Former NASCAR driver Shane Hmiel critically injured in a crash

UPDATE on TUESDAY, Oct. 12

NEW UPDATE FROM USAC ON SHANE HMIEL'S CONDITION

A statement from USAC on Tuesday night, says that Shane Hmiel remains in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. The statement also says that "Hmiel continues to make progress in his recovery following surgeries.''

In the statement it reads: "Shane has responded to command by moving both arms and doctors attending him are encouraged but remain guarded. He appears to have no head trauma but suffered fractures of both the neck and back.

"Shane's mother Lisa, father Steve and brother Tyler are at the hospital and continue to express their heartfelt thanks for everyone's continuing prayers.''

Also, there is a new update from the Road to Recovery Facebook page (that provides updates from the family).  It states: "Drains have been removed so no internal bleeding (from surgery) which will improve waking up. He is opening his eyes more often, moving his arms and squeezing our hands. Keep the prayers coming! -- The Hmiel Family

EARLIER IN THE DAY ...

A couple  of things in regards to Shane.

First from his Road to Recovery Facebook page (with updates from the family) the latest report reads: "shane is going down for down at 2 30 for angioplasty to ck his carotid artery to see if stretched If its thin they will put in stinit thx for your contiued prayers that greatly appreciated by me steve and tyler and the rest of his family and millions of friends thx'

Later on Tuesday, the Hmiel family added another entry in the Facebook page, stating: "Surgery for the torn artery has been scheduled for Friday... Keep the prayers coming! -- The Hmiel Family''

Also, Carl Edwards was on a teleconference with reporters on Tuesday and was asked about Shane. This is what Edwards said:

“Shane and I spent a lot of time together when I first came down to North Carolina. He is one of the nicest and most decent people that I have met in this sport. He is a very good guy. My partner that owns our Silver Crown team with me, Chris Santucci, called me from the race track, sent me a text, and told me what happened. We talked immediately after Shane’s accident. I think I speak for everyone in the garage in saying that we are all thinking about Shane and hoping that he comes out of this just fine. Knowing Shane, it is hard to imagine him in any sort of physical pain. He is such an upbeat, outgoing guy and we just hope that he is doing well. As far as the series goes, that Silver Crown Series, if that series wasn’t around I wouldn’t be where I am at now. That series helped me and a lot of other drivers. It is one of the greatest series on earth and I am proud to be part of it as an owner. I think this is a tragic event and hopefully it has a happy ending.”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

MONDAY, Oct. 11 UPDATE

A Facebook page has been created to update fans of Shane Hmiel on his condition with reports from his mom. It's called Shane Hmiel -- Road to Recovery.

Updates posted Sunday night stated that Shane, injured in a USAC Silver Crown crash on Saturday when his car slammed roll cage first into a concrete wall, had spinal cord injuries and that he had neck surgery on Sunday night.. According to an update after the surgery from Shane's mom, she wrote: "1st surgery very successful, stimulated brain, movement in arms. (Monday) big back surgery. pray.''

To catch up on previous reports on Shane, scroll down. There's also a link to a video of his incident.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

SUNDAY, Oct. 10

Shane Hmiel, a former NASCAR driver, was critically injured during a USAC Silver Crown event on Saturday night in Terre Haute, Ind.

Hmiel is the son of Steve Hmiel, former crew chief for Mark Martin and now competition director at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. Shane Hmiel, who is from Pleasant Garden, N.C., flipped during qualifying for the event.

UPDATE: During Sunday's drivers meeting NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton gave competitors an update on Shane. This is what Robin told them: "I just got off the phone with Steve (Shane's dad) about 10 minutes ago. Shane is doing pretty good. He had a bad wreck last night. But anyways, he's doing good and with some surgery they'll repair some stuff.  He's gained most of the feeling back.''

UPDATE II: USAC issued a new release on Shane Hmiel's condition on Sunday. It stated that he remains in critical but stable condition at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. It states that Hmiel suffered fractures of the neck and back and is in the hospital's intensive care unit awaiting surgery expected sometime in the next 24 hours.

According to the release: Steve Hmiel says his son has a "long road to recovery'' and is quick to thank all the fans and friends who offered their concerns and prayers in the hours following the accident.

Also in the release: USAC President/CEO Kevin Miller said: "We are optimistic for Shane's recovery. We will monitor Shane's hospitalization adn will provide updates on his progress.''

The Tribune-Star of Terre Haute reported that there was damage to the protective roll cage in the accident (and you can see a video here of it).  Hmiel was taken to a Terre Haute hospital and then airlifted to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis Star reported Sunday without attribution that Hmiel suffered multiple head, neck and back injuries, the extent of which haven't been released. The Star also reported that Hmiel was placed in a medically induced coma to reduce brain swelling.

USAC issued a statement late Saturday night that stated that Hmiel was in critical condition in the hospital's intensive care unit.

"We are very concerned about Shane and offer our resources and our support to his family during this time of healing,'' USAC President/CEO Kevin Miller said in a statement.

Steve Hmiel was at Auto Club Speedway at the time of the crash and flew in Juan Pablo Montoya's plane to Indianapolis overnight. Shane's mother flew from the Greensboro area in a plane owned by team co-owner Felix Sabates.

Shane Hmiel, age 30, raced in NASCAR from 2002-05. He ran in 7 Cup races, 83 Nationwide races and 29 Truck races (where he won once). He was seen as a naturally talented driver by some in the garage who expected him to earn a fulltime ride in the Cup series before issues with drugs. He was suspended three times by NASCAR, the last in 2006 when he was banned from the sport for failing his third drug test.

Hmiel later traced his issues to being bipolar, something he wasn't treated for until after his NASCAR career ended. In an Nov. 2008 story I did on Hmiel about his recovery and return to racing in the USAC Silver Crown, sprint and midget cars, Hmiel said: "I'm trying to do whatever it takes to be some kind of race car driver whatever division it is. I want to make a good living driving race cars. I'm getting my life back together.''

He was. He was winning in USAC's various division. He was third in the Silver Crown points before his accident and ninth in the Sprint Car series points. He was slated for an Indy Lights ride (think of that series as the Nationwide Series for IndyCars) this season but a previous back injury prevented him from being medically cleared to compete. I talked to Steve Hmiel later about that and Steve said that his son would continue to race through the season and have the back repaired in the offseason so he could be cleared to race in the Indy Lights series next year.

Hmiel has been working his way back up racing's ladder and things seemed headed for a path that could lead to the Indianapolis 500 in the future.

He has come back before. Many in the racing community are hoping he can do it again.

COMMENTS ADVISORY: Users are solely responsible for opinions they post here; comments do not reflect the views of The Virginian-Pilot or its websites. Users must follow agreed-upon rules: Be civil, be clean, be on topic; don't attack private individuals, other users or classes of people. Read the full rules here.
- Comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language, but readers might find some comments offensive or inaccurate. If you believe a comment violates our rules, click the report violation link below it.