by FOXSports.com

Economic fallout

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"Just like the reduced schedule announcement, this buyout of Joe's contract has nothing to do with his on-track performance," said team president Joe Garone. "But our contract with Joe for 2009 was for a full schedule and we're not able to fulfill that part of the deal."

"Joe has been a great leader, mentor, and driver for Furniture Row Racing. This move is doing what is best for both Joe and our team. It doesn't require us to have him drive for Furniture Row in 2009, but it doesn't restrict him from doing what he loves — and that's racing at the highest level every week of the season."

In only its third year as a Sprint Cup Series team, Furniture Row Racing qualified for 32 out of 36 races. It's highlight came at Talladega Superspeedway in April when Nemechek lived up to his "Front Row Joe" moniker and claimed pole position for the Aaron's 499.

As announced before, Furniture Row Companies — the team owner, primary sponsor, and one the nation's largest furniture retailers — is a privately-held entity and does not make its sales figures public. But the company is looking at retail sales trends and is tightening all expenses as a result.