun than this first half was. Im excited about finishing this chapter, but Im really excited about starting the next chapter next year. Nike Vapormax Sale Canada .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Nike Vapormax Clearance .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. http://www.vapormaxcanada.com/ . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Nike Vapormax Canada .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. Buy Nike Vapormax Canada . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers.Paul Pogba, Moussa Sissoko....Victor Anichebe. Niall Quinn gives his verdict on the hits and misses from the 2016 summer signings. I dont know how many times Jools Holland has ushered in the new year with his Hootenanny, but I know a little of how he feels. Transfer Deadline Day in the Sky Sports studio has the same elements. A months hype, the countdown, the drama, then the fireworks. Except we cant pre-record the entire thing.Like New Years Eve, there is plenty of time for disappointment and regret once the clock signals the windows end. I imagine managers texting each other in the cold light of the next morning. I really love him. But Arsene, you loved Andrey Arshavin too. In the studio we get to sit and judge, like drill sergeants watching a new batch of pimply recruits arrive into the barracks. Unless you get a strange story like Peter Odemwingies day trip to London or Anthony Martial signing on to be part of Uniteds Great Futures Behind Them collection, there is a lot of time for speculating about who will sleep with the fishes and who will swim with the dolphins?As we get to the last international break of the year I see the papers and the internet are boiling again with rumours of the frenzy to come in the approaching window, so it seems like a good time to look at a few of the hits and misses from the latest summer session.One of the best stories of the back end of summer was Moussa Sissoko. Everton thought he was ready to sign a pre-nup and tie the knot. Then he was worryingly uncontactable. Everton were about to call in Liam Neeson to track him down when Sissoko turned up in London wearing a Spurs jersey. Watch highlights of Spurs draw with Arsenal The fee of £30m was about double what Spurs generally like to pay for incoming players. His form so far has probably been about half what they expect from those players. Sissokos handful of appearances so far have not produced any goals or assists.Generally though, Sissokos disappointing start goes under the radar because the best story of the summer was Paul Pogbas return to Old Trafford. It was the sort of deal which would have Sir Alex Ferguson spinning in his VIP box and screaming to be let out.The idea to write about the form of the big summer transfers came before Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic spent Sunday afternoon pawing the dead mouse that is Swansea. But even taking into account that the win was Uniteds best performance outside of England this year, the jury must still be out on Pogba and Zlatan.United look like a troubled club and at the moment the guys picking up the heaviest wage packets every month have not been performing on match days. Maybe at 35 Zlatan should have looked for a gentler pasture in which he could transition into retirement. He has been playing professional football in top divisions since 1999. Thats a lot of mileage. Niall Quinn on Ibrahimovic There are various reasons. Maybe at 35 Zlatan should have looked for a gentler pasture in which he could transition into retirement. He has been playing professional football in top divisions since 1999. Thats a lot of mileage. He still works hard. However, fewer things come off for him.He scored 113 goals in 122 games in France. His patchy form at United compared to Mario Balotellis exciting form at Nice these days tells us a lot about the difference between playing in France and playing in England.Pogba, meanwhile, thrived in a different midfield set up in a different league that is played at a different pace. Great goal yesterday, but his season can go one of two ways from here. Jose may get his midfield right (Michael Carrick yesterday was a good sign) and Pogba might start to look like a Rolls Royce. Or he may struggle at this turbulent club and with that price tag he may become a human shield for his manager. Watch Paul Pogbas brilliant goal against Swansea As for Henrikh Mkhitaryan? You just never know whats around the corner do you Henrikh?The best transfers have been the ones which didnt attract screaming headlines. On transfer deadline night I did some weeping and gnashing of teeth when Sunderland failed to sign a new striker. They picked up Victor Anichebe on a free soon after and I thought that even with my aches and pains Id back myself to beat him in 40-yard sprint. I also thought that neither of us should attempt any distance longer than that without emergency medical services present.But wait. I saw Anichebe play for Sunderland