Sporting News, The: Sweet redemption: truck series driver Shane Hmiel, suspended by NASCAR last seas

Shane Hmiel, at 24, still has the look of a kid who race to the jagged edge until quitting time. That's why teams in NASCAR's top three series are offering him contracts for 2005.

But look more closely at Hmiel, who was changed by his suspension in September 2003 for violating NASCAR's substance abuse policy. He knows he can no longer be just a kid.

That realization--and support from his father, Steve, and his mother, Lisa--have helped him bounce back. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owner Billy Ballew gave him the platform, gambling on Hmiel for his struggling No. 15 Chevrolet before Hmiel's reinstatement was certain.

Hmiel (pronounced meal) got his first victory after a memorable two-lap charge on Todd Bodine in late September at Las Vegas. He has nine top 10 finishes this season and was second at Memphis and Bristol. He also finished fourth in the Busch Series race at Milwaukee, spelling Kasey Kahne in the No. 38 car. Hmiel also has run three Cup races in Bill Davis' No. 23.

"To turn everything around and come back better than ever, that's really exciting," Hmiel says. "To get the chance to come back means everything."

Hmiel was running eighth in the Busch Series points race in George deBidart's car last year when NASCAR suspended him after the second Richmond race. He lost the ride.

Hmiel responded quickly. He admitted his mistake and sought to do whatever NASCAR required for reinstatement.

"He went to a counselor, and, after one session, (the counselor) told us 'He got caught up once. There's no pattern here.'" says Steve Hmiel, the technical director for Dale Earnhardt Inc. "But Shane wanted to go through a program. He took all the tests, made all the steps--but you never know if you'll get a break, even in normal (job hunting) situations. This is a funny business."

Shane Hmiel ran into Ballew while out to dinner in February.

"I was building the team over, from the truck chassis on up, and I wanted Shane to run for us," Ballew says. "I had seen what he could do. I told him there could be no mistakes off the track, but we've run on a handshake all year."

FOX analyst Jeff Hammond, a former crew chief, says, "I believe he's got more self-control. But the biggest thing is that he learned the world does not revolve around Shane Hmiel. Racing went on without him, and if he didn't change some things, he knew it could stay that way."

DeBidart says he wouldn't mind taking Hmiel back. "He made a mistake, and he knows it" deBidart says. "He's a fast little son-of-a-gun of a racer. Always has been."

The next big challenge is sorting through the 2005 possibilities. Hmiel says he's very open with Ballew. "I would love to stay here if we can get sponsorship," Hmiel says, "but I let him know what is happening.

"And I know Billy and I are going to be friends for a long, long time after what we've been through."

What surprises Shane Hmiel most? "The number of people all the way up in NASCAR who didn't talk bad about me," he says. "It felt good they stuck behind me."

TSN'S TRUCK POLL

     Driver                TSN points    Truck Series points

 (1) Bobby Hamilton Jr.      1,709           3,188 (2)
 (2) Dennis Setzer           1,683           3,189 (1)
 (3) Ted Musgrave            1,600           3,098 (3)
 (4) Carl Edwards            1,575           3,067 (4)
 (5) Chad Chaffin            1,244           2,813 (7)
 (6) Travis Kvapil           1,236           2,822 (6)
 (7) Jack Sprague            1,232           2,716 (10)
 (8) David Starr             1,197           2,802 (8)
 (9) Matt Crafton            1,181           2,912 (5)
(10) Mike Skinner            1,081           2,681 (12)

Through race No. 30 at Martinsville. Get a complete TSN
Power Poll rundown and a points system explanation at

msn.foxsports.com/name/public/NASCAR/Truck/PowerPoll.