Last week rumors spread around the garage that Teresa Earnhardt was going to sell the company that her husband, the late Dale Earnhardt, founded. She has recently denied these claims, but one has to wonder why she wouldn't. Dale Earnhardt Incorporated has quickly fallen from being one of the top-notch organizations in 2004 to it's mediocre status it holds today.

It was just four years ago that Dale Earnhardt Jr. won six races and just fell short of his first championship while driving for DEI. Back then it seemed as though the success would only continue, with Jr. earning a championship driving for his father's team.

However the collapse started in 2005, when DEI switched the crews for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip. Throughout the year both teams suffered before the teams were restored at the start of the Chase. Neither driver made the Chase, and in the first 26 races Earnhardt and Waltrip only had eight top-5's combined.

It was after that season that Michael Waltrip left DEI after only having three top-5's throughout the entire season, to make his own team, eventually with Toyota. Though certainly not the best driver on the circuit, Waltrip was still a vital part of DEI, as he is a sponsor's dream. When he left he took the big bucks with him.

In 2006 the team looked to be recovering, with the addition of Martin Truex Jr. in 1 car and Earnhardt reuinted with cousin Tony Eury Jr. as his crew chief. Though Earnhardt only won one race, he was consistent all year and made the Chase, while Truex had a mediocre rookie season. However 2007 would be another stutter for DEI that has lead to it's downfall.

Throughout the 2007 season engine troubles plagued the teams, as they had a combined 10 engine failures between them. In May Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced his departure from DEI, eventually signing with Hendrick Motorsports. DEI had lost the driver with the largest fanbase and, in turn, all the sponsorship and merchandise sales that he brought.

DEI then bought Ginn racing, aquiring the talented veteran Mark Martin. However besides him they only had Truex, who earned his only career victory early in the year, and the young drivers of Aric Almirola, Regan Smith and Paul Menard.

This year DEI has been plain and simply miserable, with the exception of Martin. Their young drivers of Smith, Almirola and Menard have for the most part struggled in their starts, with only one top-10 between the three drivers. Meanwhile Truex has also struggled, with only five top-10's throughout the season, leaving him 18th in points and unlikely to make the Chase.

On top of these woes Martin, who has carried this team, will be leaving to Hendrick Motorsports next year to take one more shot at a championship, while Truex is trying to leave the team at the end of the year, possibly to Stewart/Haas Racing. This leaves DEI with only Almirola, Smith and Menard.

With these inexperienced drivers combined with low-grade equipment, things are destined to only get worse for DEI, with it's downfall seemingly imminent.