Earnhardt announces his future plans

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- When Dale Earnhardt Jr. needed career advice, he turned to Rick Hendrick. When his grandfather suffered a stroke, it was Hendrick who made arrangements at the hospital. When his sister had a cancer scare, Hendrick stepped in to find a specialist.

And when Earnhardt needed to find a new team, it was a no-brainer. He landed with Hendrick, announcing a five-year deal Wednesday to join the elite team in 2008.

In many ways, they need each other.

This could be the partnership that helps Earnhardt finally win the championship that has eluded him during his Nextel Cup career.

More importantly, it could help fill an aching void that both have lived with since tragic accidents killed Earnhardt's famous father and four members of Hendrick's family, including his only son.

"I don't want to take his father's place, but I think we offer something that both of us are missing," Hendrick said. "It's not that he's looking for me to be his dad, or I'm looking for him to be my son.

"We have a common bond that we both lost somebody ... so there's something there."

That bond played a large part in Earnhardt's decision to choose Hendrick Motorsports over all the other suitors he had in the frenzied five-week push to sign NASCAR's most popular driver.

-- The Associated Press