413 - Steve Hmiel - A Winner Everywhere He Goes

On Episode 413 of the Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and co-host Mike Davis sit down with longtime NASCAR crew member Steve Hmiel. The Syracuse, New York native first entered the NASCAR garage in the mid-1970s when he took a job working with Tex Powell, building race cars for drivers like Benny Parsons. The interview discusses Hmiel’s first high-profile opportunity when he was hired on as a fabricator at the legendary Petty Enterprises in 1975. Hmiel gives listeners a fascinating look at the Petty operation and what the NASCAR Cup scene was like at that time. Hmiel also provides an extraordinary perspective on the inception of Jack Roush Racing’s stock car team, which he helped form with Robin Pemberton in late 1987. Dale Jr. and Steve debrief the 1990 Cup season, where Roush driver Mark Martin squared off against Dale Earnhardt Sr. for the points championship. They also discuss events from the heyday of Dale Earnhardt Inc., where Hmiel joined as a consultant and manager in 1998. Through an organization shake-up, Steve actually ended up crew chief for Dale Jr. in the middle of the 2005 season, helping guide him to victory at Chicagoland Speedway. Dale, Mike, and Steve are able to look back at that win and what it meant to not only the team at that time but Dale’s career as a whole.