DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove like his dad, maybe even better one foe said, and acted as animated as a child after he won Saturday night's Budweiser Shootout.

Earnhardt thrilled blue- and green-clad fans in Daytona International Speedway, winning his first race with Hendrick Motorsports.

"Get your [rear] to Victory Lane,'' Earnhardt radioed car owner Rick Hendrick.

The celebration continued as Earnhardt bounded into the media center after his Sprint Cup win, joked, laughed and couldn't stop smiling.

"We're like giddy,'' Hendrick said. "I guess you noticed that.''

It was hard not to notice Earnhardt although he wasn't in that red car that he drove for years at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

A new paint scheme couldn't hide the talent, according to runner-up Tony Stewart.

"It's hard to beat Dale Jr.,'' Stewart said. "He's one of the best restrictor-plate drivers. I'm not sure he's not better than his dad in all honesty.

"He knows how to reach which line is coming and when to move and where to move on the racetrack to get where he needs to be.''

Stewart also said Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson share those traits. Stewart had plenty of time to watch them late. Johnson finished third with Gordon fourth. Hendrick's other driver, Casey Mears, placed sixth in the 23-car field for pole winners from last year and previous Shootout victors.

NASCAR officials announced that Mears' car was found to be too low in a post-race inspection and that it would be further examined.

Earnhardt's victory was his second in this event and 11th at this track. He and his late father have combined to win 45 Daytona races.

"This is where we lost him,'' Earnhardt said of his father's death in the 2001 Daytona 500, "and I want to keep whooping it.''

Earnhardt did Saturday, leading 47 of 70 laps. He passed Stewart with two laps left and held on for the victory in a race that was not as wild as Friday night's practice session where several cars crashed and Stewart and Kurt Busch battled in the NASCAR hauler.

Earnhardt admitted their feud helped him, as he dealt with the pressure and expectations of joining Hendrick's team this season.

"Tony and Kurt getting into it the other day ... I felt such a relief after that,'' Earnhardt said of the spotlight's shine off him. "I wasn't happy for those guys being in that situation, but I felt like a load had been lifted off my shoulders when I saw them walking to the NASCAR hauler.''

Now, Earnhardt is the focus again as the expectations increase and more will undoubtedly predict him to win the Daytona 500. A note of caution, though. No Shootout winner has also won the Daytona 500 since Dale Jarrett swept both in 2000.

For at least one night, that didn't matter. Gone also was the pressure. Fans instead saw a driver who reveled in his good fortune.

What a start it was. Not only to a season but the race, as Hendrick's pre-race pep talk spoke for so many Earnhardt fans.

"We've been waiting a long time for this,'' Hendrick radioed.