The world of NASCAR can seem pretty cutthroat at times, with million-dollar championships and multimillion dollar sponsorships always at stake, where winning is everything and keeping the sponsorship dollars flowing is just as important as what a driver and team do on the racetrack.

But at the same time, there's also the so-called NASCAR family, where rivalries and grudges are immediately set aside when one of its own is in dire need of help. It is in those times of need that the NASCAR community draws together like no other, where it takes care of its own in the spirit of a true family.

Last week's announcement that Jerry Nadeau would begin a measured and controlled return to Winston Cup-cum-Nextel Cup racing next season after being injured May 2 when he hit the wall during a practice session at Richmond International Raceway is one of the most inspirational and feel-good stories to come out of the NASCAR world in a long time.

In an unprecedented union of teams, team owners and drivers, Nadeau will get his chance to make his way back to full-time racing in NASCAR's most competitive class -- and he'll be given all the time and resources he needs.

MB2 Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports and Winston Cup driver Joe Nemechek's own NEMCO Motorsports have entered into one of the most unique partnerships NASCAR has ever seen. Nadeau will be brought along slowly, racing under the MB2 banner -- with additional financial, logistical and emotional support from the Hendrick and Nemechek organizations -- in the ARCA, Busch and ultimately, the Nextel Cup series.

Hendrick had released Nemechek, who joins MB2 to drive Nadeau's No. 01 Cup car starting in this weekend's race at Atlanta and for the full 2004 season, keeping the seat warm for Nadeau, so to speak. Hendrick is tabbing promising rookie Brian Vickers to replace Nemechek behind the wheel of the No. 25 Chevy, also starting this weekend.

The end result: Everybody is happy -- Nadeau gets his chance to come back with no pressure placed upon him, Nemechek lands on his feet with a quality team and new teammate (Scott Riggs, who it was announced Thursday will replace Johnny Benson in the No. 10 Pontiac for 2004), and the 20-year-old Vickers will finally be able to prove whether he can live up to all the hype and promise he has been billed with.

For all that, one must applaud the principal dealmakers that brought this complicated package together -- namely Rick Hendrick, Joe Hendrick and Ricky Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports, as well as Nelson Bowers, Tom Beard and Read Morton of MB2 Motorsports and Nemechek (who will provide the ARCA and Busch cars that Nadeau will drive) -- and where everyone, particularly Nadeau, comes out a winner.

	Nadeau (with NASCAR president Mike Helton, left) hopes to return to Winston Cup racing.

Nadeau is arguably in some of the best hands he could ever want to be in. Not only does he have the close familial setting provided by MB2, he and the MB2 organization will benefit from Hendrick's legacy of on-track success and technological development, and Nemechek's Busch and ARCA equipment, all specially designed just for Nadeau.

What's more, Nadeau is in a situation where he will be the final decision maker about his readiness. He alone will decide when he's ready to try Cup racing again. He alone will decide how long he should spend warming up in the ARCA and Busch series. He alone will decide if and when he returns to the Cup series full-time -- or whether he'll even do it at all.

And right behind him, with their hands firmly resting on his shoulder, providing a measure of support and comfort, will be Beard, Morton, Bowers, Nemechek and the Hendricks, united as one in arguably one of the greatest combinations of unity the sport has ever seen.

All for one man, Jerry Nadeau.

"Jerry continues to make progress and once he is ready to return to driving, we'll have a program in place that will allow him to gradually make his comeback to Cup racing," said Jay Frye, general manager of MB2 Motorsports. "The uncertainty of how long his full recovery will take is difficult for everyone, but Jerry is a young (33-years-old) and determined individual who has many years of racing ahead of him."

Nadeau's situation reminds me of Steve Park's ordeal. Park crashed at Darlington in September 2001 and missed the rest of the 2001 season and the first four races of 2002 before he climbed back into the No. 1 Chevy.

To many observers, myself included, Park rushed back too quickly because he was worried about the major sponsorship and job security issues facing him. For far too many times during the 2002 season, and even at the start of this season, critics said Park still wasn't 100 percent ready to race, comments that Park vehemently challenged.

Still, the proof was in the end results. When Park couldn't get the job done as well as he did prior to his devastating crash at Darlington, all his loyalty and fervor to try and keep things together didn't matter. He still ultimately was fired by Dale Earnhardt Inc. earlier this season.

The same type of thing occurred with now-retired driver Ernie Irvan. After a near-fatal wreck at Michigan, along with resulting serious eye and vision complications, Irvan did all he humanly could to get back to Winston Cup racing as soon as possible. Unfortunately, he suffered another wreck that not only affected his driving ability afterward, it quickly made Irvan realize that being in a Winston Cup car was the last place he needed to be. One more crash and he was risking blindness and/or paralysis at the least and potential death at the worst. It just wasn't worth it, so he called it quits.

One would hope that Nadeau's current rehabilitation has prepared him well for the time he finally does get back behind the wheel in some form of competitive race. Even if he was to drive a go-kart, Nadeau is the type of individual that will give his all to try and win every time he sits in the driver's seat.

However, the key to Nadeau's ultimate full recovery and return to the Cup series on a full-time basis will be predicated not so much on how quickly he gets to that level, but how much patience he has along the way (look how long it took Ricky Craven to return to "normal" and find success following his concussion). And while that may be the toughest thing to endure, Nadeau knows it's a necessary evil that he must go through if he wants to get back to full-time Cup racing.

"To be honest, the reality of not being able to come back sooner than I would have liked is hard to take," Nadeau acknowledged. "But I want to do this right and I am grateful to MB2, Hendrick Motorsports and NEMCO Motorsports for giving me the opportunity to work my way back to the Cup series.

"I have repeatedly said that I will not rush back. I still have a ways to go, but I will get there."

And, to borrow a line from the Beatles, Nadeau indeed will get there some day soon, with a little help from his friends.

Jerry Bonkowski covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at Motorsportwriter@MSN.com.