BUSCH: Atlanta: Shane Hmiel race notes

Hmiel Impressive in Team TRIMSPA Debut

Atlanta, GA (October 31, 2004) -- Shane Hmiel suffered a broken transmission while battling for the lead in the Aaron's 312 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday. The race was the debut of Hmiel as the new driver of the TRIMSPA X32 Dodge.

"All of the guys on the TRIMSPA Team did a great job," said Hmiel. "I think our car would have been a contender for the win without the transmission failure."

Hmiel qualified for the 203-lap event in the ninth position. By lap 14 he was obviously the fastest car on the track having moved up into the fourth position. Hmiel took the lead from Greg Biffle on lap 32, but on the following lap he radioed in that the transmission had broken and he only had fourth gear.

"It was extremely disappointing to have a transmission go bad at that point," said Hmiel. "We were running fast and it was early in the race. But the most important thing is the TRIMSPA Team was capable of leading and possibly winning this race. I think this team and I are going to have a lot of fun in the next two years."

Hmiel went behind the wall for repairs on lap 34. After the transmission was replaced he returned to the race 43 laps down to the leaders in the 37th position. Hmiel soldiered on until the end, picking up three spots to 34th by the finish.

Team TRIMSPA will head to the Phoenix International Raceway this weekend to compete in the Bashas' Supermarkets 200 Saturday, November 6th. The event will be televised live at 3:30 p.m. eastern time on NBC and will broadcast nationally at that same time on radio stations affiliated with MRN and XM Satellite Radio Channel 144.

-br-