HOMESTEAD, Fla. - A ninth-place finish was not the way Tony Stewart envisioned his last race with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Stewart, who will leave the only team he has driven for in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series to become a driver/owner next season, sat in his familiar orange No. 20 Toyota for a few extra minutes Sunday after the season-ending race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"I was frustrated," said Stewart, who lost the lead when he had to pit for gas 11 laps from the finish.

"It was awesome to be leading there with 20 laps to go and driving away from the field," the two-time Cup champion said. "We did everything we could do. The good thing is that we finished competitive tonight. We didn't win the race, so we didn't accomplish what we wanted to accomplish, but they knew we were here and we showed why we've been champions and won 33 races with this team."

It was an emotional day for Stewart.

It began with longtime sponsor Home Depot handing out 40,000 orange cards to spectators. When the cards were flipped over, they spelled out "Thanks Tony for 10 great years."

Then, before he got into his car for the start of the race, Stewart shared hugs with each member of his crew, including Greg Zipadelli, the only crew chief he has had since arriving at JGR in 1999.

"I just appreciate everything that Zippy and these guys have done, and it's hard," Stewart said. "I'm leaving a group that I have been used to working with 38 weeks a year for 10 years. It's always hard to do that. I guess if we all didn't like each other it would make it a lot easier to be where we're all at tonight."

Asked if he was thinking about 2009 yet, Stewart said, "Not yet. I want to congratulate (2008 champion) Jimmie Johnson and spend time with these guys right now. Tomorrow is tomorrow and we will worry about that tomorrow."

Stewart wasn't the only driver making his final start before switching teams.

Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman is leaving Penske Racing to become Stewart's teammate at the new Stewart-Haas Racing, Casey Mears is moving from Hendrick Motorsports to Richard Childress Racing and Reed Sorenson is leaving Chip Ganassi Racing to race for Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

"The way we ran tonight, I'm glad that the season is over," said Newman, who finished 21st. "Despite our run tonight, I'm very, very grateful for the opportunity that Roger (Penske) has given me over the last several years."

Mears finished eighth and Sorenson 31st.

WINLESS STARS: Former Cup champions Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth both ended the season winless.

For four-time champ Gordon, it was the first time since 1993, his rookie year, that he has not won. Kenseth's last victory came here a year ago.

"We need to be better," said Gordon, who finished fourth Sunday. "There are just moments of greatness. We just can't ever pull it all together. That's where we know we've got to get better and that's what we're focusing on in the offseason."

Kenseth ended the season with a disappointing 25th-place finish after leading several times in the race.

TOP ROOKIE: Regan Smith wrapped up the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title Sunday with a quiet 34th-place finish.

"It's a big deal," said Smith, the first driver from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to earn that honor. "Not knowing what I'm doing next year, if I'm going to be part of the Ganassi-DEI (merger) or not, at least I've got that to take to them.

"Let Theresa (Earnhardt) put it in the trophy room. She gave me a great opportunity this year. I'm looking forward to what next year brings for me."

WORKING IT OUT: In the wake of this week's announcement that Chip Ganassi Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. have agreed to combine their teams next season, there remain a number of unanswered questions.

What is known is that the merged 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 to be named. But, what make car they will be driving, which race shop the teams will work out of and who will be in charge of the operation are all things yet to be determined.

"We've got tons of stuff to do," DEI president Max Siegel said Sunday at Homestead. "But we've got no real details other than the fact that we are getting together."

DEI swallowed cash-strapped Ginn Racing in July 2007 to acquire shop space and owner points that would move Paul Menard's car into the top 35 in owner points. But, when asked if the deal with Ganassi was a merger or a takeover, Siegel said, "I wouldn't characterize it any way. I think we're all working together in the spirit of cooperation, bringing the best people to make both of our companies stronger."

DEI, started by the late Dale Earnhardt, has always raced Chevrolets, while the Ganassi operation is a Dodge team.

Asked how soon the combined team will have to make a decision on the make it will field, Siegel said, "As quickly as we possibly can.

"The operations executives (from both teams) are going to sit down this week and kind of work through that. There's a lot of details we haven't worked through. I'm truly not trying to be evasive, there's just nothing to report."

SPARK PLUGS: Sunday's pace car was a new Ford Fusion Hybrid, the first such car to lead a NASCAR event. … Cup champion Jimmie Johnson won $7,354,861 in prize money, but runner-up Carl Edwards-with nine wins to Johnson's seven-beat him out with $8,101,000. … Racer winner Edwards average 129.472 mph and beat runner-up Kevin Harvick by 7.548 seconds-nearly a full straightaway on the 1.5-mile oval.