DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. --- As Dale Earnhardt Jr. crossed the finish line Saturday night after winning the Budweiser Shootout, he let out a yell that's been years in the making.

He was overly happy, especially after passing Tony Stewart taking the white flag for the final lap, then holding him off by two car lengths as spectators at Daytona International Speedway cheered in approval.

He also felt relief. Earnhardt left his family's race team with the promise of having all the tools to be successful. His boss, car owner Rick Hendrick, delivered.

"Welcome to the new deal, baby," Hendrick said on the two-way radio during Earnhardt's cool-down lap. "Now for the main event." That, of course, is next Sunday's Daytona 500.

Earnhardt, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet, got a lot of help from Hendrick teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon to get up front, then stay there during most of the all-star race. Stewart led with one lap to go, but Johnson got behind Earnhardt to push him past Stewart on the final lap.

The winner was laughing and smiling. He was playful. For the first time in a while, racing was fun.

"That was a blast," Earnhardt said. "I didn't win the race without any help from Jimmie. Great team, Victory Lane; it don't get no better."

The race, open only to pole winners in 2007 and past Shootouts, doesn't count toward the Sprint Cup Series standings. Teams usually save their best cars for the Daytona 500, but Earnhardt wasn't so sure.

"We may have the car to win the Daytona 500 right here," he said. "What a great car."

Stewart, driving a Toyota, showed a lot of strength, especially running the bottom groove. But he was no match against the Hendrick machine.

"I don't know how you could ask for a better race than that," Stewart said. "A lot's riding on (Earnhardt's) shoulders. You can't be unhappy running second. "I needed help. It's hard to race against four Hendrick cars."

Johnson finished third, followed by Gordon in fourth, Reed Sorenson in fifth and Casey Mears, another Hendrick driver, in sixth.

Two crashes in Friday night's practice session not only forced five teams to use backup cars, it put everyone on edge for Saturday night's main event.

The combination of a new winged car and a lack of patience created piles of twisted metal in the garage area Friday. That apparently served as a wake-up call for Saturday's race. Most of the trouble came as the result of tire failures, not reckless driving.

David Gilliland brought out a caution flag with 22 laps remaining when he bounced off the fourth turn wall with a flat tire to send Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr. spinning.

Busch lost a right-front tire with six laps to go, sending his car into a spin.

Stewart led the re-start, followed by Earnhardt, Gordon and Johnson, but he never had a chance against that all-star team. He stayed out front for two laps, but the Hendrick cars ganged up on him -- with Earnhardt leading the way.

And finding peace of mind in the process.

Reach Don Coble at don.coble@morris.com.