DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Better to be friends who work together as teammates than mortal enemies who hamper every move the other makes.

That was the message delivered by Elliott Sadler to his Richard Petty Motorsports teammates prior to Thursday's Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway. But it's one thing to preach this feel-good message; quite another altogether to go out and live it when you're driving a race car at speeds approaching 200 mph.

“

You've got to be a man about these things. ... If I don't lead by example and set good ways for the drivers to go by, who will?

”

ELLIOTT SADLER

Sadler walked the walk after talking the talk during the second of twin 150-mile races that help set the lineup for this Sunday's Daytona 500. With new teammate A.J. Allmendinger in danger of failing to finish well enough to get into the season-opening event, Sadler deliberately slowed down and dropped back in the field to give Allmendinger much-needed drafting help.

Allmendinger ended up finishing 10th, while Sadler settled for 17th. Reed Sorenson, another RPM teammate, also assisted Allmendinger. But it was Sadler's show of generosity that drew the most attention -- and with good reason.

Around the first of the year, Allmendinger was basically set to replace Sadler as driver of the No. 19 Dodge. Sadler, who signed a contract extension last year with the organization when it was still known as Gillett Evernham Motorsports, threatened to sue GEM and Allmendinger alike -- and eventually it was announced that he would remain driver of the No. 19 for 2009.

Thursday's display of goodwill on the track confirmed that there are no hard feelings left between the two.

"I think that showed 100 percent. I think early in the race Elliott had a chance to be up front. It looked like he had a chance to go win the race. I watched him fall back to come back to me," Allmendinger said.

Sadler added: "I dropped back and helped him. With seven laps to go, he got hung out on the outside of Turn 1 all by himself. I went over there and hit him on the back straightaway as hard as you can hit somebody to try and keep his momentum up to keep us in line.

"I blocked the 71 [of Mike Wallace] a bunch and the 78 [of Regan Smith] a bunch there behind me in the end, trying to do everything I could as a good teammate to get him in the Daytona 500. That's what good teammates do." (Continued)