Former NASCAR driver Shane Hmiel doesn’t know if he will walk again. He doesn’t know exactly how he will be involved in racing again. He doesn’t even know why he’s alive. There’s one thing Shane Hmiel believes, though: He’s lucky, despite an Oct. 9 accident in a Silver Crown car that damaged his brain and spinal cord. He might not know for another four or five years how much he will need the wheelchair he currently has to use, but the 31-year-old Hmiel has an incredibly upbeat attitude about his life. See full article at SceneDaily and a video from a NASCAR Race Hub episode at SPEED.(7-30-2011)
UPDATE: Shane Hmiel announced RW56, Inc as his newest endeavor in the world of motorsports. The ambitious project comes just months after suffering extensive injuries in a racing accident last October that left him confined to a wheelchair. Hmiel is embracing his new title as team owner, adding to his already extensive and impressive racing resume. With support coming from Steve Pruett, founder of the motorsports television program 3 Wide Life, and USAC team owners Rotondo Weirich of RW Motorsports, Hmiel will use the team and television show to build on the momentum he created before the accident in hopes of finding the next American open wheel star. In preparation for a full 2012 schedule, Hmiel and RW56 Inc, will field the No. 56 / 3 Wide Life dirt midget in the 7 remaining USAC National Dirt Midget races of 2011 beginning in Sun Prairie, Wisc. August 21. Five-time National USAC driver champion Levi Jones has been tapped to drive for those remaining races. See full post at 3widelife.(8-3-2011)
