Hmiel, Jarrett still not speaking
Drivers mad at each other for Hmiel’s obscene gesture
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FORT WORTH, Texas - For the first time since Shane Hmiel made an obscene gesture at Dale Jarrett during a Busch race, the drivers were at the same track Friday.
They won’t be racing each other since Jarrett is only running Nextel Cup this weekend, but the garages at Texas Motor Speedway are only about 100 yards apart.
Still, Hmiel and Jarrett hadn’t spoken.
“I will when I have the opportunity,” said Hmiel, the polesitter for Saturday’s O’Reilly 300. “I’m sure he’s still probably pretty mad at me. I had reasons to be made at him too.”
Hmiel was fined $10,000 and docked 25 points for flipping his middle finger at Jarrett at Bristol on April 4. The image was caught on his in-car camera and shown on live television.
Jarrett had been hit from behind by Hmiel after slowing to avoid an accident. After getting out of his car, Jarrett walked to Hmiel’s, and was leaning inside the window to complain when Hmiel made the gesture.
“I don’t really have any reason to seek him out,” Jarrett said. “I don’t feel like I’ve done anything wrong.”
Jarrett said the incident could have been avoided if Hmiel had been more patient at the half-mile Bristol track.
“The rest of it was hopefully something maybe that he’s learned a valuable lesson,” Jarrett said. “It’s over and done. We have to race together some more this year, and that’s what we’ll do.”
Hmiel said he won’t alter his hard-driving style, but the 24-year-old will make one change: “I won’t flip the bird.”
And Hmiel is driven by those negative posts about him on the Internet message boards, many from fans of Jarrett and other veteran drivers.
“I read Hmiel is a punk, Hmiel is still on drugs, Hmiel’s all this, Hmiel’s all that. None of that’s true,” he said. “When people say that stuff, all they’re doing is making me want to work harder.”
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