FanHouse Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

The water invading the hull of the Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing sinking ship finally got to be too much for the talented Martin Truex Jr.

"I've given them everything that I could," said Truex on Tuesday after announcing he'd take over a ride at Michael Waltrip Racing. "There got to be too many questions, too many things that were uncertain."

Which is why, as we guessed a year ago, his one-year contract extension with the Teresa Earnhardt-run operation would be all for naught thanks to a nasty set of decisions and circumstances that have left a once proud team in survival mode, and might have left Truex settling for a team he might not have otherwise gone to.

Juan Pablo Montoya made a scary analysis about the condition of his Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing's team cars Friday at Infineon Raceway.

It was scary for the rest of the field, of course, because the Colombian is returning to the twisty road course in Northern California where he saw his first career Sprint Cup Series win two years ago with a race car that he thinks is better prepared.

"I think our cars have come a long way -- even when we won here, our cars are a little more competitive now," said Montoya on Friday afternoon prior to qualifying.

Just a year and change after NASCAR's most popular driver vacated the No. 8 seat, that team is suspending operations thanks to a lack of sponsorship.

Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing will not be taking Aric Almirola and his Chevrolet team any further in the 2009 season after a dismal start has failed to yield more sponsorship dollars, though the team is still actively -- and probably hopelessly -- searching for more backers.

For Almirola, though, it's just a continuation of a string of bad lack in his climb to NASCAR's highest ranks.