In NASCAR, merger’s another word for downsizing

Everybody has put a positive spin on NASCAR's sudden merger fever because it's been exciting to see things like Mark Martin joining the retooling effort at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

But, when the dust settles, this really is just a glorified downsizing.

Teresa Earnhardt and Max Siegel and Bobby Ginn talk about strengths in the future. But, the hard fact is two cars, the No 13 and No. 14, that weeks ago were qualifying for Nextel Cup races are parked. Dale Earnhardt Jr. pointed out his biggest concern the other day was wondering which of his friends at Ginn and DEI will lose their jobs as the shops combine to run four cars instead of a total of six.

More of this sort of thing appears to be on the horizon. The Robert Yates "merger" with Newman/Haas/Lanigan may only be part one of that deal. Another team like the Woods Brothers or Robbie Gordon or both may need to join to maximize the engineering potential from Newman/Haas with the sponsorship potential of a solid Nextel Cup team. Detroit News