Fantastic Marty Smith article

First thanks for posting this incredible story. But it tough just reading it. He has a lot of inner strength, and I admire his tenacity.

One of the toughest things is I was one of Hmeil's toughest critics. I was hawkish about keeping the lifetime ban, even when Despain had him on Wind Tunnel to cover his revival in the Sprint Cars. When he entered the ill fated event at Terre Haute, I will still saying the lifetime ban was appropriate.

I always believed he was a natural driver, and he had the natural ability to be as good as anybody ever in a stock car. Watching him drive a Nationwide or Truck left no doubt about his speed and talent. He reaffirmed those abilities in winning with the Sprint Cars, but I still doubted the man's character.

I couldn't have been more wrong, reading the piece by Smith makes it is so clear. It is sad that it took so much for me to see how much heart and soul he has. I wish him the best, and I hope he masters walking again.

Maybe it won't mean much, but Nascar should immediately reinstate him, just as a matter of decency and recognition of his hard work. Rolling out the red carpet is in order.
 
Greg said:
First thanks for posting this incredible story. But it tough just reading it. He has a lot of inner strength, and I admire his tenacity.

One of the toughest things is I was one of Hmeil's toughest critics. I was hawkish about keeping the lifetime ban, even when Despain had him on Wind Tunnel to cover his revival in the Sprint Cars. When he entered the ill fated event at Terre Haute, I will still saying the lifetime ban was appropriate.

I always believed he was a natural driver, and he had the natural ability to be as good as anybody ever in a stock car. Watching him drive a Nationwide or Truck left no doubt about his speed and talent. He reaffirmed those abilities in winning with the Sprint Cars, but I still doubted the man's character.

I couldn't have been more wrong, reading the piece by Smith makes it is so clear. It is sad that it took so much for me to see how much heart and soul he has. I wish him the best, and I hope he masters walking again.

Maybe it won't mean much, but Nascar should immediately reinstate him, just as a matter of decency and recognition of his hard work. Rolling out the red carpet is in order.
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I think that you are right on there Greg . Nascar should reinstate Shane . It's the right thing to do.
 
ted@economy said:
I think that you are right on there Greg . Nascar should reinstate Shane . It's the right thing to do.
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I emailed Marty your suggestion , we should all do that , see if we can start a groundswell of support . A grassroots campaign , so to speak.
 
I think do like Alex Zanardi did- give him a car with hand controls, and let him do a couple pace laps.
 
I wish him well and I hope he gets a full recovery. I might be more of a hard ass about this kind of stuff but I don't believe he deserves to be reinstated to NASCAR. He had his 3 strikes and he's out. He had eveything that tons of drivers would have loved to have had and he threw it away, 3 times. For the aspect of being thrown out of NASCAR, I don't feel sorry for him because he did it all to himself.
 
I read that and I am not ashamed to say it darn near brought a tear to my eye. I know someone (local driver) who has been there. He had to lose everything to see he HAD everything. Shane was an incredible talent and he knew it, but drugs got ahold of him and he threw it all away. At least he realizes it now and he's doing everything he can to try and make things right.

I hope NASCAR will eventually let him get inside a show car or something and run 20 laps or so. Just let him live what he loves the most - one last time.
 
StewartHaas-Gibbs Racing said:
I wish him well and I hope he gets a full recovery. I might be more of a hard ass about this kind of stuff but I don't believe he deserves to be reinstated to NASCAR. He had his 3 strikes and he's out. He had eveything that tons of drivers would have loved to have had and he threw it away, 3 times. For the aspect of being thrown out of NASCAR, I don't feel sorry for him because he did it all to himself.
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While I do feel sorry for the guy for the most part I agree with you. I don't get the reinstatement talk. He threw his opportunity away several times over with total disregard for himself and others around him. I do wish him well in his recovery though but NASCAR reinstatement?
 
I don't believe he deserves to be reinstated ... he had 3 chances. I think that is more than fair. But like I said ... I'd like to see him run 20 laps at a track of his choice and live the dream one more time.
 
