FORT WORTH, Texas -- Laying flat on his back after an oil rig collapsed on top of him, Hale Hughes thought his life was over. His ribs were crushed, spleen ruptured and back broken. But a few months later, the oilfield roughneck was back to work.

At home, his wife, Danyell Hughes, was battling breast cancer, and the bills were piling up. She was diagnosed with the disease six months pregnant with the couple's second child.

Doctors advised Danyell to terminate the pregnancy to better her survival rate and begin treatment right away. She refused and the cancerous tumor in her breast grew larger. Finally, she was forced to deliver a premature child that was kept in the neonatal intensive care unit for a month while she underwent chemotherapy.

"That year was about as bad as it could get. We had had it up to here," said Hale, with his hand at his head.

But 2008 has been different for Hughes, a 40-year-old resident of Woodville, Texas.

Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company, makers of Dickies, the leading global work-wear brand, named Hughes its 2008 American Worker of the Year. As a VIP guest of the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Hughes will serve as grand marshal, deliver the starting command and have a chance to win a million dollars.

On Saturday, Hughes was brought into the Texas Motor Speedway media center with team owner Richard Childress, track president Eddie Gossage and a slew of scantily dressed women holding brief cases from which to randomly select a car and driver from the Dickies 500 lineup. If his selection wins the race on Sunday, Hale will go home with $1 million.

Hughes said he thought he was dreaming.

Of the 43 brief cases, in true Deal or No Deal fashion, guess which number Hughes picked? Sunday's pole-sitter, the No. 24 of Jeff Gordon.

The crowd inside the media center filled with amazement and Dickies corporate folks gulped. Their chances of parting with a $1 million payout just became a reality. It's a cash prize greater than Sunday's race purse.

As part of his guaranteed prize winnings, Hale will also receive a 2009 Ford F-150, a Yamaha Rhino premium four-wheeler and a regional Dickies gift certificate.

With prizes like those, working hard doesn't sound so bad.

"Hale Hughes personifies qualities that are truly inspirational to so many people -- a dedicated and hard-working American who gives 100 percent day in and day out, despite what obstacles life throws his way," said Misty Otto, public relations director for Dickies. "Hale is a role model and leader to anyone privileged to know him ... superior workers deserve to have their outstanding drive, leadership and perseverance acknowledged and rewarded."

Hughes began a career as an oilfield roughneck right out of high school and in 2003 earned the title of company safety manager, one of 12 positions in a company comprising of more than 3,000 people.

On the job, Hughes said he strives to guide, inspire and be an example to those around him.

After his accident, his back injuries were extensive enough to sideline Hughes permanently.

"When the rig collapsed in on itself, I was right in the middle on the drill floor. And I was hit in the back by a large steel bar weighing about 900 pounds. It was like I was struck in the back with a baseball bat," Hughes recalled.

But after a week-long stay in the hospital and a few months of TLC from his wife, he was back to safely digging holes searching for gas pockets in the fields of Texas.

He wears a jacket donning dozens of safety patches awarded to him throughout the years. And on the left breast of his jacket are patches symbolizing each member of his family: a holly leaf for 7-year-old Hallee, a hawk for 5-year-old Hawk, and a pink breast cancer awareness ribbon for Danyell.

"I wouldn't be able to anything without my wife, she literally was my backbone," Hughes said.

And Danyell was hardly in any shape to be someone else's backbone as she was just finishing her cancer treatment.

"I remember her hair was just starting to grow back," Hughes recalled.

Another patch on Hughes' jacket is a tiny green drill bit symbolic of his mantra: "It only takes a little bit sometimes to make the situation better."

Hughes plans to remove his patch and offer it to Gordon before Sunday's race.

"Because sometimes it only takes a little "bit," Hughes said. "Maybe Gordon just needs a little bit to win."

About the Dickies American Worker of the Year

For the past 16 years, Dickies has been tipping its hat to hard-working men and women with the annual American Worker of the Year contest. Each finalist honored is an exceptional worker in fields often overlooked in today's society -- farmers, builders, mechanics, teachers, electrical lineman and soldiers, among others. These exceptional individuals personify and truly embody the iconic Dickies brand and reveal what it really means to be an American worker.

Six regional finalists are selected out of thousands of applicants based on their commitment to their work and their ability to be a genuine example of a true American worker. All six regional finalists won a trip to the PBR World Finals in Las Vegas from Oct. 30 through Nov. 3, where they each won a Yamaha four-wheeler and regional Dickies gift certificate. Hughes was announced as the 2008 Dickies American Worker of the Year during intermission of the PBR World Finals event.

The American Worker of the Year promotion's call for entries kicked off on June 1. Participants were able to enter via a Web site (workeroftheyear.com), mailing in an entry form, completing an entry form in a participating retail location or at a Dickies mobile tour.

Since its beginnings in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1922, the Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company has grown from a humble manufacturer of bib overalls into a global brand powerhouse, with Dickies work pants, shirts, denim, outerwear, school uniforms, outdoor gear, medical and chefs apparel and an extensive licensing program offering sturdy head-to-toe clothing options for hard-working men and women of all ages, professions, regions and interests. Williamson-Dickie operates through subsidiaries in North America, Canada and Europe as well as exclusive distributorship around the world.