MIAMI — Teresa Earnhardt and Chip Ganassi will combine their sponsorship-strapped race teams next season, an effort to stabilize their organizations in a tough economic time.

The combined team will be called Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and will field cars for Martin Truex, Aric Almirola, Juan Pablo Montoya and a driver yet to be named.

Ganassi shuttered his No. 40 team in July when he couldn’t find sponsorship for former Indy Racing League champion Dario Franchitti, who has since returned to that series.

That move forced Ganassi to lay off 71 people, and he was hopeful he could avoid more cutbacks after joining forces with Earnhardt. DEI, however, was expected to reduce its staff with the new venture.