It is up to Nascar, but imo corrective actions doesn't have to be punitive nor should it be. It should just be corrective in getting a chemically altered mind off the track, or out of the pits.
It should also remove belligerent attitudes, or chemically altered idiocy.

But once a person has demonstrated their clean for 3 or 4 years, I see no point in piling on. The person has already inflicted a lot of damage on himself, and even if there reinstated they still damaged goods.

Last of all I have zero tolerance for recreational drug use. My brother is clean now, but when he was using I kicked him out out my mothers house on two separate occasions .He literally had to live in a rescue mission. Thankfully those days history.

Punishing Hmeil now seems pointless, even torture. Give the man a little comfort, he bleeds and suffers everyday now, will for the rest of his life. I don't have the heart for anymore condemnation.
 
Reinstatement? Not a chance. Wish him well but Nascar gave him more chances than anyone else would have and he just pissed them away while endangering other drivers, fans and officials.
 
Johali said:
Reinstatement? Not a chance. Wish him well but Nascar gave him more chances than anyone else would have and he just pissed them away while endangering other drivers, fans and officials.
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Hang him. It'll teach him a lesson.
 
Johali said:
Reinstatement? Not a chance. Wish him well but Nascar gave him more chances than anyone else would have and he just pissed them away while endangering other drivers, fans and officials.
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I agree completely. If it weren't for the injuries that he had sustained in that accident and his subsequent realization of the errors is his ways many people would not be so quick for forgiveness. He would have still been looked at as any other driver that had failed repeated drug testing.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
I agree completely. If it weren't for the injuries that he had sustained in that accident and his subsequent realization of the errors is his ways many people would not be so quick for forgiveness. He would have still been looked at as any other driver that had failed repeated drug testing.
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I disagree. I would still feel the same way I do now. He lost everything and he finally realized he had a problem and he fixed it. I'm not saying he deserves a second go around, because in reality he had THREE ... but I am saying his injuries he sustained have nothing to do with how I feel. This is about him ruining his life and rebuilding it.
 
Allen Bedgood said:
I disagree. I would still feel the same way I do now. He lost everything and he finally realized he had a problem and he fixed it. I'm not saying he deserves a second go around, because in reality he had THREE ... but I am saying his injuries he sustained have nothing to do with how I feel. This is about him ruining his life and rebuilding it.
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Hence the words many people and not all people.
 
ted@economy said:
Hang him. It'll teach him a lesson.
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I reread my post 3 times very carefully Ted and could find no reference to further actions against him much less any type of physical punishment. As I said in my earlier post I wish him well anywhere he goes and whatever he does, just not associated with Nascar. It's my opinion and I am damned well entitled to it just as all of the other posters are and I give them no grief for their opinions as it should be.
 
[Earlier in my life ]Different strokes for different folks, makes life interesting.
I would not really like everyone to be right about everything like me, after awhile all the agreement would be boring and really piss me off...
Now I do a few wrong and sleazy things daily, just to relate and avoid the righteous attention.
Yep.
 
Some more on Shane Hmiel.....

Shane Hmiel Back In A Race Car Jan. 26

Shane Hmiel will climb back behind the wheel of a race car for the first time since his injury on Saturday, Jan. 26 when Accessible Racing visits the legendary Rockingham (NC) Speedway.

Hmiel suffered critical head, back, and neck injuries in a USAC Silver Crown qualifying crash at the Terre Haute Action Track on October 9, 2010 that left him paralyzed. Doctors initially told his family that he had a 10-percent chance to live. He was not expected to walk or breathe on his own again, and was not supposed to move his fingers, arms, toes or feet. The former driver has defied all those predictions, however, regaining some function in all his extremities, while continuing to use a wheelchair.

Now, Hmiel has an opportunity to do something else few expected him to do; climbing back behind the wheel of a race car at Rockingham Speedway.
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Full story here.
 
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