JOLIET, Ill. -- The rev of engines. Tinkering with setups. Conversations with his team.

Crew chief Steve Hmiel attempts to revive Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s championship hopes one weekend at a time. It's a welcome distraction and helps ease Hmiel's pain from the "terrific hole in my heart.''

Hmiel anguishes for his son, Shane, who has been banished from the sport until 2007. NASCAR suspended Shane Hmiel last month after the 25-year-old violated the sport's substance abuse policy for the second time within two years.

"There are times I want to kill him and there are times I want to hug him,'' Steve Hmiel said of his son. "That's true of every parent and every situation. Our family is here to support him.''

So, as Steve Hmiel heads to the track each weekend, Shane remains at the family's Pleasant Garden, N.C., home. He's been there since shortly after series officials escorted him out of the garage at Dover five weeks ago.

"What Shane is doing is he's sitting at home on the couch and he has good days and bad,'' Steve Hmiel said. "A good day is not sitting there with your heart broken. A bad day is thinking the world is coming to an end. There are no real good days.''

There have been few for Shane Hmiel since Sept. 18, 2003, when NASCAR suspended him the first time. NASCAR does not reveal the nature of the violation. Hmiel followed the program a NASCAR-backed doctor prescribed and officials reinstated the driver in February 2004.

Hmiel returned to the Craftsman Truck series, moved to the Busch series and made some Cup starts. He was subject to random drug tests after his return. In April, a NASCAR official said the sport had ordered about 45 drug tests the previous two years with about 15 of those tests for Hmiel.

Now, Shane Hmiel has nothing to do with NASCAR. He awaits word from officials on what course of treatment he'll have to take to return. That could come within a few weeks.

Shane Hmiel's suspension has raised questions about how many chances a driver should have if they violate the substance abuse policy.

"Shane has ruined two teams and about 40 lives. ... Whoever he drives for again, will he ruin a third team?" Kenny Wallace told NASCAR Scene recently.

NBC analyst Wally Dallenbach said Hmiel shouldn't have received a second chance.

"I always felt that if you were caught, and you had it in your system, you were out,'' Dallenbach said on a conference call last week. "I'm not in favor of giving somebody second, third, or fourth chances on something like this. It's a privilege to be here and if you can't play by the rules, you shouldn't be able to play.''

The criticism is difficult to endure, Steve Hmiel says. He credits many in the garage for offering support. Among those was Dale Jarrett, who had a run-in with Hmiel in the Bristol Busch race this year that ended with Jarrett's car wrecked. Jarrett walked to Hmiel's car while the race was stopped and lectured Hmiel, who responded with an obscene gesture.

"The deal at Bristol got blown way, way, way out of proportion and it was unfortunate for everybody involved,'' Jarrett said. "That's past, and I wanted to let Steve know that there are people that do care about him and his family and do hope that everything works out best for him.''

Because the past can't be changed, the Hmiels look ahead. Steve Hmiel said his son wants to race again. Steve Hmiel hopes that a team and a sponsor give Shane Hmiel another chance. Should that happen, though, Steve Hmiel admits he'll have mixed emotions.

"I still want to make darn sure if he got a chance to drive a race car he would be committed to the lifestyle that you have to live to be a race car driver, committed to the family you're a part of and have respect for what you're doing and the people around you,'' Steve Hmiel said. "He's a grown man. I would still be very nervous. I don't ever want to go through what I've gone through twice before.''