Landscape of garage set to change with financial woes

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- It seemed like some folks lingered a little longer than usual in the Sprint Cup garage Sunday night following the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Not everyone. Dale Earnhardt Jr. scurried off after meeting his post-race media obligations. Others darted here or there, rapidly putting away tools and packing up haulers.

But if you looked closely, there was the unmistakable air of bittersweet emotion -- not only because the 2008 season had come to an end, but because everyone knew what has been dubbed "Black Monday" was about to follow.

Much was about to change, and everyone knew it. The garage that opens for the 2009 Daytona 500 next February will not look exactly like the one that closed down Sunday night at Homestead.

It might not even be close.

Max Siegel was attending his last race as president of global operations for Dale Earnhardt Inc. He'll be back next season, but DEI, in its present form, will not and he'll have a new title. The company founded by the late Dale Earnhardt is merging with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates next season.

Siegel said DEI was forced to let go of more than 70 employees to make its end of the merger work. He added that he has heard estimates that up to 750 employees in NASCAR's three national series will be laid off by the end of the work day Monday -- and that he believes that estimate might be low.

"I've been hearing from 700 to 1,200. I'm not sure what everybody else is doing," Siegel said. "I'm actually going to be watching curiously just like everybody else. These are all pretty much privately held companies, so you don't want to get into everybody else's business. But it's tough out there."

Not alone
About 30 minutes after Sunday's race ended, Tony Stewart was still at the No. 20 Toyota hauler talking with one of the men who owns it. You might have heard of him: Coach Joe Gibbs.

Stewart used to drive for him. That 10-year, two-championship run ended at the conclusion of Sunday's 267-lap race, but it was obvious Stewart wasn't going to make one of his patented quick exits from the garage -- despite the fact that he had to give up the lead, and potentially the race victory, to pit for gas with 11 laps to go.

After talking with the elder Gibbs and his son, JGR president J.D. Gibbs, as well as several others from the Home Depot team that he is leaving, Stewart took a leisurely stroll down to the hauler marked Haas CNC Racing, shaking hands and flashing a smile as if he were a politician all along the way. (Continued)