Harold
I have seen that too but then the question becomes "is that down rod a raceway or just part of the fixture"?
It is not really part of the fixed building wire or a chapter 3 wiring method. It is "fixture wire".
310.15 says
Where the wiring method is conduit, tubing, Type AC cable, Type MC cable, Type MI cable, nonmetallic-sheathed cable, or other cables, a box or conduit body shall be installed at each conductor splice point, outlet point, switch point, junction point, termination point, or pull point, unless otherwise permitted in 300.15(A) through (M).
