Nadeau raced for four teams in 2002. He started the season by competing in eleven events for Hendrick Motorsports. He had his only Top Ten finish of the year, taking eighth place at Bristol Motor Speedway. In early May, Nadeau and Hendrick Motorsports agreed to terminate his contract, citing a lack of performance. He was hired by MBV Motorsports to fill in for the injured Johnny Benson, Jr. for three races, while Joe Nemechek took over Nadeau's former seat at Hendrick Motorsports. Afterward, Nadeau drove for Petty Enterprises at Sonoma where he came close to winning his second Winston Cup race, finishing thirty-sixth after his car suffered a broken rear-end gear on the race's 107th lap. He subsequently drove one race for Michael Waltrip Racing at Chicagoland Speedway, finishing 37th after a steering problem.