at Bournemouth on Saturday and I ate some humble pie at half-time. David Moyes surprised Eddie Howe (and maybe surprised himself) by putting out an attacking team with Anichebe, in his first start, playing up front to take some pressure off Jermain Defoe. It worked. And Anichebe worked. He scored one and got fouled for the penalty, which gave Defoe his mandatory place on the score sheet. Victor Anichebe was the match-winner for Sunderland at Bournemouth Nobody is saying that Sunderland will be fending off Pogba style offers to keep Anichebe next summer, but he gave Sunderland some presence on Saturday, he gave them a goal, a win and a boost to morale with the promise that playing some attacking football might be a worthwhile exercise after all.ddddddddddddhelsea picking off NGolo Kante from the Leicester herd when they were down at the watering hole in the summer was just the law of the jungle. The deal was a quiet, efficient piece of business which has hurt Leicester badly and helped Chelsea no end. Kante and Nemanja Matic in central midfield are the motor which makes Chelsea rival Liverpool as the most improved team of the year so far.Since Antonio Conte found a formula he likes and is familiar with, Chelsea have won five games on the trot. The players around Kante are all suddenly looking as if they have been reconditioned. Thats the sign of a good midfielder, a good signing. Special mentions too for Marcos Alonso and David Luiz who have settled in really well. NGolo Kante (left) and Nemanja Matic have impressed for Chelsea None of the players Leicester bought as they broke their old transfer record a few times over in the summer have come close to making up for the loss of Kante.There have been other good signings about the league. With the amount of football he has in him John Stones could be the next Bobby Moore for England. Its surprising that Manchester City didnt experience more competition for his signature. I would have thought that his style would suit most of the top continental sides. Their loss is Peps gain. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ￡6.99. No contract. In a week when City beat Barcelona it is easy to forget that Guardiolas project is still a work in progress. I think weve have seen contrasting returns on investment so far from Citys two big German signings in the summer; Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan.Sane came back from the Euros a little late and has struggled with fitness, which is natural enough for a 20-year-old hitting the Premier League. In flashes he has shown that over the course of what is going to be a long season for City he could emerge to look like decent business, but we havent seen nearly enough yet. John Stones joined City from Everton Gundogans performance and two goals against Barcelona marked the occasion of him dropping his calling card at the Etihad. Apart from a knack of getting goals, among other virtues he looks like the cure to the brittleness which has troubled City for a while.When Transfer Deadline Day passed without Jurgen Klopp buying a shiny new striker I wondered if he had feet of clay after all. With 30 goals from 11 Premier League games and a top of the table seat this morning, Klopp has won that argument.His high-energy game is high attrition too, in terms of injuries and fatigue, so I still think he might splurge for a top forward in January. In the meanwhile, if Sadio Mane can escape the inconsistency he suffered from at Southampton he could prove to be the most inspired buy of the season.Elsewhere, what weve seen of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at Southampton confirms their shrewd eye. Hats off to Arsene who has bought very well other than mortgaging the house for a 20-goal-a-season striker as we all instructed him to. Pity Lucas Perez hasnt got in on the act yet. Sadio Mane scored twice as Liverpool thrashed Watford at the weekend Joe Allen was a neat bit of business for Stoke, he deserves a snappier nickname than the Midlands Andrea Pirlo. Victor Wanyama has been a typical bit of efficient Spurs business. Yannick Bolasie has looked decent at Everton though hell hope to have better days than he did on Saturday. If not he will need counselling.Mid-term report for the recruits of summer 2016? Some successes, some shrewd buys, a long list of flops, misfits and ones for the future. You look down the list of who bought who and how their teams are doing and even if you take away the hype surrounding Premier League managers now, generally the best ones have spent cleverly.The Manchester United managers performance in his first window is the exception to that rule and following his January dealings alone should be great fun. Will Jools be singing Cool For Cats or Up The Junction to Jose? Get Sky Sports Alerts Breaking news, line ups and goal alerts from your football club - direct to your mobile Also See: WATCH: Premier League goals Premier League hotlist Could Leicester get relegated? Live on Sky ' ' '