Sadler signed a contract extension with GEM last year that would keep him with the racing organization through 2010. However, several reports last month indicated that Allmendinger would replace Sadler in the No.19 car.

Earlier this month, Sadler threatened to take legal action, claiming GEM breached its contract with him.

When GEM and Petty Enterprises agreed in principle to form a new Sprint Cup organization last Thursday, the team said Sadler would remain in the No.l9.

Sadler said team officials never informed him of his departure from the 19.

"They never said, 'Hey, we're replacing you, we're moving on,'" Sadler said during a weekly NASCAR teleconference on Wednesday. "It was always just, 'Maybe this could be a possibility.' You know what, I think at the end of the day, they were just looking to see what their options might be to make sure the 19 car is going to be competitive and going to run good.

"It was pretty much like, 'We might do this, this might be an option, we're going to give you permission to go talk to other teams in case this is an option,'" Sadler continued. "So they were very up front about it to me. There was like no smoke and mirrors, anything like that, as far as that was concerned. A lot of stuff kind of got blown out of proportion. But as far as their communication with me about it, it was always up front."

Sadler also said he didn't hold any animosity towards the team.

"As far as the team is concerned and myself is concerned, it's in the past," he said. "You know, I've been to the shop the last two days. Not one conversation about what happened a week ago. All the conversations were how can we go to Daytona, be competitive; how can we go to California, the next race, and be competitive, and things like that."

Kevin Buskirk will serve as Sadler's team director (crew chief) this season. Buskirk most recently held a position at Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Prior to that, he was the lead engineer for Sadler's team at Robert Yates Racing in 2004.

"I really begged and pushed to have Kevin Buskirk on my team, a lot of different reasons why," Sadler said. "One, we've worked together in the past and have been successful with each other. Two, he believes in me. He is an Elliott Sadler fan to the end, believes in me, believes in my ability. Three, he's such an easy-going guy. He and Kenny Francis already had a relationship together where they were friends and could work together."

Francis is the team director for Kasey Kahne's No.9 Dodge at GEM.

Sadler has been with the team since August 2006, but has not won a Cup race in 4 1/2 years since he drove the No.38 Ford for Yates. He has three career victories.

Last year, Sadler finished 24th in the point standings, with two top-five finishes and eight top-10's. After finishing outside the top-20 in points the last three seasons, Sadler is hoping for a significant improvement this year.

"I want to be a top-tier driver in this sport, and I've got to get my butt in gear and got to do good and race hard each and every lap and make that happen," he said. "This is the best motivation I've had in a long, long time to make sure when I start at Daytona, to start off on the right foot and do the best job I can."

Sadler, along with GEM teammates Kahne and Reed Sorenson, will be at Rockingham Speedway in Rockingham, NC next Wednesday for testing.

Meanwhile, Sadler is scheduled to marry girlfriend Amanda Prince later this week, and hopes to spend his honeymoon outside of the U.S. if he can get his passport issues resolved.

"The wedding is Saturday," Sadler said. "We're planning this honeymoon to go out of the United States, so I need a passport. Well, my passport was out of date, so I sent it in to get reinstated, but somehow my passport has been reported lost or stolen. So they've got a red flag up on security on my passport, so here I am three days before the wedding, and we're supposed to leave Sunday and fly out of the country on our honeymoon. I don't have a passport and don't know if I'm going to get one.

"I guess I'm a threat to national security is why my passport has been red- flagged, because it has been reported stolen or lost," Sadler joked. "If anybody knows anybody in D.C. that can get me a passport, if y'all don't mind calling me, maybe you can help me out a little bit."