Here are the rules covering who can be a "dark horse" during our race picks, as set forth after our on-air rules caucus:
No driver is eligible to chosen as a dark horse on The Morning Drive if:
1. He has won a Sprint Cup championship in the past five seasons.
2. He qualified for the Chase in 2008.
3. He has won at least five races since the beginning of the 2006 season.
4. He has won a race at the track where that week’s race is being held since the start of the 2006 season.
NOTE: If a driver with dark horse status wins a race THIS season, he is immediately removed from eligibility for the rest of this year.
Under these rules, the following drivers ARE NOT eligible to be taken as dark horses:
All tracks
Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson (rule 1)
Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch (rule 2)
Kasey Kahne (rule 3)
Track by track (rule 4)
Daytona - Ryan Newman and Jamie McMurray
Dover -- Martin Truex Jr.
Infineon -- Juan Pablo Montoya
Lowe's -- Casey Mears
Talladega -- Brian Vickers
No driver is eligible to chosen as a dark horse on The Morning Drive if:
1. He has won a Sprint Cup championship in the past five seasons.
2. He qualified for the Chase in 2008.
3. He has won at least five races since the beginning of the 2006 season.
4. He has won a race at the track where that week’s race is being held since the start of the 2006 season.
NOTE: If a driver with dark horse status wins a race THIS season, he is immediately removed from eligibility for the rest of this year.
Under these rules, the following drivers ARE NOT eligible to be taken as dark horses:
All tracks
Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson (rule 1)
Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch (rule 2)
Kasey Kahne (rule 3)
Track by track (rule 4)
Daytona - Ryan Newman and Jamie McMurray
Dover -- Martin Truex Jr.
Infineon -- Juan Pablo Montoya
Lowe's -- Casey Mears
Talladega -- Brian Vickers