Earnhardt Jr. And Gordon Teammates

It's official. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has teamed up with Jeff Gordon and Rick Hendrick Motorsports, turning the world of NASCAR on its head.

Earnhardt Jr. made the announcement at an eleven o'clock press conference today in Mooresville, North Carolina, broadcast live on cable television's SPEED channel and NASCAR channel onSirius Satellite Radio. He has signed a five year contract with the team.

Hendrick Motorsports currently consists of drivers Jeff Gordon, who leads in this year's NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship, Casey Mears, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson, the defending points champion. In 2008, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be joining three of them, taking Kyle Busch's spot on the Hendrick roster. Kyle Busch has asked to be released from his contract, according to fox sports.com.

The 22-year-old Busch is a young phenom who's currently tenth in points this year. But he has had problems controlling his temper. In April, he upset his team when he left without telling anyone. After patching up his ride, Busch's crew asked Earnhardt to step in the No. 5 Kellog car to finish the race.

The 32-year-old Earnhardt announced last month that he was leaving his late father's team, Dale Earnhardt Incorporated with the hopes of joining a team that could help win him championships. He also indicated that he wanted to continue driving Chevrolets. The move to the Hendrick racing team satisfies both prerequisites. According to the Chicago Tribune, the Chevrolets driven by the Hendrick drivers have so far won ten of the first twelve races this season. One hundred fifty nine Cup races and six championships have been won by the Hendrick Motorsports team since its inception in 1984. Dale Earnhardt Jr., driving for DEI, has won 17 Cup races, but has so far failed to win a championship.

According to SI.com, Earnhardt is quoted as saying, ""It became apparent to me the man I wanted to drive for. He competes with integrity and most importantly, he wins races."

The announcement came just weeks after Hendrick told the press he had no room for Earnhardt on his team. But now the dismissal of Busch has made room.

The move is sure to anger some of Earnhardt's more die hard fans, commonly known around the tracks as the "Red Army" because if there's any one racer they dislike, it's Jeff Gordon. At Talladega earlier this year, when Gordon won his 76th race, tying him with Dale Earnhardt Sr's record for total wins, "Junior Nation" threw beer cans at Gordon's car. Earnhardt condemned the behavior, telling them to throw toilet paper instead.

But despite the rivalry between Earnhardt and Gordon and their fans, the Earnhardt family has a history together. According to Kansas.com, in 1983, Dale Earnhardt won the Mello Yello 300 Busch Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in a No. 15 car. The car was co-owned by Rick Hendrick and Robert Gee, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s grandfather.

It's uncertain whether Earnhartd's sponsor, Budweiser, will stay with him following his move to Hendrick Motorsports, but bizjournals.com reports that the company is interested in exploring options and continuing their relationship with NASCAR's most popular driver. But Earnhardt's old team, DEI, owns the car number 8 so while it's likely to see Junior taking turns in a red Budweiser car, he will most likely do it in a different numbered car.