Motorsports

Hmiel suspended through 2006

DAYTONA BEACH - Driver Shane Hmiel, suspended indefinitely by NASCAR on June 3 after failing a second substance abuse test, won't return before 2007.

Hmiel, son of longtime crew chief and team official Steve Hmiel, was suspended through 2006 on Wednesday and faces an evaluation after next season before he's allowed to return to racing.

He was first suspended in September 2003 after failing a substance abuse test. Hmiel completed a prescribed rehabilitation program and was reinstated for competition in February 2004.

The 25-year-old driver was tested again after qualifying for a Busch Series race last month in Concord, N.C. He was permitted to race, but was suspended several days later after NASCAR received a positive test result.

NASCAR said it will lay out a road map for Hmiel's possible reinstatement in 2007, including a rehabilitation program that will include medical and psychological reviews and frequent testing.

Also, crew chiefs Tommy Baldwin (Kasey Kahne) and Jimmy Elledge (Casey Mears) have been fined $10,000 and $1,000, respectively, by NASCAR for rules infractions discovered during prequalifying inspection at last week's Nextel Cup event at Michigan International Speedway.

The president of the series' governing body thinks Michelin should compensate fans who bought tickets for the United States Grand Prix fiasco. "My personal view is that Michelin should offer to compensate the fans on a fair basis," said FIA's Max Mosley. "Anyone who had a ticket this year would be entitled to the same ticket free of charge next year." FIA has already accused the seven teams using Michelin tires of damaging the sport's image by pulling out of the June 19 grand prix at Indianapolis.

PATRICK ANGRY: Danica Patrick is upset at F-1 boss Bernie Ecclestone and confused by his comments likening women to "domestic appliances." Patrick received a telephone call from Ecclestone last week during which he congratulated the Indy Racing League rookie for her performance at the Indianapolis 500, but also reiterated remarks he had made during an interview at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the U.S. Grand Prix was being held. Among the comments Ecclestone made in the interview and to Patrick was that "Women should be all dressed in white like all other domestic appliances." Said Patrick: "I just didn't make sense of it. I was surprised, I guess, somebody would say that to me." Ecclestone has made controversial remarks about women before. He told Autosport racing magazine in 2000 that women could not compete in Formula One, but if one did, "she would have to be a woman who was blowing away the boys. ... What I would really like to see happen is to find the right girl, perhaps a black girl with super looks, preferably Jewish or Muslim, who speaks Spanish."

CAR MAKERS BUY TEAMS: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world's largest maker of luxury cars, will acquire the Swiss F-1 team Sauber. BMW, one of six carmakers competing in the series, is buying a team for the first time.

A race official was killed after being struck by a car during practice at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado Springs. Colo. Henry Bresciani, 67, was at the summit of Pikes Peak on Tuesday waving the finish flag when he was struck by a mini-sprint car driven by Jay Steward. Other accident details were not released.

[Last modified June 23, 2005, 00:46:08]