ESPN Sprint Cup

The good folks at Gillett Evernham Motorsports (or whatever their team name ends up becoming with Petty Enterprises coming onboard) want us to believe everything is milk and cookies around the place and they couldn't be happier.

Welcome to NASCAR's version of Fantasy Island.

Elliott Sadler now drives for a GEM team that didn't want him and tried to show him the door. But Sadler had a valid contract through 2010, so on second thought, he gets to stay and drive the No. 19 Dodge.

"We are a family," said Tom Reddin, GEM's CEO. "Sometimes in a family you have differences."

Yes, especially when one member of this dysfunctional family (Sadler) threatens to sue the other members.

Oh well. All's fair in love and racing. But even Pollyanna wouldn't assume this shop is a Hallmark card of celebration for one big group hug.

Hard feelings will remain. The real question is whether the team can function as a unit and race competitively.

It's surprising Sadler wanted to stay. But there aren't many available seats left, so you don't walk away from a contract worth millions of dollars. Even if GEM paid him off, Sadler didn't want to stay home and collect a big check.

In racing, out of sight is out of mind. Losing your ride and sitting out a while often means you never get back. Sadler's seen it happen. Ask Jeremy Mayfield. Sadler took his spot at GEM.

If there's a good thing to come out of this sordid mess it's that Sadler should be highly motivated. He has something to prove.

Is that enough to overcome the underlying tension and make Sadler more than a middle-of-the-pack racer? Probably not, but the Sadler saga is only part of the soap opera at GEM.

The organization now has the famous 43 car in the mix. Again, everyone involved in the merger with the Petty team is saying how wonderful this is, to have Richard Petty and one of NASCAR's legendary organizations join forces with GEM.

Call it whatever you want, but Petty Enterprises didn't do this by choice. The Pettys did this out of necessity. Merge or disappear.

GEM owner George Gillett also gets a quality executive in Robbie Loomis, but how much authority will a new boss have when the old bosses remain in power?

GEM takes over a car that hasn't been competitive in 20 years. And it's inserting a driver (Reed Sorenson) who never has won a Cup race.

Sorenson made the decision late last season to join GEM in 2009, hoping a fresh start with a new team would invigorate his struggling career. Driving the Petty Enterprises car wasn't part of the plan.

A guy who might be a better driver -- AJ Allmendinger -- only has a part-time ride for GEM in the No. 10 Dodge. The plan was for Allmendinger to replace Sadler. Now there's an awkward situation for teammates.

So let's review:

• We have a driver who wasn't wanted, but took legal action to stop the divorce.

• We have a merger that's a basically a shotgun marriage.

• We have additional managers with undefined roles.

• We have an unproven guy driving a winless car.

• And we have teammates who might blame each other for their current problems.

Pass champagne all around and toast the good times ahead.

"We are all on the same page now," Sadler said. "I think you will see that show on the track."

"We have resolved all differences," Reddin said. "We are moving on and excited about heading to Daytona."

Ah, yes. You can see the yellow brick road from here.

NUMBERS GAME

Filling 43-car fields this season is probably less of a problem than most fans realize. What we will see is fewer cars running full-time.

Right now, 37 cars are committed to running the full season, but only 28 of those have full sponsorship. Fifteen other cars are listed as running a partial schedule. Most of those will run based on the sponsorship they can secure.

But it's likely some teams will run races without sponsorship just to collect a check. Consider this: If a struggling team made the starting grid for all 36 Cup races last season, the least they would have earned is $2,888,732.

The smallest payout all season was $60,390 to David Gilliland for his 40th-place showing at Watkins Glen.

One former team owner told me he plans to get a driver and run several races. He has a couple of COT chassis, so they only need to slap a body on one of them and drop in an engine.

That's the definition of a field-filler. If you know only 43 cars or fewer are going to show up, it's an easy way to make a few bucks.

Terry Blount covers motorsports for ESPN.com. His book, "The Blount Report: NASCAR's Most Overrated and Underrated Drivers, Cars, Teams, and Tracks," was published by Triumph Books and is available in bookstores. Click here to order a copy. Terry can be reached at terry@blountspeak.com.