BROOKLYN, Mich. — Elliott Sadler drives a Dodge, his good pal Dale Earnhardt Jr. a Chevy.

The pair race door-to-door on weekends, willing to put each other into the wall, if necessary.

But Sadler, who will start 39th in Sunday's Citizens Bank 400 at Michigan International Speedway, was pulling Friday for Earnhardt, who is crossing from DEI to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.

Earnhardt kept a low profile at MIS, where he qualified 23rd.

"I'm happy for him," said Sadler, who drives the No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger for Evernham Motorsports. "Being friends with Dale for 12 to 13 years now, I actually had a chance to sit down with him a couple of weeks ago at his house and talk about all this stuff that was going on. I'm very happy for him."

Sadler was among a group of Cup drivers who rallied around Earnhardt after his decision to leave the team his late father, Dale Earnhardt, who was killed at Daytona in 2001, built.

"I think he did it in a very professional way — the way he handled everything," Sadler said. "They (Hendrick) definitely are a power super-team to be dealt with in the future. I think he just wanted to align himself with the best possible chance to win the championship, and as a kid growing up and dreaming about being part of the sport, I don't see how you can blame him for that."

Sadler, who moved from Robert Yates Racing to Evernham in 2006, said he noticed a more relaxed Earnhardt immediately after he made his announcement.

"I could tell during the press conference this week that a whole load had been lifted off his shoulders," Sadler said. "He seemed a different person, very happy and ready to move on."

Kyle Busch will leave Hendrick at the end of the year, making room for Earnhardt. On Friday, Busch, who qualified third, wished Earnhardt well.

"He'll have great equipment, great race cars and pretty solid backup," Busch said of Earnhardt's deal at Hendrick. "He's got the world lying ahead of him."

Earnhardt will team with Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears next season. Mears, 30, the youngest driver of the group, was excited about Junior's choice of teams.

"I think it's going to be cool," said Mears, who will start 13th today. "Dale and I have been pretty good friends for quite a while now. I got to know him fairly well when I moved back to North Carolina and I'm excited about him being on our side of the shop. Obviously, we are a four-car team and share all information very closely, but it's going to be nice having him at our shop and working together; I think it's going to be a lot of fun."

Asked if he could learn from Earnhardt, winner of 17 Nextel Cup races, including the 2004 Daytona 500, Mears replied: "I'm going to find out when we're teammates. That's stuff that will be a guess right now until we start getting more involved ... we know each other on a friendship side but not on a technical side and what he likes out of a race car."

Johnson, who qualified second, will be one of Earnhardt's fiercest rivals on the track, as will Gordon (sixth) . Johnson said he felt the move would pay off ... in time.

"Right now, I know it is probably a big burden off of Mr. Hendrick's chest, and off of Junior's chest, and we will just see how the next few months unfold," Johnson said. "We have a long time before we actually get to work together and get into the grind of the season and things that you face as teammates, working together and developing cars and stuff."

Added Gordon, the team leader: "I'm looking forward to having him as a teammate. It doesn't mean that I expect people not to continue to boo me in full force, but I think it's going to be pretty cool to see him out there in the type of equipment we are capable of giving him."

Ford's Matt Kenseth said he thought Earnhardt's switch would create even more fan interest in the son of the late NASCAR legend.

"Dale Jr. is one of the most, or the most, popular driver in the sport, so whatever he does people are going to pay attention to," said Kenseth, who drives the No. 17 DeWalt Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing and qualified 26th.

Richard Petty, who won a record 200 Cup races, wished Earnhardt luck, but the King stopped short of saying it guaranteed Junior a championship.

"Somebody was going to be in that Hendrick's car and be competitive anyway," said Petty, a seven-time series champion.