Stewart doesn't mind being second behind Earnhardt Jr.

Tony Stewart lost the lead, but enjoyed his best finish ever in the Daytona 500.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The fiercest of competitors turned into the happiest of losers at the Daytona 500.
Tony Stewart, who has made a living throwing tantrums, fighting in the garage and generally setting aside good etiquette at the track, said he was "tickled" to finish second Sunday to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"If we were going to get beat, I'd rather get beat by the 8 car," Stewart said after his best finish at NASCAR's biggest race.
For the last three years, Stewart has made it a habit of teaming up with Earnhardt as his drafting partner at Talladega and Daytona, NASCAR's two restrictor-plate tracks.
While he's never won under that scenario, this was the fourth time he's finished second to Earnhardt. Again, both the wisdom and the folly of his strategy were on display over the final 50 laps of the race.
"When he decided to pull the pin, he pulled it," Stewart said.
Took lead for good
Earnhardt stalked Stewart for about 30 laps. Then with 20 to go, he took the lead for good.
It was a trademark Earnhardt pass. First, Junior got out of line and went low, all by himself. The two briefly raced side by side. Then Earnhardt went ahead. Had anyone else pulled off the feat -- passing a strong car without the help of a drafting partner -- it would have seemed unfathomable. Earnhardt, however, makes that stuff look routine.
Stewart attempted to recapture the lead with five laps remaining, darting high, then diving low. But he got no drafting help, then fell victim to Earnhardt's nimble blocking techniques. When that attempt failed, Stewart pretty much had nothing left to do but tail Earnhardt to the end -- vanquished, but still pretty happy for the guy who beat him.
Stewart had plenty of reasons to be happy with second.
Got wrecked
He had a terrible run last weekend in the Budweiser Shootout, finishing seventh. In practice Saturday, he got wrecked by John Andretti, forcing his team to fix extensive damage.
But the workers from Joe Gibbs Racing kept plugging away, and when the race came, Stewart was one of the very few with a good enough car to run with the best.
"We've got a respect and a trust with each other," said Stewart, who had finished no higher than seventh at the Daytona 500 before. "He [Earnhardt Jr.] knows if I'm behind him, I'm going to go with him, whether it's right or wrong. And I know the same about him."
A driver with less confidence might not view things that way.
Accusation
This was the week, after all, when none other than Earnhardt's teammate, Michael Waltrip, got accused of leaving Earnhardt hanging out to dry during the qualifying race. Asked about that little flap, Jeff Gordon stated the obvious -- that it was ludicrous to willingly offer help to the guy with the best car.
Stewart doesn't buy into that thinking.
"Wouldn't you rather follow the guy who you know is going to go to the front, with or without you?" Stewart said. "In most other cases, you don't know who to trust and who not to trust out there."