34 Facts About Shane Hmiel

At age 5, Shane Hmiel was misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Shane Hmiel began smoking cannabis at age 12, and on a daily basis through his teens and 20s.

Shane Hmiel admitted to using cocaine "about 100 times," and used drugs in part to medicate himself.

Shane Hmiel began racing in go-karts, winning 164 races from the age of 12 to 15.

In 2001, Shane Hmiel competed in the NASCAR Goody's Dash Series, earning the Rookie of the Year award with two wins and 13 top-10 finishes, finishing fifth in points.

For 2002, Shane Hmiel moved to the Busch Series in the No 47 Chevrolet for Innovative as a teammate to Wallace.

Shane Hmiel opened his rookie season with a fifth-place finish at Daytona.

At the Funai 250 at Richmond International Raceway, Shane Hmiel was involved in several on track incidents, beginning on lap 103 when he spun the lapped car of Randy MacDonald.

Late in the race with 5 laps to go, Shane Hmiel was involved in an accident with Jason Keller.

Shane Hmiel was moved out of line down the backstretch, then slipped up into Keller in turn three, sending Keller's 57 car into the wall driver's side first.

Shane Hmiel was fined $5,000 and placed on probation for an altercation in the garage area after the race with Keller.

Shane Hmiel was released from Innovative Motorsports, replaced with former Busch Series champion Jeff Green at Dover, then several other veteran drivers for the remainder of the season.

Shane Hmiel was set to drive the 91 car for Evernham Motorsports that weekend at Dover coming up but the team withdrew after the suspension.

Shane Hmiel was reinstated in 2004 after completing NASCAR's Road to Recovery program, and was picked up for the full Craftsman Truck Series season by Billy Ballew Motorsports, with crew chief Ritchie Wauters.

Shane Hmiel returned to Busch Series competition at the 9th race of the season at Fontana for GIC-Mixon Motorsports, starting and finishing 32nd.

Shane Hmiel had a best finish of 22nd in four starts for Braun.

Shane Hmiel ran 5 races for BDR, with a best finish of 24th at Kansas and Atlanta.

Shane Hmiel was in a series of commercials with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Shane Hmiel was fined $10,000 and docked 25 points in the standings for the incident.

At Charlotte in May 2005, Shane Hmiel was administered another substance test following Busch Series qualifying, after NASCAR officials observed Shane Hmiel making "erratic moves" on the racetrack.

Shane Hmiel had tested positive for marijuana and cocaine, and was suspended "indefinitely" starting in May 2005.

Shane Hmiel was offered a chance at reinstatement after his second infraction, under condition that he submit to medical and psychological reviews, and frequent drug testing before reinstatement.

In February, 2006 Shane Hmiel failed a third and final drug test, and was banned for life from NASCAR.

Shane Hmiel stated on WindTunnel with Dave Despain on April 4,2010, and on several other occasions that his ban was "the best thing that's happened" to him.

Shane Hmiel had one win: in the Truck Series' Las Vegas 350 in 2004.

Under oath, Shane Hmiel admitted that he violated NASCAR's substance abuse policy with a positive test for marijuana in 2003 and a positive test for marijuana and cocaine in 2005.

Shane Hmiel denied he was using drugs on a regular basis in 2005.

Shane Hmiel denied that he had tested positive for heroin at any time from 2003 to 2005, and testified that he was not under the influence of any drug at any time while he was racing.

In 2009, Shane Hmiel earned his first USAC-sanctioned win in the Sprint Car division at Iowa Speedway and scored a then-career-best dirt track finish of second in the Four Crown Nationals at Eldora Speedway.

Shane Hmiel was slated to make his debut in the Firestone Indy Lights series at Chicagoland Speedway for the Chicagoland 100 on August 28,2010, but a back injury kept him from competing in the race.

Shane Hmiel was airlifted to Methodist Hospital with head, back, and neck injuries.

Shane Hmiel was paralyzed as a result of his injuries; Shane Hmiel has since regained limited use of his limbs, but continues to require the use of a wheelchair.

In January 2013, Shane Hmiel returned to racing in a driving experience event at Rockingham Speedway, a track Shane Hmiel had raced on during his career.

In January 2016, Shane Hmiel fielded a car at the Chili Bowl for Eric Saunders, a former motocross rider who had been paralyzed in an accident.