TALLADEGA, Ala. -- John Story, vice president and general manager for Dale Earnhardt Inc., says company officials have had talks with Robert Yates Racing officials about a merger.

Story termed the talks "preliminary'' and said Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway that they started a few weeks ago. This is a way for DEI to try to strengthen itself and show Dale Earnhardt Jr. it can have the resources to compete for wins and championships. The team and Earnhardt remain in talks about a contract extension.

Time is going to become an issue. Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, who is Earnhardt's sister and handles his contract negotiations, has said a determination on Earnhardt's future will need to be done by June.

A key issue in these merger talks is that DEI is a Chevrolet team and Yates is a Ford team. Story said that DEI is in the final year of its contract with Chevrolet but has received a contract offer from the manufacturer. Story also said the company has had talks with two other manufacturers. NASCAR Scene reported on its Web site one of those manufacturers was Ford.

Another key point is how the teams would merge. DEI has three cars and Yates has two. NASCAR permits organizations to have only four.

Frustration

Tony Stewart was upset after the race after contact sent him into the wall and ruined a top-10 finish. He walked to the edge of the track after the accident and pointed at Jamie McMurray. After the race, Stewart absolved McMurray for his wreck, learning it was David Gilliland who hit him.

Stewart, who finished 28th, met with Gilliland after the race, talked and shook hands, according to Stewart's public relations representative.

Stewart rallied to the front after a penalty for speeding on pit road that eventually put him a lap behind the leaders.

Stewart was not surprised that he was caught for speeding, though, and it had nothing to do with the critical comments he made about NASCAR last week.

"I can't say I didn't know it was coming," Stewart radioed his crew. "I was probably 1,000 [rpm] over [the speed limit] when I got there. I just got in there way too hard."

Team conflict

Before car owner Rick Hendrick celebrated Jeff Gordon's victory, he was looking into why teammate Jimmie Johnson wrecked Casey Mears as Mears prepared to pit.

Johnson said he didn't know that Mears was about to pit. Mears said he thought the message had been delivered to all three teams.

"I was waving down the backstretch," Mears said of the universal signal to warn others that you're about to pit. "I thought it was very clear."

Johnson said after the race he didn't see Mears make the motion and felt bad for his friend.

Not fast enough

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished seventh but knew he didn't have a winning race car.

"I was just a sitting duck," Earnhardt said of running second in the final laps.

"When we had all those [Daytona and Talladega] wins, we could hold that kind of thing off and race them guys. We don't have that stuff anymore. We just have to go find it."

Strong finish

Frustration has often characterized Kurt Busch's season, but Sunday's third-place finish provided a lift.

Poor fuel mileage, ill-handling cars and bad luck have kept him from finishing in the top 10 in seven of the first eight races.

"I can't believe we finished third, but we'll take it," Busch said. "We were right there with the leaders most of the day and then got shuffled when the cars all drove on the high lane.

"We want to break through and win one of these and we're knocking on the door."

Busch's finish was his sixth consecutive top-10 finish at Talladega.

Richmond tickets available

Although Richmond is known for selling out its Cup race, a limited number of tickets remain for Saturday's Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

Tickets can be purchased by going to www.rir.com or by calling 1-866-455-RACE.

Virginia Tech student thanks NASCAR

Virginia Tech senior Clark Ruhland of Blue Ridge, Va., spoke at the pre-race drivers' meeting and thanked NASCAR for its support of the school since the shooting tragedy there.

"It really means a lot as someone who grew up as a NASCAR fan to see the support that NASCAR has done for Virginia Tech, especially the students," Ruhland said, holding up a Virginia Tech decal. "These little stickers right here may seem very insignificant but when they go beside your name on top of the car, it really means a lot to all the students, faculty and everyone that's been affected."

Ruhland encouraged drivers and teams to show their support of Virginia Tech next weekend at Richmond.

Ruhland, who showed Ward Burton around campus last week, knew one of the students wounded in the shootings.

Pit stops

Roush Racing officials are in talks with Ameriquest to finish a separation arrangement. Ameriquest had requested to be replaced as sponsor of Greg Biffle's car this season. That could be completed by Darlington in two weeks. ... David Gilliland's fourth-place finish was his career best, topping his eighth-place finish in this year's Daytona 500. ...David Stremme's eighth-place finish was a season best.