Pardon My Seriousness

I know, I know, I've said that this site is designed for nothing but NASCAR humor, but I hope you'll indulge me for a moment, because I saw some news today, and I can't help but comment.

On Thursday, Shane Hmiel, a full-time Busch Series and part-time Cup series driver, was suspended indefinitely for failing a drug test. AGAIN. This is the second time this has happened with Hmiel, the first occurring during the 2003 season.

I sincerely hope that NASCAR will do the right thing here, and change the wording from "suspended indefinitely" to "suspended for life". Hmiel should never again be given the opportunity to compete in any form of NASCAR sanctioned racing. Period.

You may say that's harsh. No, it would have been harsh had they suspended him for life the first time he failed a test. We're all human, after all, and any of us can make a mistake, so it was fair and fitting that he be given a second chance after completing a rehab program and testing negative in subsequent drug tests. But now it's time to make an example of him, pure and simple.

There are a lot of young drivers in this sport, and hundreds of thousands of children who idolize the men who drive these machines, and the point needs to be made to all of them that drug abuse IS NOT TOLERABLE. Anything less than that, and they will figure they can do whatever they want, and NASCAR won't really hold their feet to the fire.

There should be a tombstone erected at every single track that reads, "Here lies the career of Shane Hmiel. It is dead because Shane killed it by using drugs."

Many will (and many have) make the argument that Hmiel's dad, Steve, is an influential part of an influential team (Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated) and will persuade the powers to be to give Shane another chance. I dearly hope that this doesn't happen. Money and power should not come into play in a matter like this. The only thing that should be considered is the fact that Shane thumbed his nose at the sanctioning body by willfully breaking the rules, and in doing so, he risked injuring other drivers on the track.

You may say, "Well, we don't really know what drug he tested positive for, and some are worse than others......." I'm not buying that one little bit. Whether it's something "innocent" like pot, or something more "sinister", a drug is a drug is a drug. Know any pot smokers? I do, and it is always noticeable when they've been indulging in the past day or so - their reflexes and thought processes are slower than normal. If someone wants to live his life like that, that's fine, as long as it's just his life he's ruining. But when his career involves driving at extremely high speeds in extremely close quarters with 42 other drivers, he runs a very real chance of ruining (or taking) the lives of others, and that is disgusting.

This is no time to be gentle, NASCAR, send the right message by doing the right thing.