DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Earnhardt Era at Hendrick began in grand fashion last night.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. used a push from new teammate Jimmie Johnson to pass Tony Stewart and win the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway.

"That was fun," Earnhardt said in victory lane. "The Shootout is a neat race, and I had a blast those last few laps. I got some great help from my teammates. I didn't win that race without Jimmie pushing me.

"I thought we'd have to be real patient to enjoy all the hard work. But this is enjoying the hard work right here."

Earnhardt led 47 of the 70 laps, the most by one driver in Shootout history. He performed a burnout on the frontstretch in front of an adoring crowd, marking his first victory since winning at Richmond International Raceway on May 6, 2006.

Rick Hendrick was there to congratulate his newest driver, and he saw another dominating performance by his entire team.

All four Hendrick cars finished in the top six, with Johnson third, Jeff Gordon fourth and Casey Mears sixth. But Earnhardt's biggest challenge was from Stewart, who was making his debut in a Toyota.

With 10 laps to go, Stewart and Earnhardt were running nearly side by side before Stewart dipped in behind Earnhardt. Stewart used the momentum to shift to the inside and slingshot around to the lead on Lap 61.

Kurt Busch lost control of his car three laps later, bringing out the final caution and setting up a double-file restart with Earnhardt and Stewart next to each other.

On the restart, Gordon went with Stewart on the inside line, and Earnhardt had teammates Johnson and Mears behind him on the outside.

Stewart jumped to the early lead, but the outside line eventually pushed Earnhardt back up into a position to challenge. He took the lead heading to the white flag, signaling the final lap, and dropped down in front of Stewart to block him.

Johnson made a run at it but couldn't get past the first two cars. Johnson was forced into a backup car after an accident Friday in practice, and he ended up driving the car with which he won at Richmond last year.

"I thought I had the Kevin Harvick Daytona-500-winning move, but I didn't have the car to do it," Johnson said.

Stewart finished second, the best for a Toyota in the Shootout, and he had high praise for longtime friend Earnhardt.

"I'm pretty happy," Stewart said. "It's hard to beat Junior. He's one of the best plate racers there is. He learned a lot from his dad, and I'm not sure he's not better than his dad. It's fun when you get around guys you trust like that. It made it a lot of fun tonight."

Stewart started in the back of the field after changing engines following his own incident Friday. Also moving to the rear at the start were Dale Jarrett (engine), Mears (missed the draw meeting) and Gordon, Johnson, Busch, Ryan Newman and Bill Elliott, who all went to backup cars.

The race was all Earnhardt's, however, as he took the lead for the first time with another slingshot pass. He shot to the inside lane and took the lead on Lap 6, and led the final 15 laps of the first segment.

After a mandatory 10-minute break, Earnhardt again held the lead. He would lose the lead a few times, but he regained it when it counted most.

"I hope the fans enjoyed it," he said. "Wow, man, it was fun. My new team, victory lane, it don't get no better."