M. Wallace, Hmiel scrap on track, trade barbs off

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. -- Mike Wallace has had enough with all the talk about younger drivers.

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One of those guys, Shane Hmiel, has had enough with Wallace, it seems.

The two got together Monday while passing the slower car of Larry Gunselman on lap 115 of the Rockingham 200, sending both cars slamming into North Carolina Speedway's outside wall in Turn 1.

Immediately, both drivers hopped out of their cars and started jawing.

Wallace's car stopped on the apron, and he started pointing his finger at Hmiel, whose prone car was on fire on the banking.

Hmiel darted through traffic, which had slowed for the caution, and went directly to Wallace.

The two went nose-to-nose, though Hmiel still had his helmet on, before NASCAR officials tried to separate the two.

As they walked to the pit area, the talk kept going. Wallace was caught on television dishing expletives to Hmiel before walking to the infield care center.

Later, Wallace blamed, at least in part, all the "young guns" hype for the accident.

"The media has made the young guys into superstars," said Wallace, a 43-year-old veteran. "Everybody in radio, television, newspapers, they're the 'Young guns, young stars.' They can do whatever they want.

"They think they're invincible. They don't care if they wreck people. People keep putting them in rides. It doesn't matter how much they tear up.

"We were just trying to get out of here and go to Vegas. We had nothing to gain at the point we were at. They might have a lot of nerve, but they don't have brain one."

Hmiel, 22, obviously disputed that claim.

"There are a couple of young guns who, yes, they're superstars, like your Dale Jr.s and Jimmie Johnsons," Hmiel said. "I don't relate myself to them. I started when I was nine.

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"I don't know how old Mike Wallace was when he started, but this is just a part in my career where I'm at now. I'm lucky enough to be in the Busch Series. I love racing NASCAR, and this is what I love to do.

"I hate that that's to blame. I'm young, but I've been racing since I'm nine. I'm not stupid. There's a reason I'm here. I don't know what my reason is; God put me here or what. Somewhere along the line, I've earned my respect from people."

Wallace clearly doesn't respect Hmiel, the son of Dale Earnhardt Inc. technical director Steve Hmiel.

"He just runs his mouth," Wallace said. "He's an arrogant little guy. He's fairly cocky. He has a right to say whatever. He can say what he wants. It's best I say nothing."

When asked what Wallace said to him, Hmiel replied: "There would be a lot of bleeping."

"I'm a young kid," Hmiel said. "I'm not supposed to be good as all these older guys who have been doing it forever. But I'm not too worried about it."

'You can't win the race on the first lap'

The accident happened as Wallace was trying to go to the outside of Gunselman, while Hmiel went inside. Hmiel and Gunselman touched, sending Hmiel's car up the track and into Wallace.

"Shane ran into me going down the back straightaway the lap before," Wallace said. "We're all coming back from a green-flag start. A little bit of patience is very nice. You can't win the race on the first lap.

"We're back there, I'm a lap, I'd been struggling. We finally got our car handling better, and you get run into in the back straightaway. We get around the lapped car, and he wants to go three-wide down into one."

Hmiel's version was a bit different.

"I don't know what happened," Hmiel said. "I got together with a lapped car in the right-rear corner. What happened from there, I don't really know. I just hate it for this team. We had a good car, but we were in three accidents today. This one put us out."